Small-Medium Enterprises
Drivers and Dynamic Processes for SMEs Going Global
Many, if not most, small-medium enterprises (SMEs) are subject to the impacts of and when they have to venture into the world-trade system, this adds another dimension of challenge to their already difficult environments. A recent project undertaken by Polish, Italian, Norwegian and UK collaborators examined eight case studies of disparate smaller companies with international […]
Unleashing growth potential in ‘stunted’ SMEs: insights from simulator experiments
The literature recognises the phenomenon of ‘dwarf’ or ‘stunted’ small and micro firms (in Italian nanismo aziendale) and that they might represent potential lost opportunities for owners and the local economy. This paper describes the development of a simple ‘insight’ model to simulate the behaviour of such firms. The model replicates the basic no-growth, cyclical […]
Investigating Sustainable Strategies For Turning Round ‘Stunted Growth’ Businesses
A distinctive group of small companies, and especially micro-firms, comprises those that have survived through many years, maybe many generations, providing their owners with acceptable returns and lifestyles, but have remained very small despite having significant growth potential – the ‘dwarf’ or ‘stunted’ small firm (in Italian nanismo aziendale). The ability of such firms to […]
Stunted Growth’ in Small Firms: How to Turn Them Round and Unleash Their Potential
The phenomenon of ‘dwarf’ or ‘stunted’ small and micro firms (in Italian nanismo aziendale) is recognised in the small business literature. These are firms that have survived through many years, maybe many generations, providing their owners with acceptable returns and lifestyles, but have remained very small. They might therefore represent potential lost opportunities for owners […]
Fostering Entrepreneurs’ Capabilities to Outline Sustainable Strategies in ‘Stunted’ SMEs
Fostering Entrepreneurs’ Capabilities to Outline Sustainable Strategies in ‘Stunted’ SMEs through Modelling and Simulation: a Dynamic Resource-Based View The literature recognises the phenomenon of ‘dwarf’ or ‘stunted’ small and micro firms (in Italian nanismo aziendale) and that they might represent potential lost opportunities for owners and the local economy. Based on a field survey conducted […]
Structural growth disengagement and value creation in small and micro-firms
This paper focuses growth disengagement, in the perspective of those firms who have been keeping their structures, processes and relational systems unchanged for a very long time.The implicit hypothesis according to which such businesses are affected by a structural disease, are not able to create any significant value, and characterised by similar features, is critically […]
Pathology and physiology of business ‘dwarfism’ as a structural growth disengagement condition
This paper focuses the subject of growth disengagement, in the perspective of those firms who have been keeping their structures, processes and relational systems unchanged for a very long time, for at least three generations. In Italy such phenomenon is commonly referred as nanismo aziendale, i.e. “business dwarfism”. The implicit hypothesis commonly adopted by socio-economic […]
Opportunities and pitfalls related to e-commerce strategies in small–medium firms: a system dynamics approach
E-commerce is often perceived as a powerful lever to foster growth of SMEs. However, both the literature and empirical evidence have shown the perils hidden in superficial decision making by SME entrepreneurs. A system dynamics (SD) approach is used in this article to demonstrate how managing processes of accumulation and depletion of strategic assets, detecting […]
Special Issue Editorial
The importance of small–medium enterprises (SMEs) in today’s economy has been widely recognized, both in regard to the role and number of such firms and to their contribution to gross national product, employment, and local economic well-being. However the perception appears to be that system dynamics (SD), at least in terms of published works, is […]
Discerning the inertial effects of current decisions on long-term performance in family firms: the rise and fall of Casa Florio
Investigating the rise and fall of a business is commonly viewed as a matter of searching single causes to be linked with corresponding effects. Such an atomistic and static picture of the driving forces of business success and decline often produces a superficial understanding of observed phenomena. This might be the case of Casa Florio, […]
