Although there are many initiatives to encourage SMEs online, not all have been successful. It may therefore seem premature to discuss electronic marketplaces in the context of SMEs. However, if SMEs ignore e-marketplaces a number of problems can result. E-marketplaces present a significant threat to SMEs since they increase competition and leave nonparticipants vulnerable to more e-enabled fir...

The study focused on Thai Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the North Region of Thailand. In particular, the need to adopt Electronic Business (E-Business) by Thai SMEs is motivated by the intent to remain competitive. The aims of this study are:(1) to provide a current status of Thai SMEs and EBusiness; (2) to identify inhibitors; and (3) to report drivers for Thai SMEs in E-Business adop...

Smalland medium size enterprises are well known for being the backbone of the economy. They are the key factors of the economic growth as well as for innovating and developing products and services. Financial obstacles often occur for Swedish SMEs when they are searching for ways of financing the business. The lack of necessary financing to help SMEs’ businesses grow has been brought up in many...

The paper discussed Issues, Challenges and Prospects of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Port-HarcourtCity, Nigeria. This was informed by the high rate of unemployment in the society and the poor performance of SMEs in employment generation. While the research questions addressed the extent to which poor financing, inadequate social infrastructures, lack of managerial skills and mul...

The major challenge of European Union’s agricultural industry is to ensure sustainable supply of quality food that meets the demands of a rapidly growing population, changing dietary patterns, increased competition for land use, and environmental concerns. Investments in research and innovation, which facilitate integration of external knowledge in food chain operations, are crucial to undertak...

Economic reform and liberalization in China have affected many institutional obstacles constraining the development and growth of Chinese small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). Using a firm-level data set that comprises all “above-scale” Chinese industrial enterprises for the period of 1995 to 2003, I investigate the patterns of entry and exit of Chinese SMEs and relate these patterns to the...

IT outsourcing business tends to be the domain of large companies. However, with increase saturation of outsourcing market among large companies, the under-exploited SME market emerges as a potentially lucrative playground for vendors. SMEs, confined by limited resources, can benefit from having external services. Literature review shows a lack of outsourcing research among SMEs in Malaysia. Th...

High growth firms are critical for economic growth yet little is known about their funding arrangements. Examining a survey of over 8,000 UK Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), this paper investigates the financial issues confronting high growth SMEs compared to non-high growth SMEs. The findings show that rapidly growing SMEs are significantly more likely to apply for finance than non-h...