Collaborative and Competitive Strategies in Virtual Teams of e-Entrepreneurs: A pan-European Perspective

Matlay, Harry; Martin, Lynn M.

doi:10.3127/ajis.v16i1.560

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…As the sophistication of the enterprise grows to e-business level, supply chain management comes to picture in easing the flow of materials. The ultimate level of utilization, according to the model, comes with systems built on total integrated engagement in the technology (Matlay & Martin, 2009). The model implies that advantages of utilization are obtained from the organizational change and the increase in ICT sophistication that the Internet facilitates.…”

Section: Digitalization Of Smes As a Journeymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Development of strategies for business digitalization is crucial for entrepreneurs, leaders, owners or managers in SMEs. Realizing breakthrough success in digital business requires not only forward-thinking strategies but also a transformation of the company's underlying functions and organizations (Matlay & Martin, 2009;Gartner, 2014). Ultimately, it still comes down to the basics: people, processes, and systems.…”

Section: Digitalization Of Smes As a Journeymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to do this, it is important to look at the literature more specifically on the adoption process, the roles of actors, the factors influencing its adoption and the challenges facing actors.There are different stages or levels of business digitalization. According toMatlay and Martin (2009) this process can be understood in the form of a business digitalization ladder as presented inFig. No.…”

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confidence: 99%

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BUSINESS DIGITALIZATION OF SMEs IN ALBANIA: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND THEIR IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE

Curraj¹

2020

Preprint

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Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Albania, similar to other markets, operate in complex, fast-paced and unpredictable environments due to their size and nature. In our contemporary knowledge-based economy, business is constantly changing, and SMEs are thus continually faced with the challenge to find new and innovative ways to improve and adapt to the rapid transformations. As a result, there is a growing interest and necessity for SMEs to explore and adapt new and innovative mechanisms for better decision making, which will then lead to improved performance and competitiveness. Digitalization of SMEs with the use of Business Intelligence (BI) and Knowledge Management (KM) systems is one such innovative instrument open to SMEs for a better performance and increased competitiveness. The research for this doctoral thesis is then set precisely in this configuration whereby: on one hand the current level of adoption and use of advanced ICTs and technological innovation within SMEs, or business digitalization as will be coined later, is relatively limited due to a variety of factors; and on the other hand ICTs themselves as technological systems or tools as well as part of business landscape, i.e. ICT as a sector, are a major driver of innovation, modernization and growth for the Albanian economy. This doctoral thesis addresses the gap in the current state of research regarding the development, adoption and use of advanced ICTs systems, i.e. business digitalization, within SMEs. In addition, the research for the doctoral thesis expands the challenge to the impact of business digitalization on performance of SMEs in Albania. Clearly, SMEs have been selected as the central ground of research not only to contribute towards filling a research gap in management and ICTs studies in Albania, but also because of the central role that SMEs play in Albanian economy and their future potential in the digital world. The results show that business digitalization impacts positively the overall performance of SMEs in Albania. Size, age and location of the SME dominate performance and are related to the business digitalisation more than strategy. Also, the entrepreneurial characteristics of the owner – manager also impact the digitalization. Having a clear business plan was also found to be important when it comes to using BI. SMEs in Albania are a vital part of the national economy and the research shows that there is growing interest in ICTs, digitalisation, BI and KM, but innovation is still at relatively low levels due to financial and human resources, which are limited. However, the research highlights that SMEs are very flexible and easy to adopt to change and when this is combined with a visionary owner- manager they tend to move towards business digitalisation. Another finding of this study is that digitalisation have lead SMEs to reconsider and re-conceptualise their business models attempting to move towards innovations that impact performance. Also, the concept of business model innovations is also gaining ground in SMEs in Albania. Findings show that the use of BI and other digitalisation processes is mainly driven by strategic and innovation related motives that are internal to the company and the owner-manager. The use of BI as a result of external technological factors also plays a role. Analysis of the findings show that the use of BI and digitalisation have a positive impact on business performance. The findings of this research paper have practical implications for the SMEs sector in Albania not only in providing an assessment of the current use of BI, but also in exploring the benefits and potential usage of BI as a necessary activity for deriving improved performance. Findings of this research can be used by owners-managers to better understand how firms can engage with digitalisation and BI and how their adoption and implementation affect business performance. Another implication for business sector is that digitally mature companies have better performance and thus derive more revenue and become more competitive. Finally, the research shows that digitization has a variety of dimensions and can be understood differently by different SMEs, owner-managers and staff, but it is a major contributor to business performance. Future research is needed to explore further the role of digitalisation processes in SMEs in Albania particularly related to enabling and hindering factors. In addition, further research is needed regarding the business model innovations, particularly in terms of human and organizational factors. This study is one of the first research contributions in the case of Albania to analyse the impact of digitalization, specifically the impact of BI on SMEs in Albania.

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Section: Digitalization Of Smes As a Journeymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Digitalization Of Smes As a Journeymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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BUSINESS DIGITALIZATION OF SMEs IN ALBANIA: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND THEIR IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE

Curraj¹

2020

Preprint

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“…In the context of a global economic crisis, the Internet is a platform for setting up business providing entrepreneurial opportunities to those who may not be capitally rich (Waddell, Singh & Musa, 2006). Advances in ICTs and the advent of the Internet have facilitated the emergence and growth of collaborative strategies amongst small e-businesses (Matlay & Martin, 2009;Matlay & Westhead, 2005) which could be defined as low-cost strategies. In this context, further research should be directed towards analyzing proactive networking behavior of the so-called e-entrepreneurs and whether EI could play a different role in this new business world.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of trait emotional intelligence in predicting networking behavior

Torres-Coronas

Vidal-Blasco

2017

RBGN

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to obtain evidence of the relation between entrepreneur proactive networking behavior and trait emotional intelligence to support transition towards entrepreneurial careers.Design/methodology/approach -The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short form (TEIQue-SF), developed by Petrides (2001Petrides ( , 2009, was used to test hypotheses on the factors that define a proactive use of a professional network and their relationship with the individual level of trait emotional intelligence and its four components (wellbeing, self-control, emotionality and sociability). A questionnaire was sent to local entrepreneurs to verify whether trait emotional intelligence acts as a predictor of proactive networking behavior.Findings -Final findings partially confirm the research hypothesis, with some components of EI (well-being and sociability factors) showing a significant positive correlation with proactive networking behavior. This indicates that entrepreneurs' ability to regulate emotions influences their networking behavior helping them to succeed in their business relationships.Originality/value -The present study provides a clear direction for further research by focusing on how trait emotional intelligence affects social networking behavior amongst entrepreneurs, thus demonstrating the utility of using trait EI to evaluate high potential entrepreneurs.

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“…Of the studies following a case study approach, only Effaha (2013) and de Medeiros Bezerra et al (2012) had an exclusive focus on a DS. Matlay and Westhead (2005) and Matlay and Martin (2009) mentioned that the companies studied were e-businesses but, given that they were related to the tourism industry, it is not clear if the sample was related to SMEs solely operating on the Internet or if it also included traditional SMEs who also had an e-business strategy.…”

Section: E-entrepreneurshipmentioning

confidence: 99%