Final Report Summary - DYNAMIC SME (Sustainable competitiveness of SMEs in turbulent economic and social environments - a network approach)
The scientific objective of the project “Dynamic SME” (www.dynamic-sme.org) was to contribute to a better understanding how SMEs survive economic crisis. For this about 30 researchers collaborated in a partnership through staff exchanges and networking activities between Wiesbaden Business School (Germany), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain, until mid 2013), Universidad de Minho (Portugal, since end 2013) on one side and Universidad Nacional de Rosario (Argentina) and Universidade Federale de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis (Brazil). The Project created a co-evolvement process towards a successful management model for SMEs that combines European innovation and organizational learning models with Latin American survival strategies in turbulent economies (exemplified by Argentina and Brazil) based on learning networks and clusters. While the first year concentrated on creating a joint vision and constituting research teams in the second year researchers from Latin America got to know European approaches for SME Management in their context. In the third and fourth year researchers co-evolved European approaches in Argentinian and Brazilian action learning settings. In parallel European researchers learned about survival and competition strategies of Argentine and Brazilian SMEs. Collaboration with SME
networks and clusters was established and empirical research conducted. Instruments to enhance dynamic capabilities of SMEs were evaluated and further developed.
The main research question: “What is a successful management model for SMEs to compete in turbulent environments?" was answered by developing a model of the “Dynamic SME”. We define a dynamic SME as a small social collectivity with a well-developed sensing, learning, integration and coordination capability. These capabilities become manifest in an agile, resilient and innovative behavior leading to sustainable competitiveness in turbulent environments. A “Dynamic SME”is characterised by five capacities:
i. recognizes or anticipates changes in the environment and (re)acts to them with high efficiency and speed;
ii. actively exploits market opportunities;
iii. develops a management approach of employee empowerment and fosters the entrepreneurial spirit of employees;
iv. develops a high capacity for learning and innovation, and integrates learning on–the-job into daily business;
v. cultivates emotional intelligence, which results in trustful and collaborative behavior.
In a dynamic SME the above capabilities are rooted in structural factors as well as processes, routines, leadership and employee behaviour. How firms develop these five capacities varies according to the cultural settings they are acting in. Family, firm or country cultures can be both barriers and enablers to cope with turbulent situations. External assistance can help SMEs to become “Dynamic SMEs”. There is an abundance of programmes worldwide aiming at an improvement of SME performance by providing external advice. Programmes vary widely in their approaches and effectiveness. The experience with currently about 90 projects demonstrates that the “Learning to grow” methodology is an effective way of developing capabilities relevant to sustain growth in SMEs.
Major results of the project include
• Transfer of the methodology ‘Learning to Grow’, which has been successfully implemented in German SMEs to Brazil and Argentina. Enterprises learned how to systematically develop growth competences. Its application in Santa Catarina State (BR) and in series of seminars with the development agency of Rosario (AR) raised interest in the methodology. In March 2013 the first Latin American Workshop to train facilitators for the methodology “Learning to grow” was carried-out in Florianopolis. Around 30 researchers, consultants and representatives of SME Support organizations from, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador gathered for three days to learn the methodology. In
2014 further workshops were carried-out in Lima (Peru), Rosario(Argentina) and Recife (Brazil).
• A better understanding of challenges and approaches of SMEs in turbulent environments based on a study of 25 cases of Argentine enterprises which have survived all crisis in the past 15 years. Results have been documented in a series of short videos and in a paper Detarsio/North/Ormaetxea: Sobrevivir y competir en tiempos de crisis – Casos de estrategias de PYMES argentinas , Economía
Industrial June 2013
• An extensive review of tools revealed that there are already a number of KM toolboxes existing. It was therefore decided not to add another toolbox to the existing ones but rather evaluate toolkits and render them transparent for potential users. For six selected tools short videos were produced and are dissemiated via a newly created YouTube channel “Dynamic SME”.
• Scientific highlights of the project were the annual "Town-Meetings" of researchers from all partners followed by the CIKI Conference (Congreso Internacional Conhecimento e Inovação) in Florianopolis in November 2011, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in October 2012 ,at Porto Alegre 2013, at Loja (Ecuador) 2015 and the final conference at Universidade de Minho (Braga and Guimaraes) attended overall by more than 100 participants.
