Sustainable competitive advantage is important when companies keep searching new ways to offer va... more Sustainable competitive advantage is important when companies keep searching new ways to offer value better than their competitors, especially when the competitive environment changes. Knowing which elements of competitive advantage to deploy would help companies set effective competitive strategies from the very beginning. Intellectual capital as intangible resources is important for a sustainable competitive advantage. The main concerns of this paper are to identify the elements of sustainable competitive advantage of small and medium enterprises and how intellectual capital influences sustainable competitive advantage. Focus group approach was used to explore the perception of sustainable competitive advantage and intellectual capital of SMEs. Content analysis was analysed using a mechanical method. The findings show that cost leadership and differentiation strategies are commonly used by SMEs to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, innovation is considered vital to create value for customers. The majority of the participants agreed that human capital is the most important element of intellectual capital regardless of industry. Innovation capital is regarded more important than relational capital and structural capital.
The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general reco... more The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general recognition of the importance of the small firm sector and the value of its contribution to the health of economies across the globe. Second, the provision of external finance for growing small firms in developed and developing countries has improved significantly over the last few years in terms of both the total of funds and the range of financial facilities available. Third, despite this rapid expansion in the range of public and private sector financial initiatives, there is widespread perception that financing difficulties continue to exist, difficulties which are perceived to be major obstacles or constraints on small firm growth. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the practices and problems of financing the growth of small firms in developed and developing countries with particular reference to the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Malaysia. In pursuing the main l obj...
... Mohamed lsmailHj. Ab.Wahab Lau Too Kya Mohamd Dahlan lbrahim Bahnat Mohanad Ogos,19g2 lnstitu... more ... Mohamed lsmailHj. Ab.Wahab Lau Too Kya Mohamd Dahlan lbrahim Bahnat Mohanad Ogos,19g2 lnstitut Teknologi MAM Shah Alam IV ... 4.4 Langkah Meningkatkan Motivasi pekerja 4.5 Masalah Kualiti-Syarikat Perkilangan 4.6 Penggunaan Mesin Pada Tahap Maksimum ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating impact of human capital on the relatio... more The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating impact of human capital on the relationship between social network and business performance in the Malaysian manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The research data were collected through mail and self-administered questionnaire sent to owner-manager around Malaysia. A stratified random sampling was used which elicited 226 useable responses to be used for data analysis. The hierarchical moderated regression was used to analyse the moderator effect. Results have shown that (1) age of entrepreneur as a moderator on the relationship between network centrality and non-financial business performance but not to financial business performance, (2) gender as a moderator on the relationship between network size and financial business performance but not to non-financial business performance (3) no moderating effect of age of entrepreneur on the relationship between network size and financial and non-financial business pe...
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor o... more A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University. The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general recognition of the importance of the small firm sector and the value of its contribution to the health of economies across the globe. Second, the provision of external finance for growing small firms in developed and developing countries has improved significantly over the last few years in terms of both the total of funds and the range of financial facilities available. Third, despite this rapid expansion in the range of public and private sector financial initiatives, there is widespread perception that financing difficulties continue to exist, difficulties which are perceived to be major obstacles or constraints on small firm growth. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the practices and problems of financing the growth of small f...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social network on business performance ... more The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social network on business performance in the Malaysian established manufacturing SMEs. The research data were collected through mail questionnaire sent to owner-manager in manufacturing industry around Malaysia. A stratified random sampling was used which elicited 226 useable responses to be used for data analysis. The outcomes of hierarchical multiple regression revealed two important findings: firstly, network centrality has positively and significantly effect business performance. Secondly, family members networking and network density have positively but not significantly effect business performance. In addition, the discussions on results, the contribution to the body of knowledge as well as limitations of this study are discussed.
The importance of small firms for economic development has been recognised across the globe. Most... more The importance of small firms for economic development has been recognised across the globe. Most governments are aware that smaller enterprises face problems not experienced by their larger counterparts, and have taken steps to provide financial assistance. This article compares the experiences of small firms in the United Kingdom and Malaysia, and assesses whether public and private sector financial initiatives in the two countries have reduced the existence of the “finance gap” thought to prevail in both countries. The research programme conducted for this article suggests that, despite differences in the financial infrastructures, the cultural backgrounds and stages of economic development, small firms in the UK and Malaysia seem to adopt the same financing practices and face the same difficulties in raising funds. The reasons for this phenomenon are explored and the implications for policy-makers are discussed.
Sustainable competitive advantage is important when companies keep searching new ways to offer va... more Sustainable competitive advantage is important when companies keep searching new ways to offer value better than their competitors, especially when the competitive environment changes. Knowing which elements of competitive advantage to deploy would help companies set effective competitive strategies from the very beginning. Intellectual capital as intangible resources is important for a sustainable competitive advantage. The main concerns of this paper are to identify the elements of sustainable competitive advantage of small and medium enterprises and how intellectual capital influences sustainable competitive advantage. Focus group approach was used to explore the perception of sustainable competitive advantage and intellectual capital of SMEs. Content analysis was analysed using a mechanical method. The findings show that cost leadership and differentiation strategies are commonly used by SMEs to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, innovation is considered vital to create value for customers. The majority of the participants agreed that human capital is the most important element of intellectual capital regardless of industry. Innovation capital is regarded more important than relational capital and structural capital.
The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general reco... more The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general recognition of the importance of the small firm sector and the value of its contribution to the health of economies across the globe. Second, the provision of external finance for growing small firms in developed and developing countries has improved significantly over the last few years in terms of both the total of funds and the range of financial facilities available. Third, despite this rapid expansion in the range of public and private sector financial initiatives, there is widespread perception that financing difficulties continue to exist, difficulties which are perceived to be major obstacles or constraints on small firm growth. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the practices and problems of financing the growth of small firms in developed and developing countries with particular reference to the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Malaysia. In pursuing the main l obj...
... Mohamed lsmailHj. Ab.Wahab Lau Too Kya Mohamd Dahlan lbrahim Bahnat Mohanad Ogos,19g2 lnstitu... more ... Mohamed lsmailHj. Ab.Wahab Lau Too Kya Mohamd Dahlan lbrahim Bahnat Mohanad Ogos,19g2 lnstitut Teknologi MAM Shah Alam IV ... 4.4 Langkah Meningkatkan Motivasi pekerja 4.5 Masalah Kualiti-Syarikat Perkilangan 4.6 Penggunaan Mesin Pada Tahap Maksimum ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating impact of human capital on the relatio... more The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating impact of human capital on the relationship between social network and business performance in the Malaysian manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The research data were collected through mail and self-administered questionnaire sent to owner-manager around Malaysia. A stratified random sampling was used which elicited 226 useable responses to be used for data analysis. The hierarchical moderated regression was used to analyse the moderator effect. Results have shown that (1) age of entrepreneur as a moderator on the relationship between network centrality and non-financial business performance but not to financial business performance, (2) gender as a moderator on the relationship between network size and financial business performance but not to non-financial business performance (3) no moderating effect of age of entrepreneur on the relationship between network size and financial and non-financial business pe...
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor o... more A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University. The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general recognition of the importance of the small firm sector and the value of its contribution to the health of economies across the globe. Second, the provision of external finance for growing small firms in developed and developing countries has improved significantly over the last few years in terms of both the total of funds and the range of financial facilities available. Third, despite this rapid expansion in the range of public and private sector financial initiatives, there is widespread perception that financing difficulties continue to exist, difficulties which are perceived to be major obstacles or constraints on small firm growth. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the practices and problems of financing the growth of small f...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social network on business performance ... more The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social network on business performance in the Malaysian established manufacturing SMEs. The research data were collected through mail questionnaire sent to owner-manager in manufacturing industry around Malaysia. A stratified random sampling was used which elicited 226 useable responses to be used for data analysis. The outcomes of hierarchical multiple regression revealed two important findings: firstly, network centrality has positively and significantly effect business performance. Secondly, family members networking and network density have positively but not significantly effect business performance. In addition, the discussions on results, the contribution to the body of knowledge as well as limitations of this study are discussed.
The importance of small firms for economic development has been recognised across the globe. Most... more The importance of small firms for economic development has been recognised across the globe. Most governments are aware that smaller enterprises face problems not experienced by their larger counterparts, and have taken steps to provide financial assistance. This article compares the experiences of small firms in the United Kingdom and Malaysia, and assesses whether public and private sector financial initiatives in the two countries have reduced the existence of the “finance gap” thought to prevail in both countries. The research programme conducted for this article suggests that, despite differences in the financial infrastructures, the cultural backgrounds and stages of economic development, small firms in the UK and Malaysia seem to adopt the same financing practices and face the same difficulties in raising funds. The reasons for this phenomenon are explored and the implications for policy-makers are discussed.
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