Taiwan's Textile and Clothing SME Response to Globalization

Abstract

A mixed-method research approach underpinned exploration of antecedents of strategies adopted by Taiwanese small mediumsized enterprises in the clothing and textiles industry to counter the negative economic effect of globalisation and the increasing competitive threat of lower-cost Chinese products. Primary data were collected from 10 case-companies. Phenomenological methods isolated the contingent variables, whereas positivistic statistical analysis quantified the extent of their perceived impact. A range of hypotheses developed from the literature framed the conceptual model. Although the limited data suggest some caution, findings show statistical significance between a perception of good performance and a range of deployed tactics that include: leadership with technical and innovative motivational John Chen, MBA, is a post-graduate research assistant, who after carrying out his MBA at UQ Business School, University of Queensland, undertook research in Taiwan's textile and clothing SMEs. He is presently embarking upon his PhD that explores globalization and its impact on mature SME's in Asia. style of management; horizontal and vertical industry networking, organisational culture underpinning continuous improvement; original equipment manufacture and original design initiatives; specialist staff recruitment; presence in key overseas markets; and integrated IS/IT. Government support initiatives were not regarded as useful. Whilst these empirical findings contribute to our theoretical understanding of strategic issues in this international sector, the results have implication for industrialists and policymakers alike. doi:10.1300/J098v08n02_05 [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Ser-

Exploring management and entrepreneurial factors in the internationalisation of SMEs: evidence from the Bangladeshi apparel industry

“…However, the interview results further reveal that Bangladeshi RMG-SMEs have been pursuing centralised management with high power distance between employees and entrepreneurs'. Lower motivation in employees and lower degree of trust between entrepreneurs and managers are also a common feature, which is similar to Taiwanese RMG firms (Chen and Parker, 2007) and Ghanian firms' internationalisation (Kuada and Sørensen, 2000).…”

“…The RMG firms in Bangladesh are not necessarily high-technology oriented, but they are, of course, network dependent because of the collaborative nature of the network's linkages throughout the global value chain. Thus, e-commerce can be used as a convenient, personalistic and low-cost communication vehicle (Chen and Parker, 2007). Johanson and Vahlne (2009) point out that entrepreneurial and leadership quality is the key determinant of developing, nursing, and exploiting network benefits for internationalisation of SMEs.…”

“…This possibility of e-commerce in the business-to-business operation of internationalisation has led SMEs from developing countries to have cheaper, quicker and more convenient access to methods allowing them to negotiate business deals, receive orders, maintain linkages throughout the value chain activities, and to acquire foreign market information and knowledge (Nguyen, 2007;Freund and Weinhold, 2004;Clarke and Wallsten, 2004). E-commerce methods such as the internet and IP-telephonic conversation has allowed SMEs to exploit the local and international network benefits for exporting more efficiently than before (Gregorio et al, 2009;Chen and Parker, 2007). Todd and Javalgi (2007) in a study in India found that advancement in information technology and the available communication infrastructure help SMEs to participate in global markets.…”

Finance, financial literacy and small firm financial growth in Bangladesh: the effectiveness of government support

“…Studies of Jasra et al (2011) in Pakistan; Uddin and Bose (2013) in Bangladesh; Lee, Sohn, and Ju (2011) in china; Hansen, Rand, and Tarp (2009) in Vietnam; Bah and Cooper (2012) in Kenya and so forth found the positive relationship between different aspects of government support and SMEs growth or performance. On the other hand, many studies confirmed an insignificant relationship (Chen and Parker 2007;Man 2014;Vixathep 2014). Also there is evidence of a negative relationship (Egena et al 2014).…”

“…Rahman et al (2019) found that government support did not play any instrumental role in increasing the financial and non-financial performance of the base of pyramid entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Similarly, a study of Chen and Parker (2007) on Taiwanese SMEs related to clothing and textiles industry also showed that government support is not useful for improving the performance of SMEs. Moreover, study of Man (2014) in Malaysia revealed that SME sector in the country do not depend on government support for their business operations and such support do not play significant role for enhancing the performance of SMEs.…”