Contract Mechanism of Water Environment Regulation for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Based on Optimal Control Theory

The small and scattered enterprise pattern in the county economy has formed numerous sporadic pollution sources, hindering the centralized treatment of the water environment, increasing the cost and difficulty of treatment. How enterprises can make reasonable decisions on their water environment behavior based on the external environment and their own factors is of great significance for scientifically and effectively designing water environment regulation mechanisms. Based on optimal control theory, this study investigates the design of contractual mechanisms for water environmental regulation for small and medium-sized enterprises. The enterprise is regarded as an independent economic entity that can adopt optimal control strategies to maximize its own interests. Based on the participation of multiple subjects including the government, enterprises, and the public, an optimal control strategy model for enterprises under contractual water environmental regulation is constructed using optimal control theory, and a method for calculating the amount of unit pollutant penalties is derived. The water pollutant treatment cost data of a paper company is selected to conduct empirical numerical analysis on the model. The results show that the increase in the probability of government regulation and public participation, as well as the decrease in local government protection for enterprises, can achieve the same regulatory effect while reducing the number of administrative penalties per unit. Finally, the implementation process of contractual water environmental regulation for small and medium-sized enterprises is designed.

Assessing Factors Influencing Solar Energy Adoption among Small and Medium Enterprises in Mzuzu City, Malawi

One of the many renewable energy sources that offer advantages is solar energy, which also lowers energy prices and promotes environmental sustainability and energy security. Despite these advantages, various barriers, such as installation costs, have prevented small and medium-sized enterprises from investigating this invention. Malawi has a significant energy shortfall such that most businesses have been hindered from their profit maximization goals. The “Photovoltaic systems” (PV) that transform sunlight into electricity are the subject of this study. This type of solar energy system is situated on the building’s roof and generally produces electricity for businesses and even homes. Solar energy offers a great impact to small and medium enterprises in Mzuzu city with a cost-effective and dependable alternative to energy that has the potential to change the game. Therefore the aim of the study was to identify factors that encourage the adoption of solar energy among small medium enterprises in the city of Mzuzu city. And to identify some of barriers faced when adopting solar energy among small and medium enterprises in the city of Mzuzu. The research approach employed in the study was a survey. A survey is a type of research methodology in which primary data is gathered from a sample using a questionnaire. When information is to be gathered from a wider sample, a survey is employed. A bigger sample size was needed in this study in order to facilitate hypothesis testing. It is advised to apply a logical approach while using the survey. The survey utilized a five-point Likert scale. The study used convenience sampling to select study participants. The sample size in this study was determined using Cochran’s sample size formula. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel were used for statistical analysis. About 97.2% of the participants were aware of solar as a source of energy compared to 2.8 % who were unaware. The majority of participants use solar energy for lighting only, seconded by those who use electricity. The least number of participants use solar energy for cooling only. The majority of participants 21.5% indicated partnership and collaboration as the most motivating factor for the adoption of solar energy. This was followed by technical expertise 19.1 % the least number of participants 10.8% expressed that policy and regulatory frameworks were associated with the adoption of solar energy. This study found that there are no statistically significant factors influencing barriers to the adoption of solar energy. The price of solar energy adoption was identified as the least factor associated with the acceptance or rejection of solar energy. Nonetheless, the reasons given by the homes that had embraced solar technology aligned with the findings of other studies. This survey also found that although the public was aware of solar energy, and technology, there were still a number of factors that mattered, especially for non-adopters.

A Model of Cloud-Based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for Small and Medium Enterprise

Cloud Computing is an uprising technology in the rapid growing IT world. The adaptation of cloud computing is increasing in very large scale business organizations to small institutions rapidly due to many advanced features of cloud computing, such as SaaS, PaaS and IaaS service models. So, nowadays, many organizations are trying to implement Cloud Computing based ERP system to enjoy the benefits of cloud computing. To implement any ERP system, an organization usually faces many challenges. As a result, this research has introduced how easily this cloud system can be implemented in an organization. By using this ERP system, an organization can be benefited in many ways;especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can enjoy the highest possible benefits from this system.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Digital Management Facing Difficulties and Solutions

The advent of the digital era has provided strong technical support for the high-quality development of the social economy.The integration of the social economy with Internet technology has given rise to new industries.However,the traditional development model of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)is increasingly unable to meet the demands of economic growth,and digital management has gradually become a key approach for these enterprises to achieve their development goals.Currently,SMEs face challenges such as talent shortages,insufficient funds,and a lack of awareness regarding transformation.This paper will analyze the difficulties SMEs encounter in implementing digital management and explore potential development paths for their digital transformation.

The Importance of Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Efficient Global Market Environment

Small and medium enterprises(SMEs)play an important role in the world economy.Modern trends in the development of small and medium enterprises imply a constant increase in their role in the total income of an economy.For such an approach,it is important to achieve quality organizational and managerial concepts of planning strategy development.In many countries,small businesses dominate in the production of a number of smaller products,higher consumption,and high quality of these products.The concept of a small economy consists of a group of companies that stand out in terms of their characteristics in relation to large companies.In relation to large companies as business systems,SMEs differ based on the concept of their own organization’s business,the volume of business,and the availability of resources.Research data show that the main obstacle to efficient continuous business of SMEs in the world is the procurement and maintenance of business resources.Ensuring continuity in production is often a problem of lack of resources,which primarily characterizes them in relation to large companies.Small business and entrepreneurship are the main backbone of today’s economic development,viewed globally.The purpose of the development of small and medium enterprises in the world is to enable the development of a successful and flexible entrepreneurial climate as an important organizational determinant,which is a prerequisite for progress in the modern world economy.The feature of SME development is the innovation of employees that needs to be constantly developed.In that way,conditions are provided for technological development,formation of flexible organizations,and new employment.In practice,small and medium enterprises are the engine of economic development.It is a sector that promotes private property and entrepreneurial skills.According to experts on economic issues,SMEs are today and in the future,not only in Serbia,the Region,but also in the world,a synonym for the private sector-for entrepreneurship.Comparative analysis shows the advantage of SMEs,especially in flexible business,where they can quickly adapt to change and can fully meet market demands.

Analysis on the Dynamic Correlation Between the Growth Enterprise Market and Small and Medium Ente Based on Copula Theory rise Board Market

Investigation of the dynamic correlation between financial markets has important and realistic meaning for the market portfolio, but the dynamic correlation between financial markets often shows ＂nonlinear and asymmetrical ＂features, The Copula model can effectively solve these problems. This paper aims to study the dynamic correlation between the second board market and SME board market by building Copula models to the return series of the two boards＇ indexes and calculating the dynamic correlation coefficient between the two markets. The study results show as the following：（1） there is positive correlation between the second board market and SME board market and the correlation is very strong; （2） time-varying Copula model is better than constant correlation Copula model in describing the correlations among financial markets as it captures market return＇ s feature of time-varying; （3） The upper ant lower tail dependence coefficient between GEM and SME board market shows less linkage risk has been found; The upper tail dependence coefficient is bigger than the lower tail dependence coefficient, means that the linkage risk is asymmetric, that is to say the tail dependence coefficient is much stronger in the bear market; The upper tail dependence coefficient and lower tail dependence coefficients are both in the stable interval, the overall volatility is small.

Investigation and Analysis of the Current Situation of New Media Marketing in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

With China’s entry into WTO, China’s small and medium-sized enterprises are facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. The integration of the world economy has brought opportunities for the internationalization and industrialization of small and medium-sized enterprises. However, due to the lack of systematic marketing strategies, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises is beset with difficulties. From the perspective of marketing strategy, this paper analyzes the marketing strategy problems faced by small and medium-sized enterprises. From four aspects: marketing concept, marketing team, marketing strategy and marketing model 4P, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for improving the marketing benefits of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mechanism of Impact of Entrepreneurial Spirit on the Development of Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in China

As a necessary factor for a successful business,entrepreneurial spirit is an important means for enterprises to survive in the unstable environment of fierce competition. Under the circumstance of mass entrepreneurship and innovation,a large number of small and medium-sized private enterprises have emerged in all walks of life in China. This paper examines the differences in the definition of entrepreneurial spirit by different scholars,the influence of Chinese entrepreneurship on the development of small and medium-sized private enterprises,the origin of the spirit of private entrepreneurs with Chinese characteristics,and the disadvantages of the spirit of small and medium-sized private entrepreneurs in China. It is necessary to further improve entrepreneurial spirit to contribute to the development of small and medium-sized private enterprises and help China to build the national economic system.

Commercial Banks Responses toward Small and Medium Enterprises Survival in the Context of the COVID-19 in Africa

The African government has implemented measures to sustain an investable economic downturn as it navigates the fiscal effect of the viral spread of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Consequently,commercial banks in Africa have come hand in hand toward support of SMEs activities by increasing their borrowing power and reducing interest rates.Despite all these measures the general performance of small and medium enterprises(SMEs)across Africa as pertains to revenues and profits has gone down.This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the measures undertaken by commercial banks to ensure proper running and continuity of activities in the SMEs sector in Africa.The research is founded on the theories of innovation diffusion and resource-based theory.This study will use a mixed research design,which will include descriptive and explanatory research.The proposed target population will be Africa’s thriving commercial banks.The primary and secondary data will be used from commercial bank reports and the central bureau of statistics reports across Africa.The data will be analyzed using a multiple linear regression model.The finding indicated that commercial banks in Africa have brought in solutions and measures to adapt to the crisis being implicated on the SMEs by the COVID-19 pandemic.Based on the findings of the desktop reviews,the study concludes that commercial banks have a significant influence on SMEs during this period of COVID-19,and with the assistance of the government,they have implemented more policies to support the activities of SMEs.

The role of e-readiness assessment criteria in accepting e-commerce for small and medium size enterprisesmDevelopment of technology acceptance model

This paper develops Davis technology acceptance model by adding two criteria of e-readiness assessment. For small and medium size enterprises, the paper evaluates the credit of developed model in studying the efficient factors in internet technology acceptance, which is one of the most applicable communication tools in e-commerce. The added factors, taken from models and means of e-readiness assessment, are ＂existing information technology infrastructures＂ as well as ＂organization＇s training＂. The authors study 45 small and medium size enterprises in the city of Tehran, which are active in information technology products and services. Using Lisrel structural equation modelling, it is shown that there is a meaningful relationship between the added factors and the variables indicating internet network usage. Therefore, the better factors of e-readiness assessment lead to the higher acceptance level of electronic communication tools in e-commerce.

A Model to Analyze Small and Medium Enterprises＇ Training Needs Related to the Internationalization

Formal training can play a particularly important role in supporting the internationalization of small and medium enterprises （SMEs）. However, the demand for education services by the latter still appears limited. This is due to known structural and cultural limits that are found widely in this type of business and to the fact that the provision of training---especially that which is funded^oes not seem to address adequately SMEs＇ needs; in many cases, such training is not stimulating, because it is perceived as too general. In fact, SMEs do not constitute a single homogeneous group and therefore assistance needs vary among the different types of firms. So, especially in relation to internationalization, it is clear that there are important differences to consider due to the variety of approaches and ways of developing this process. In order to optimize the resources to invest in the promotion of training, there is a need to find a proper balance between providing ＂viable solutions for all businesses＂ and offering ＂targeted responses and tailored services＂. In such a context, the main objective of this paper is to identify and systematize the variables that most influence the SMEs＇ training needs related to internationalization by taking into account the differences among them. To this end, an empirical analysis was developed involving a significant number of Italian SMEs by using a combination of qualitative research methods. The results show the critical issues faced by the investigated firms during their internationalization process and highlight some important variables that affect their training needs： export involvement, characteristics of the product/market, characteristics of the company, exporting strategy, and human resources. Based on these variables, the writers identified clusters of firms characterized by similar needs and problems to be faced.

The Requirements for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Croatia and the European Union

Small and medium enterprises are the main institutional medium of the European economy. This is also recognized by the government of the Republic of Croatia, which emphasizes their importance and values their dynamism and capability for revitalizing the Croatian economy, and supports this by ways of subsidies. But, for all the effort, the economic position of small and medium enterprises in the terms of globalization is becoming more complex and uncertain, limited by time and more demanding. This does not correspond with the thesis which states that in the environment and conditions of the modem market economy, which is dynamised by progress in science, technology, information and communication, entrepreneurship has manifested a progressive dimension with the character and needs of all economic activity, as well as a tendency to achieve set objectives and generate change. Recently, after the repeated recession, which was encumbered by the effects of the one before, the conditions of doing business and survival for small and medium enterprises have changed significantly in a negative sense. So, there is a justified cause for questioning earlier stances about small and medium enterprises and their capability to be a motor of development of the Croatian economy, as well as to reevaluate their influence in the context of GDP growth, to focus on the importance and prevalence of certain sectors of the economy, to critically evaluate economic measures which do not lead to a reduction in unemployment and to define the requirements for future development of the small and medium enterprises, which implicates the increased economic efficiency, quality and living standards.

Analysis of Core Competency Required for the Managerial Work Force of Small and Medium Enterprises in Taiwan

This study aims to probe into the core competencies, as should be possessed by the managerial work forces of firms, from the perspective of employers’ in small and medium enterprises. The findings can serve as references for planning core courses of employee training and labor employment. Based on the research purposes, this study adopted revised DACUM, conducted literature review, and applied a questionnaire survey. The subjects were the members of SMEs Honor Instructor Association of Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, and the Society of Management Science. Random sampling was used, with the number of employees as the units. The valid return rate was 24.2%. After testing goodness of fit of K-S single samples, this study found that a corporate management work force should have 11 items of core competencies, and 35 items of secondary competency.

The Challenge of Implementing Information Security Standards in Small and Medium e-Business Enterprises

The dynamic nature of online systems requires companies to be proactive with thwarting information security threats, and to follow a systematic way for managing and evaluating the security of their online services. The existence of security standards is an important factor that helps organisations to evaluate and manage security by providing guidelines and best practices that enable them to follow a standard and systematic way to protect their e-Business activities. However, the suitability of available information security standards for Small and Medium e-Business Enterprises (e-SME) is worth further investigation. In this paper three major security standards including Common Criteria, System Security Engineering-Capability and Maturity Model and ISO/IEC 27001 were analysed. Accordingly, several challenges associated with these standards that may render them difficult to be implemented in e-SME have been identified.

Competition in Marketing： Survival Yardstick for Small and Medium Enterprises （SMEs） in Nigeria

The topic investigated competition in marketing as a survival yardstick for small and medium enterprises （SMEs） in Nigeria. The objectives addressed by this study were： （1） identifying different types and intensity of competition that SMEs are exposed to along the life-cycle portfolio in Nigeria; （2） quantifying the strength of SMEs vis-a-vis some foreign enterprises in terms of market competition; and （3） proffering solutions on how best they could match competitively these foreign enterprises. Relevant models and theories were employed in literature to evolve detailed analysis of issues relating to the variables used in terms of competition in marketing and survival of juice-producing SMEs. Two hypotheses were investigated through the survey of 20 prominent Ikeja based SMEs using Cluster sampling, 5-points Likert summated rating scale was adopted, while Yard＇s formula with 95% confidence level and 5% error tolerance was used. Alternative form validity of the instrument was measured at 0.63 while its reliability was measured at Cronbach＇s alpha of 0.70. Pearson＇s product-moment correlation was used in testing hypothesis 1 while standard multiple regressions were used to test hypothesis 2. Findings revealed that there was strong relationship between survival of juice-producing SMEs with forms of competition on a firm＇s life-cycle; while competition had positive effects on survival components for the enterprises. It was concluded that since competition subsists in any firm＇s life-cycle, strategies to support operations for survival must be adopted. It was recommended that operators of SMEs have to monitor and manage competition as it affects their businesses positively and/or negatively.

The existing problems and countermeasures of financial management in small and medium enterprises

The small and medium enterprises have important status in national economy, and play loudly functions to Chinese economic development with social stability. But the deficiency of the financial administration of small and medium enterprises is the main obstacle for their further development. This text analyzes the current situation and existing problems of financial administration in small and medium enterprises, puts forward the countermeasures of improving the financial administration of small and medium enterprises.

The Research and Analysis to the Financing Dilemma and Countermeasures of China＇s Medium and Small Sized High-tech Enterprises

The Financing problem of Medium and small Sized High-tech Enterprises is the key point to enterprises＇ survival and development. Firstly it is pointed out that the difficulty in financing is due to without enough emphasis on Medium and Small Sized High-tech Enterprises, without sound targeted laws and regulations, the imperfect credit guarantee system, and corporate governance structure problem of the enterprise Then, according to the problems existing in the financing of China＇s Medium and Small Sized High-tech Enterprises, the assay put forward several countermeasures which have referential value.

New Thought about the Marketing Orientation of Middle and Small-sized Enterprises of China

The reasonable marketing orientation is related to the survival and the development of the enterprises. According to the disadvantages and superiority of the middle and small sized enterprises of our country, this paper analyzes the new thought about the marketing orientation from the aspects of marketing product orientation, marketing way orientation, marketing target orientation, marketing strategy orientation and marketing idea orientation. It has great theoretical and practical significance.

Barriers to the Growth of Small and Medium Scale Construction Enterprises in Ghana

The construction industry in most developing economies is dominated heavily by small and medium scale enterprises. These construction enterprises need to thrive in an extremely competitive business environment. Conversely, most of these small and medium scale construction enterprises (SMSCE) are fraught with a plethora of barriers that inhibit and threaten their growth and survival. This research sought to evaluate the critical barriers that affect the growth of SMSCEs in the Ghanaian Construction Industry. The quantitative research method was adopted using a structured questionnaire with variables that were identified through a comprehensive literature review. The survey questionnaire was administered to 400 respondents comprising 250 SMSCEs, 100 Local Authority Engineers, and 50 Consultants to elicit data based on the identified variables. The major findings established by the study as barriers to the growth of SMSCEs in Ghana are largely structured as financial/fiscal barriers, business development barriers, technical/technological barriers, corruption barriers, knowledge management barriers, project acquisition barriers. A guiding framework should be developed based on the barriers identified to aid the growth and survival of SMSCEs in Ghana.