• A Dynamic SME research network was created and is still welcoming new partners from Europe and Latin America.
The project has developed a better understanding how SMEs cope with crisis and provide methodologies to support the development of dynamic capabilities in SMEs. The international research partnership is stable enough to continue despite the end of the project . These results will contribute to strengthen SMEs in Europe and Latin America for sustainable value creation and the development of decent employment.
The results of the Project will be published in a book of the Springer Small Business Series "Competitive strategies of SMEs - increasing, resilience, agility and Innovation in turbulent times containing 14 papers and several case studies .
For more information see project website: www.dynamic-sme.org
networks and clusters was established and empirical research conducted. Instruments to enhance dynamic capabilities of SMEs were evaluated and further developed.
The main research question: “What is a successful management model for SMEs to compete in turbulent environments?" was answered by developing a model of the “Dynamic SME”. We define a dynamic SME as a small social collectivity with a well-developed sensing, learning, integration and coordination capability. These capabilities become manifest in an agile, resilient and innovative behavior leading to sustainable competitiveness in turbulent environments. A “Dynamic SME”is characterised by five capacities:
i. recognizes or anticipates changes in the environment and (re)acts to them with high efficiency and speed;
ii. actively exploits market opportunities;
iii. develops a management approach of employee empowerment and fosters the entrepreneurial spirit of employees;
iv. develops a high capacity for learning and innovation, and integrates learning on–the-job into daily business;
v. cultivates emotional intelligence, which results in trustful and collaborative behavior.
In a dynamic SME the above capabilities are rooted in structural factors as well as processes, routines, leadership and employee behaviour. How firms develop these five capacities varies according to the cultural settings they are acting in. Family, firm or country cultures can be both barriers and enablers to cope with turbulent situations. External assistance can help SMEs to become “Dynamic SMEs”. There is an abundance of programmes worldwide aiming at an improvement of SME performance by providing external advice. Programmes vary widely in their approaches and effectiveness. The experience with currently about 90 projects demonstrates that the “Learning to grow” methodology is an effective way of developing capabilities relevant to sustain growth in SMEs.
Major results of the project include
• Transfer of the methodology ‘Learning to Grow’, which has been successfully implemented in German SMEs to Brazil and Argentina. Enterprises learned how to systematically develop growth competences. Its application in Santa Catarina State (BR) and in series of seminars with the development agency of Rosario (AR) raised interest in the methodology. In March 2013 the first Latin American Workshop to train facilitators for the methodology “Learning to grow” was carried-out in Florianopolis. Around 30 researchers, consultants and representatives of SME Support organizations from, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador gathered for three days to learn the methodology. In
2014 further workshops were carried-out in Lima (Peru), Rosario(Argentina) and Recife (Brazil).
• A better understanding of challenges and approaches of SMEs in turbulent environments based on a study of 25 cases of Argentine enterprises which have survived all crisis in the past 15 years. Results have been documented in a series of short videos and in a paper Detarsio/North/Ormaetxea: Sobrevivir y competir en tiempos de crisis – Casos de estrategias de PYMES argentinas , Economía
Industrial June 2013
• An extensive review of tools revealed that there are already a number of KM toolboxes existing. It was therefore decided not to add another toolbox to the existing ones but rather evaluate toolkits and render them transparent for potential users. For six selected tools short videos were produced and are dissemiated via a newly created YouTube channel “Dynamic SME”.
• Scientific highlights of the project were the annual "Town-Meetings" of researchers from all partners followed by the CIKI Conference (Congreso Internacional Conhecimento e Inovação) in Florianopolis in November 2011, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in October 2012 ,at Porto Alegre 2013, at Loja (Ecuador) 2015 and the final conference at Universidade de Minho (Braga and Guimaraes) attended overall by more than 100 participants.
• A Dynamic SME research network was created and is still welcoming new partners from Europe and Latin America.
The project has developed a better understanding how SMEs cope with crisis and provide methodologies to support the development of dynamic capabilities in SMEs. The international research partnership is stable enough to continue despite the end of the project . These results will contribute to strengthen SMEs in Europe and Latin America for sustainable value creation and the development of decent employment.
The results of the Project will be published in a book of the Springer Small Business Series "Competitive strategies of SMEs - increasing, resilience, agility and Innovation in turbulent times containing 14 papers and several case studies .
For more information see project website: www.dynamic-sme.org