Today it is obvious that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more than just a volunteer activity, it is also related to the operation of the firms and to competitive advantages. Many factors influence CSR and CSR-competitiveness relations; firm size could be the most crucial one. Originally CSR is related to large companies, although smaller firms can be active in CSR mainly in different ways with different background. Based on this idea the paper aims to explore the correlation between small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitive advantages. An interview research was conducted among thirty SMEs in a Hungarian city of Győr in 2021/22 to reveal how owner-managers interpret CSR, competitiveness and their relations. As SMEs cannot provide exact data on this topic the personal perception method was used to explore the CSR-competitiveness relation. A moderate relation was observed between CSR and competitiveness and the research revealed that different methodologies have to be applied for SMEs than large companies which results from the fact that SMEs’ CSR is less formal and lacks exact data.

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation on the performance of SMEs. This research explores the wood waste industry in Ngawi, an area that has never been studied before, thus providing a new perspective and unique local relevance. These findings underscore the critical role of entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation in driving sustainable business growth and improving SME performance. The results show that both entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation having a positive and significant link with SMEs performance. Further, the study reveals that the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation having a positive and significant link with SMEs performance mediated by knowledge-sahring. The study also highlights the importance of larger sample sizes, and external factors to provide more comprehensive insights for practitioners and policymakers.

This study aims to develop and validate a strategic model tailored to the unique challenges and contexts faced by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ecuador, enhancing their operational efficiency and access to financing. Employing a quantitative approach, the research utilized a non-experimental, cross-sectional design to gather data from a sample of 358 companies. The study revealed that MSMEs are significantly hindered by limited access to financing, lack of managerial skills, and technological gaps. Despite these challenges, MSMEs demonstrated considerable adaptability and resilience, underscoring their critical role in the local economy. The strategic model proposed leverages Porter’s Diamond Model to identify and address the specific competitive and operational challenges encountered by these enterprises. Key findings include the necessity for enhanced financial literacy, simplified regulatory frameworks, and the integration of digital technologies to improve competitiveness. The proposed model focuses on strategic training, fostering innovation, and creating a more supportive financing environment. The implications of this study are profound, suggesting that policymakers and practitioners should streamline regulatory processes, enhance financial and technological support frameworks, and provide tailored training programs. These strategies are intended to bolster the sustainability and growth of MSMEs, contributing to broader economic development. This research contributes to the academic literature by providing empirical evidence on the challenges faced by MSMEs in developing economies and proposing a contextually adapted strategic model to mitigate these challenges, thereby enhancing their economic impact and sustainability.

This study aims to examine the impact of open innovation and disruptive innovation on the financial performance of SMEs in the tourism sector in Tanjungpinang City, Indonesia. A quantitative research method was employed, utilizing a sample of 273 SMEs in the tourism sector. Data were collected through surveys and analyzed using regression and ANOVA techniques to understand the relationships between innovation, digitalization, and financial performance. The analysis revealed that both open and disruptive innovation significantly influence the financial performance of SMEs. The study found that innovation and digitalization explain approximately 79.6% of the financial performance variance in the tourism sector. The findings suggest that SMEs that adopt innovative practices and digitalization are more likely to achieve better financial outcomes, such as increased profitability and market share. Open and disruptive innovations are critical drivers of financial success for SMEs in the tourism sector. SMEs should focus on leveraging internal and external knowledge and adapting to technological changes to enhance their competitive advantage. Policymakers should create supportive environments that foster innovation and digitalization among SMEs. This could include providing access to technological resources, training programs, and incentives for innovative practices.

This research explores the critical influence of corporate culture on small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) crisis response abilities under varied cross-cultural environments. Amid the disruptive backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs globally have faced unprecedented challenges. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature by conducting a cross-cultural analysis of SMEs in China, Thailand, and Germany to understand how corporate culture affects crisis management. Utilizing a competitive cultural value model, the research categorizes corporate culture into four dimensions: group culture, development culture, hierarchy culture, and rational culture. These cultural dimensions are investigated in relation to their impact on crisis response abilities. Additionally, national cultural dimensions such as individualism and uncertainty avoidance are examined as moderating variables. The findings reveal that group and development cultures positively influence crisis response abilities, enhancing organizational resilience and adaptability. Conversely, hierarchy culture negatively affects crisis management, hindering flexible response strategies. Rational culture supports structured crisis response through goal-oriented practices. National culture significantly moderates these relationships, with individualism and high uncertainty avoidance impacting the effectiveness of organizational cultural dimensions in crisis scenarios. This study offers theoretical advancements by integrating cultural dimensions with crisis response strategies and provides practical implications for SMEs striving to enhance their resilience and adaptability in a globalized business environment.

This multiple case study qualitative research examined the impact of adoption and diffusion of innovation on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) growth in the hostile business landscape of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This research is intended to investigate research data and consequent findings based on an interview protocol that was purposefully developed from extant literature, complemented by an initial pilot study of two pharmaceutical SMEs. The researcher conducted 20 interviews, guided by the semi-structured interview protocol offered to the respondents beforehand after sorting their informed consent. The 20 participants represented the different hierarchal levels of the 08 case study of pharmaceutical from the two industrial clusters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, located at the Hayatabad Industrial Estate, Peshawar, and the Rashkai Industrial Estate, Nowshera. The analysis of the data presented findings and corroborated the research propositions that those SMEs that are structurally entrepreneurial and adopt innovation amenably, are open to mobility and tourism, yield satisfactory results in terms of their growth as compared to those that are inertial and unentrepreneurial. Similarly, the results offer confirmation that the effectiveness of government agencies that are explicitly formed to address the problems of small businesses is insufficient. They rather create hindrances than assistance due to the excessive delays in approving innovative ideas and conceptions by these related organizations and ministries. Moreover, the proposed framework offers pragmatic recommendations to contextualize entrepreneurial culture and innovative structures in SMEs and their essential factors in critical environmental circumstances.