Sylvie Laforet

Innovative characteristics of small manufacturing firms

– The purpose of the paper is two‐fold: one, to focus on a specific industry – the manufacturing industry. In response to recent criticisms research in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SME) is not sector/industry‐specific, consequently the advice for these companies was too general and not of any particular help. Two, the research addresses innovation management in terms of the interrelationship among the three elements of a business: product, process and ways of working, which were often explored in isolation in the literature. Similarly, a definition of innovation was established and a systematic approach to company innovativeness was adopted., – A survey of 1000 West‐Midlands‐based manufacturing SMEs (SMMEs) was conducted. Ten indicators were used to measure company innovativeness. The top 20 per cent firms were compared with bottom 80 per cent firms in terms of product innovation management, process and work organisation. Means of responses were compared for two sets of companies. T‐tests were performed to draw some conclusions on the results. Discriminant analysis was used to determine the factors distinguishing more and less innovative companies., – The results showed SMEs in the manufacturing industry are similar to SMEs in other industries. The drivers of SMME innovativeness were: market anticipation, customer focus and commitment of CEO/owners in NPD, processes and new ways of working. Innovation was part of the business strategy and goal‐oriented. However, innovation in SMME was based more around developing new ways of working than new product innovations. The use of systems/technology and process innovation was not uniform amongst more and less innovative companies. The main constraints of SMMEs were customer dependency, skills and knowledge acquisition through training, poor learning attitude and networking because of their tradition of being insular and autonomous., – The paper provides useful information on innovation management in small manufacturing firms.

Effects of size, market and strategic orientation on innovation in non‐high‐tech manufacturing SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine the effects of size, strategic orientation and market orientation on innovation.Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey was conducted on a random sample of 60 South Yorkshire non‐high‐tech small, medium‐sized manufacturing enterprises. A hypothesised model, stating company size, strategic and market orientation affect innovation was tested using multiple linear regression analysis.Findings – The results confirm customer orientation has a positive effect on innovation at product, process and organisational level. While it was found size and strategic orientation have an effect on process innovation. Size also has an impact on strategic orientation and strategic orientation on market orientation. Overall, medium‐sized firms are prospectors and small firms, defenders. Prospectors are customer focused while defenders are competitors and environmental/technology‐led. Process innovation is important to defenders. The findings reiterate that customers are th...

Managing Brand Portfolios: How Strategies Have Changed

ABSTRACT The stock market response to corporate scandals and the use of the internet by pressure groups have sensitized boards to the risk of reputation loss. Particularly at risk are companies using corporate brands whose fame and spread makes them particularly vulnerable. This study looks at these and other pressures on branding and investigates if and how leading companies have responded in the deployment of their brand portfolios. A repeat audit of the use of brand portfolios by leading companies using exactly the same method used over a decade ago reveals much change. Brand structures of the 20 companies investigated have indeed changed but not uniformly in extent or direction. Following recent increases in the financial value of sport sponsorship programs, some commentators believe this has been accompanied by the development of sponsorship management practices. Despite this, there are still widespread concerns about some of these practices. This study therefore sets out to examine and comment upon the practice of sponsorship management from an English perspective, specifically in soccer. This is an area of sponsorship that has previously been examined and is a sport in which there have been significant commercial developments in recent years. Using face-to-face interviews and questionnaires, 43 corporations provided information about their sponsorship programs. While there is some evidence of good practice, a continuing failure to effectively manage sport sponsorship programs is clear. The study thus concludes by making recommendations about the future development of sport sponsorship management.

Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes and Adoption of Online and Mobile Banking

This chapter examines the market demand for online and mobile banking in China. The results are presented and discussed, based on a consumer survey conducted in six major Chinese cities. Consumer behaviour, attitude, motivation and cultural influences are studied in relation to Chinese adoption of these services. The chapter is organised as follows: it starts with an overview of new distribution channels in the retail banking industry and their effects on consumer behaviour as well as, the development of online and mobile banking in China. Then, a review of the literature on consumer attitude and adoption of electronic banking with a discussion of the factors predetermining attitudes to online and mobile banking; Followed by an examination of the drivers of online and mobile banking in China as well as, Chinese culture influence on Chinese perception of technology-based financial services. Finally, the survey findings are presented, with a discussion of managerial implications incorporated.

Call for Papers International Small Business Journal Special Issue Entrepreneurial Activity in the Venture Creation and Development Process

An important feature of economic change in the 21 century is the diffusion of entrepreneurship across cultures, economies and continents. The entrepreneurial process is essential to this diffusion. The entrepreneurial process includes the personal, sociological and organisational factors that influence the birth of enterprises and their development. It encompasses a number of key stages that include pre-start, start up, reorientation, establishment of legitimacy, professionalization, growth, IPO, etc. Despite individual elements being addressed, the enterprise development process as a whole tends to remain a black box. Yet, the processes may differ across the various phases of development and there may be major challenges in moving across these phases. Failure to address each phase in the process appropriately may frustrate and constrain subsequent phases of development. It is also becoming apparent that entrepreneurial ventures may grow in different ways. Some firms seek to build revenues, some may first seek to develop their technological capability before introducing products to the market which may only occur after IPO or strategic sale, and others may adopt hybrid strategies. Although considerable research has focused on different measures of entrepreneurial firm growth, performance and impact of different types of support programmes/ initiatives, actual levels of theorizing and exploration of the processes behind these different growth paths is lacking. Entrepreneurial activities may take place in both new firms as well in established firms such as those recently listed on a stock market, private equity backed leveraged buyouts, mature corporations and social enterprises. Finally, institutional contexts may differ in the way they facilitate or constrain entrepreneurial activities. There are also variations across both developed and emerging economies in the nature and extent of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs may need to adopt different processes to deal with these institutional contingencies which as yet are little understood. This special issue centres on the entrepreneurial process, with a particular focus on adding to understanding of the various dimensions of the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial activity in venture creation and development. It will also seek to present new research approaches and methodologies contributing to the understanding of this field. Specific topics may include, but are not limited to the following: