• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.31-52
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• 2020

This study was started to verify the preliminary(Ex-ante) discrimination power of the firm's high-activity using the 'Forward-looking' oriented technology appraisal model used in technology financing. The analytical firms are classified into the industry (manufacturing / non-manufacturing) and the age of company (initial / non-initial). High-activity SMEs are defined as those that achieve at least twice the average asset turnover ratio of the cluster. As a result of the discriminant model by applying C5.0 method, which is one of decision tree models, classification accuracy is more than 99% in all industries and the age of company, and it is confirmed that the discriminant power of the model is stable. As a result, the management expertise, capital involvement and funding capacity items were identified as a critical variable for the high-activity SMEs. In addition, the technology management capability and technology life cycle were also confirmed to be the items to determine high-activity SMEs in the manufacturing industry. Through this, it was possible to confirm some possibility of prior discrimination and policy utilization of high-activity SMEs by using technology appraisal items.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.176-185
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• 2018

With the recent development of manufacturing technology and the diversification of consumer needs, not only the process and quality control of production have become more complicated but also the kinds of information that manufacturing facilities provide the user about process have been diversified. Therefore the importance of big data analysis also has been raised. However, most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lack the systematic infrastructure of big data management and analysis. In particular, due to the nature of domestic manufacturing companies that rely on foreign manufacturers for most of their manufacturing facilities, the need for their own data analysis and manufacturing support applications is increasing and research has been conducted in Korea. This study proposes integrated analysis platform for process and quality analysis, considering manufacturing big data database (DB) and data characteristics. The platform is implemented in two versions, Web and C/S, to enhance accessibility which perform template based quality analysis and real-time monitoring. The user can upload data from their local PC or DB and run analysis by combining single analysis module in template in a way they want since the platform is not optimized for a particular manufacturing process. Also Java and R are used as the development language for ease of system supplementation. It is expected that the platform will be available at a low price and evolve the ability of quality analysis in SMEs.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.341-366
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• 2013

The term, Mittelstand, has no exact english translation for the definition, but, today, Mittelstand refers to small and medium-sized enterprises(SME), mostly family-owned firms in Germany. The Mittelstand is called the backbone of the German economy because it drove the economic miracle after World War II. During the global recession and the euro zone's debt crisis in recent years, in which european businesses have faced the near-collapse of competitiveness particularly in manufacturing, the German exports are booming and exceeded exports of China in 2012. Most importantly, the Germany economic performance has been widely attributed to the strength of the Mittelstand. Many of countries, even some leading public companies are seeking to emulate the success of the Mittelstand. Investors evaluate that many of Germany's investable "hidden champions" are Mittelstand companies. The purpose of this study is to present some of answers to the following questions: Firstly, what makes the German Mittelstand so successful? Secondly, what does the success of the German Mittelstand mean for the Korean SMEs in global competitiveness? Thirdly, what Korean government has to do improve the global competitiveness of the Korean SMEs? Some discussions in this study mention the managerial implications for Korean exporting SMEs particularly in manufacturing. Several factors that account for the success of the German Mittelstand are technological excellence and the tradition of family-owned management, concentration on niche market and globalization, and institutional supports. There are some of important lessons to be learned from the German Mittelstand. If the purposes of Korean SMEs want to remain in the sustainable competitive advantage and withstand unforeseen economic turbulences in the future, they must be able to meet the followings: 1) Technology that meets the global standard or exceeding it 2) Competitiveness in price in the global market 3) Active involvement in the globalization process, utilizing various entry modes Innovative products at globally competitive price are a crucial point for Korean exporting SMEs to achieve their competitive edge over others in the target markets abroad. It is time for Korean SMEs to cultivate a core competence in manufacturing in order to position Korea as a global manufacturing hub with SMEs leading.

• IE interfaces
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2012

Recently, the collaboration among small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) has been recognized as an effective competitive tool. As several systems have been developed to boost the collaboration, it is necessary to analyze the effectiveness of the systems in terms of their contribution to enhance operational performance of SMEs through objective and quantitative validation. In particular, the analysis for SMEs rather than large-scaled enterprises has not received much attention due to lack of relevant information and difficulty of collecting data. This paper presents a framework for analyzing the effectiveness of the collaboration support system, called i-manufacturing hub, which has been implemented by Korean government. Identification of influential factors to the effectiveness of collaboration hub, and constructing necessary hypotheses are proposed. To overcome the difficulty in data collection only by means of surveys through subjective questionnaires, we exploit system log data that are generated while SMEs use the system. As an initial phase to analyze the effectiveness through hypothesis validation, we discuss several interesting observations and challenges in the direction of enhancing collaboration among SMEs for better operational performance improvement and more participation in the collaboration hub.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.545-571
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• 2016

The development of ICT brings a big change in manufacturing industries, and new information technology such as IoT, AR, and big data was applied on manufacturing process. As a result, the concept of smart factory has been introduced as a new manufacturing paradigm. In fact advanced countries like USA, Germany, and Japan have actively introduced smart factory in their manufacturing industries such as electronic, automobile, machinery, to improve production efficiency and quality. The manufacturing environment has been changed into flexible system, so that smart factory will be leading future manufacturing industries. Thes changes have more severe influence on Korean manufacturing industries. Mny industrial companies, have a strong interest in smart factory and they, particularly big enterprises, have been adopting smart factory to increase their manufacturing efficiencies. However, Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have many financial and technological difficulties so that the diffusion of smart factory in Korean SMEs has not been satisfiable up to present. However, smart factory is very important for enhancing their competitiveness in global market. Therefore, this study aims at identifying the standardization strategy of smart factory in so-called Korean 'roots industry' by presuming that the standardization will activate the diffusion of smart factory among Korean SMEs. For this purpose, first, this study examines the competitiveness of SMEs, especially in 'roots industry' and identifies the necessity of diffusion of smart factory among those SMEs. Second, based on the active review on the existing literature, this study identifies four factor groups that would influence the adoption or diffusion of standardized smart factory. They are technological, organizational, industrial and policy factors. Third, using those four factors, this study made two comprehensive case analyses on the adoption and diffusion of smart factory. These two companies belong to molding sector which is one of the important six sectors in 'root industry'. Finally, based on the theoretical and empirical analyse, this study suggests four strategies for activating the standardization of smart factory; international standardization, government-leading standardization, firm-leading standardization, and non-standardization.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.527-536
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• 2020

International business research presents a broad consensus on the importance of dynamic capabilities in the internationalization of SMEs. However, there is a lack of research on assessing the impact of dynamic capabilities and the level of SMEs' internationalization operating in a turbulent and dynamic business environment. This study examines the impact of environmental dynamism and three sets of dynamic capabilities, namely, sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring capabilities on internationalized SMEs' geographic scope. In addition, this research examines the association between internationalized SMEs' characteristics: SME's age, size, and SME owner/manager's international experience and SMEs' geographic scope. This study used a quantitative research and employed survey questionnaires to collect data from 305 internationalized Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. Anova tests and Chi Square tests were employed to analyze data collected from respondents using SPSS. Research findings revealed that environmental dynamism and dynamic capabilities have a significant impact on internationalized SMEs' geographic scope, however, none of the internationalized SMEs' characteristics had a significant relationship with their geographic scope. The result of this research suggest internationalized SMEs owner/managers need to possess sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities, and monitor business environmental dynamism to increase their geographic scope. This paper ends with drawing a set of concluding remarks and recommendations.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.411-422
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• 2021

