Dilek Demirbas

Owner-managers' perceptions of barriers to innovation: empirical evidence from Turkish SMEs

Purpose – The paper aims to examine the barriers to innovation, as perceived and experienced by owner‐managers of Turkish small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an empirical investigation of 224 SMEs operating in Turkey. Emergent results were analysed using a logit regression model to explore barriers to innovation as perceived and experienced by these owner‐managers.Findings – The results reveal that a lack of government research and development policy represents a formal barrier to SME innovation in Turkey. The existence of a sizeable and thriving underground economy in this country acts as an informal barrier that impacts negatively upon investment in, and increases the cost of innovation in SMEs. In addition, a lack of appropriate sources of finance and skill shortages emerged as significant variables to affect the innovation decisions of SME owner‐managers in Turkey.Research limitations/implications – The research sample of 224 businesses, chosen...

Graduating to Globalisation: a study of Southern multinationals

FDI by firms in developing countries is a recent phenomenon and demands a study of relationship between firm productivity and different modes of globalisation activities. This paper attempts to understand this relationship through ordered probit models, examining two key hypotheses using firm level panel data from India. First, we test whether there are characteristic differences between domestic firms, exporting firms and firms engaging with FDI. Second, we test if FDI is an integral part of the evolution of firms in developing countries. Our results suggest that there are strong differences between domestic firms, exporting firms, and firms that invest abroad, especially in their knowledge investment, indicating the presence of a ladder of quality in graduating to globalisation.

History matters in Greece: The adoption of Internet-enabled computers by small and medium sized enterprises

Abstract In recent years the idea that historical trajectories condition the pace of technical change has been gaining ground but has so far received little empirical backing. Using an original survey, we analyse the adoption of Internet-enabled personal computers (IEPCs) by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Greece. Results indicate that, among other factors, previous experiences with earlier forms of the technology explain current trends. Having shown the dramatic effect of past adoption events in future decisions, the authors call for a policy that specifically targets and caters for historical non-adopters.

Independence of board of directors, employee relation and harmonisation of corporate governance: Empirical evidence from Russian listed companies

Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to examine the role of the board of directors in Russia with specific attention to their independence, employee relations and ability of successful adaptation of the international standards.Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a survey questionnaire to provide an empirical example from a transition economy to the corporate governance literature by exploring the attitudes of the 55 board directors from 30 listed companies on the Russian Trading System (RTS) Stock Exchange.Findings – The respondents recognise the board of directors as an important instrument of efficient and good corporate governance practice. More surprisingly, they are also in favour of employee representatives on the board of directors and agree that board size and composition should be enhanced by employee representatives on the board.Research limitation/implications – Even though 200 questionnaires were distributed and the response rate was 28 per cent, the authors know that they cannot...

Supply chain interfaces between a port utilizing organisation and port operator

Purpose – This research revolves around understanding the interfaces of ports in supply chains. The main aim of the research is to explore the role of ports within supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – Collecting information representative of the range of experiences, perspectives, perceptions and the behaviours of managers relevant to the research was obtained through purposeful sampling. The data for this paper is derived from a literature review of research papers and studies in addition to conducting seven face-to-face and one telephone interviews. Findings – The responses were analysed utilising themes and presenting summaries of transcripts in tabulated form to ease clarification. The findings reveal that integration between ports and organisations resembles other industries and therefore enhances the scope of ports within supply chains and the adaption of best practice techniques. Research limitations/implications – Although in depth case studies were conducted the limitations are within the...

The Political Economy of Government Programs on Export Success: A Logit Model for a Turkish Survey

This article examines the differences between exporter and nonexporter small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey to understand the impact of government programs on their export decisions. The empirical data are from a survey of 300 Turkish SMEs (150 exporters and 150 nonexporters) in Turkey. As our question is why some SMEs are exporting while others of a similar size are not, although the government export promotion programs are same for all SMEs, the dependent variable should be dichotomous, and the applicable analytical model should come from the binary-choice genre of models, namely. Results suggest that government export-promoting programs, size of the firms, and manufacturing status of the firms contribute positively to export performance in SMEs, but barriers such as educational level of managers, lack of financial resources, lack of language knowledge, too many government regulations, and high taxes negatively affect the export performance of Turkish SMEs.

Corporate performance: does board independence matter?-Indian evidence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the presence of independent board directors on financial performance in India. Design/methodology/approach This study used panel regression models on large listed Indian firms to investigate the impact on financial performance owing to the presence of independent directors. Findings The findings suggest that independent board directors in Indian contexts do not significantly affect financial performance. Practical implications This study has implications for the formulation of regulation related to appointment of independent directors and the extent of their representation on the board for them to be effective. Social implications The proportion of independent directors on the board of the firm is influenced by the trade-off between the cost of having independent directors on the board versus the benefits to the firm and society. Originality/value The impact of the presence of an independent director on financial performance in highly concentrated ownership remains ambiguous.

Small and medium-sized enterprises and their capital structure decisions in Turkey: a literature review

Only a limited number of studies have examined the capital structures of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey, an economy that has a high level of dependency on small firms. The results of this chapter suggest that Turkish SMEs encounter obstacles in raising finance. Financial constraints are a handicap for SMEs to improve and develop their business environment. Information asymmetry and the uncertain economic environment are barriers to access credit from external formal sources. On the other hand, SME owners are reluctant to take external finance for projects with positive net present values to retain control their over enterprises. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the issue of the financing of SMEs in Turkey from the theoretical perspective in order to evaluate the present position objectively and to make policy recommendations. The results of this study are similar to those reported for most Western economies; that is, SME owners follow a pecking order theory and prefer retained profit to external finance.