The Application of Knowledge Management(KM)by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises(SME)in Manufacturing Industry

To accelerate the digital transformation of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises(SMEs),this study delves into the primary challenges encountered in adopting knowledge management(KM)within these organizations and identifies the essential methods for successful implementation.The objective is to provide practical recommendations for the effective adoption of KM.This research suggests that enterprises should promote knowledge management through three key approaches:enhancing employees’cognitive understanding,standardizing knowledge systems,and tailoring business scenarios to meet diverse needs.These findings offer valuable insights into the digital transformation of SMEs in the manufacturing sector,ultimately helping these businesses to remain competitive and innovative in a rapidly changing market.By addressing the specific needs and challenges faced by SMEs,this study aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of how knowledge management can be leveraged to drive digital transformation and improve overall business performance.

Drivers and barriers to engage enterprises in environmental management initiatives in Suzhou Industrial Park,China

Small-and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)play an important role in sustainable development not only for their significant contribution to China’s economy,but also for their large share of total discharged pollutants.Therefore,this research takes the enterprises in Suzhou Industrial Park,China as the case study to investigate the environmental management practices of SMEs,and identify drivers and barriers to engaging businesses in environmental management initiatives.It is shown that,as in other countries,SMEs are less active in adopting environmental management initiatives than larger companies.Legislation remains the key driver to engage SMEs in environmental management initiatives.Based on the analysis,policy recommendations are also presented.

How different types of financial service providers support small- and mediumenterprises under the impact of COVID-19 pandemic: From the perspective of expectancy theory

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)pandemic has significantly impacted several aspects of the society and the economy.A problem that needs prompt attention in this situation is the increasing difficulties faced by small-and mediumsized enterprises(SMEs)in raising capital,which has aroused great concern from multiple stakeholders such as public administrations and regulators.As the major supply of capital,financial service providers(FSPs)play a critical role in financing SMEs.However,how FSPs deal with SME financing during shocks has not yet been fully researched.Accordingly,in this study,a theoretical framework based on expectancy theory is proposed to explore the expected strategic adjustments of FSPs in financing SMEs.Specifically,this study investigates 272 FSPs in China on their expectancy and attitude on financing to SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.Furthermore,this study has divided FSPs into three categories:commercial banks,non-bank financial institutions,and credit-enhanced FSPs.Differences among these categories are compared and analyzed.

Should medium-sized contractors still implement home-made information technologies on construction sites?

Despite the increasing dissemination of the Building Information Modeling(BIM)approach,many firms are still far from BIM and are only starting to adopt information technologies.We conducted an ethnographic action research with an industrial partner that implements information technologies on its construction sites,with a strong preference for home-made applications.Results show that the development of such applications faces difficulties and that multiple iterations and versions are necessary before achieving the expected goals because the required competencies are lacking among internal development teams.Moreover,initial needs evolve considerably throughout the application’s development and evaluation process.However,notwithstanding the difficulties encountered during the different application development phases,the industrial partner believes the decision to be worthwhile because of the desire to have internal control over the project data and the need to consider certain specificities related to business processes.

The Impact of Firm Characteristics, Industry Types, and Financial Ratios on SMEs＇ Utilization of Tax Incentives

This study aims to contribute to the growing literature on issues of tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）. Through comprehensive exploration of data, the study investigates factors leading to successful and unsuccessful utilization of tax incentives among SMEs. Financial ratios were calculated based on the information retrieved from the companies＇ annual financial statement. Apparently, these financial ratios are evidence of how successful the companies are in utilizing the tax incentives. In this study, 129 small companies and 71 medium-sized companies were selected as samples for the period of 2003-2007. The result indicates that financial structure such as retained earnings, tax burden, cash flow, and inventory level determined the ability of companies to utilize tax incentives; hence leading to higher earnings generated from the business operation. The age of the companies affects the utilization of tax incentives and this denotes that older companies are more capable of generating higher earnings. Hence, a thorough analysis of the data allows us not only to determine the success of the company in utilizing tax incentives but also to identify the determinants that impact their performance.

The impact of regulatory and financial discrimination on China's low-carbon development:Considering firm heterogeneity

Firms in China within the same industry but with different ownership and size have different production functions and face different emission regulations and financial conditions,thus can give very different responses to environmental policies.This fact has been largely ignored in most of the low-carbon development related literature.Using an augmented Chinese input–output table in which information about firm size(large-and small and medium-sized firms)and ownership(state-,foreign-,and private-owned firms)are explicitly reported,a dynamic computable general equilibrium model is developed in this study to analyze the impact of alternative low-carbon policy designs with different regulatory coverage and financial equalization on heterogeneous firms.Our simulation results show that,with the fully balanced regulation coverage and equalized financial system for heterogeneous firms,the total green investment accounts for 4%of GDP in 2030 for fulfilling China's commitment to reduce carbon emissions,which is the lowest among the various scenarios;about one-third of this investment is made by small and private firms;at the same time,green investment efficiency will be the highest,about 84%higher than that of the business-as-usual level.Therefore,a market-oriented and new technology-driven arrangement and mechanism for sharing emission reduction burden and allocating green investment across heterogeneous firms,especially to small and medium-sized firms,is crucial for China to achieve a more ambitious emission target in the long run.

The influence of the corporate social responsibility disclosures on consumer brand attitudes under the impact of CO VID-19

This study focuses on the use of we-media by small-and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)to disclose internal corporate social responsibility(ICSR)under the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19).Study 1 interprets the catalyst effect of COVID-19 on the externalization of SMEs'ICSR.The fuzzy grading evaluation method is initially verified.Under the impact of COVID-19,SMEs fulfilling their ICSR can enhance consumer brand attitudes.Study 2 uses a structural equation model and empirical analysis of 946 effective samples and finds that consumers perceive the self-sacrifice of corporations during the coronavirus disease period.SMEs can fulfill their ICSR to enhance the internal explanation mechanism of consumer brand attitudes and the moderating role of enterprise losses.