Technological adaption and innovative activities foster small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growth, especially women-owned SMEs in Pakistan, However, the impact of technological adaption and innovative activities on SMEs growth in the context of Pakistan has been examined by very researchers. This study aims to identify the effect of technology and open innovation policies on the growth of women-owned SMEs and the present trends and management challenges for successful full implementation of open innovation. The study considered a sample of 693 women enterprises located in different cities in Pakistan. Open innovation is measured through eight innovative practices, reflecting the exploration and exploitation of technology in SMEs. Study findings revealed that women enterprises were involved in several open innovation policies during the last five years. Moreover, the study indicated no significant differences between manufacturing and service SMEs regarding open innovation practices; however, women enterprises are more impressively engaged in open innovation practices. Findings also reveal that women-owned SMEs follow open innovation, mainly for market-related intentions, to compete with competitors and meet customers' demands. Thus, it is suggested that government policy relating to thriving SMEs owned by women should be innovation-oriented. The study contributes to the theoretical and practical implications. Further, the study is helpful for SMEs, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers.

• Fourth Industrial Review
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.33-43
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• 2022

Purpose - With the rapid development of information technology, the digital economy has become an important grip of the new development pattern, and the digital transformation of enterprises is a major trend. As SMEs are the mainstay of the economy and employment, it is important to study the digital transformation of SMEs to promote the development of the digital economy. Research design, data, and methodology - Based on a resource-based view, this report analyses the current situation and issues of digital transformation of SMEs from the perspective of digital orientation as well as the breadth and depth of technological capabilities of enterprises, using data from a survey of 200 manufacturing enterprises in China. Result - The results show that SMEs generally have a digital transformation mindset, but a weak digital foundation. In order to execute a digital strategy, companies need digital transformation capabilities. These behavioral capabilities are guided by the strategic direction of the business, and companies with strong capabilities are always trying to tap into the full digital potential. Conclusion - In order to effectively promote the digital transformation of SMEs, we suggest that SMEs pay attention to digital capability building, make good use of digital platforms and network resources, and lay a solid foundation for digital transformation; meanwhile, we suggest that government departments play a guiding and supporting role to build a cross-industry and cross-sector digital synergy system to help promote the development of SMEs' digital transformation. This paper presents some suggestions from both the internal and external environment of the enterprise, with the expectation of contributing to the digital transformation practices of SMEs.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.265-278
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• 2013

This study is about how does collaboration activities of large company's Supplier Relationship(SR) effect on manufacturing capability and performance of a SMEs. In this research, there are many ways to analyze data. The methods used in the study are hypothesis testing and empirical testing based on SPSS 21.0 and AMOS21.0, factorial analysis for validity and reliability of questionnaire item, construct validity and variance extracted as a research model, and subcontract-tiers as a moderating variable. As a result, the effect of the collaboration activities of large business did not have the significant effect on supplier's manufacturing capability. It showed different result by subcontract-tiers In first-tier cooperative, collaboration activities of large business had significant effect on manufacturing capability, but it did not have the significant effect on performance. In second/third-tier cooperative, manufacturing capability and performance are significantly affected by manufacturing practices. In conclusion, this study will suggest the direction how to achieve an accompanied growth between large enterprises and SMEs.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.659-670
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• 2018

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) confronts industrial manufactures with economic, ecological, as well as social benefits and challenges, referring to the Triple Bottom Line of sustainability. So far, research has mainly investigated its dimensions in isolation or economic aspects have not been compared with ecological and social perspectives. Further, research misses studies that are devoted to the special characteristics and requirements of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to contribute to close this research gap, providing a research context that encompasses all three dimensions of sustainability. The results are based on data obtained from 329 SMEs, 222 in Germany and 107 in China, therefore allowing for a comparison of the concepts "Industrie 4.0" and "Made in China 2025" in the context of SMEs. In general, German SMEs expect a lower impact through "Industrie 4.0", perceiving the concept as more beneficial for larger enterprises. We further find that Chinese SMEs foremost see social benefits. Challenges whilst introducing "Industrie 4.0"by German SMEs as well as several frame conditions are perceived more relevant than for "Made in China 2025", as seen by Chinese SMEs. The paper closes with implications for research and practice based on these findings.