This book is a collection of the up-to-date experience and knowledge about the implementation of sustainable business excellence in a particular context of SMEs. The book uses empirical and practical approach to tackle this issue, which is underdeveloped in the literature. Hence, it could constitute a relevant reference for SMEs managers seeking to manage their operations sustainably, efficiently and resiliently. The book also integrates the smart component to the sustainable business excellence and proves for those who are still skeptical that SMEs could benefit from smart and digital technology in the favor of sustainability and business excellence. Overall, we build on successful initiatives we experienced in real life to guide SMEs in order to be sustainable smart and resilient in the post COVID context which is highly demanding in terms of business excellence and efficiency.

This exciting new book provides the 'big picture' on small business and entrepreneurship. Written by two recognised experts, active teachers and researchers at one of the world's most respected business schools, it explores both the prevalence and importance of small and start-up businesses. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are highly diverse, so the book looks to apply broad brush strokes to learn from general patterns where possible. It identifies evidence where it is clear, but equally acknowledges where knowledge is limited or certain conclusions are impossible to draw. Perhaps most importantly, it makes clear that small businesses are not just scaled-down big businesses: they behave, respond, and are organised differently to large organisations. For Students: Financial Times video interviews with entrepreneurs and small business owners, weblinks to organisations cited in the book, flashcard glossary to help with revision. For Instructors:instructor manual, PowerPoint slides.

Unlike other economies, family businesses in China are greatly affected by the derived Confucian culture, excessive marketization, as well as the seemingly endless institutional supervision by a transitional Chinese government. China has a strong historical legacy, devoted to patriarchal values and strong family-centered traditions. This volume discusses the current status, upcoming challenges, and future prospects for family businesses in China. It explores unique organizational characteristics that are associated with Chinese family firms, such as being entrepreneurial, having concentrated power in the hands of the family business owners, and extensive family and semi-family involvement in the business. It also discusses shared features of strategic actions among Chinese family firms that include technology innovations, diversification, and internationalization, as well as the political connections that Chinese family firms often have. This book offers researchers a comprehensive overview of small family firms that are likely to be home-based microenterprises as well as large publicly traded business groups that are frequently owned by business families.

An examination of how small firms in developing countries acquire technological capability, the knowledge and skills required to operate technology effectively, and the ability to adapt it to local conditions. It aims to fill a gap in the established literature on technological capability, which has neglected the small scale sector in spite of the important role it plays in employment generation. The author develops a methodology for a quantitative assessment of the learning process, using case material from the small scale capital goods sector in Pakistan's Punjab Province.

Why is being an entrepreneur vital, especially in South Africa? What does it mean to be a successful entrepreneur? What processes are involved in starting a business? How do you seal the deal with the first client? These are some of the questions Joshua Maluleke explores in Entrepreneurship 101: Tackling the basics of business start-ups in South Africa. It also addresses issues such as: how to raise capital for start-ups, identifying the difficulties that many entrepreneurs face, as well as explaining South Africa’s unique labour laws. Motivated by a need to tackle the issues of high unemployment rates, poverty and economic inequalities, Entrepreneurship 101 is dedicated to the millions of South Africans who are yet to enjoy the benefits of a democratic Constitution.

This book identifies the potential of intellectual property as a competitive asset for Latin American firms. The authors employ a cognitive approach that involves identifying why small firms are reluctant to register patents, resorting rather to alternative IP competitive strategies. This, in turn, results in the undercapitalization of intellectual assets, thus creating hurdles for the development of capital venture markets. Using new data gathered from highly innovative SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, the authors bring a fresh cognitive approach towards understanding the institutional role of intellectual property, and outline various new policy recommendations.

This book will help small business owners and marketers feel comfortable using social media to promote their businesses, regardless of their past experiences or level of expertise. Social networking plus small business is a slam dunk! Small Business Smarts: Building Buzz with Social Media explains why that's so and helps small business owners decide whether social media tools are right for them. Assuming the answer is yes, the book offers concrete advice and implementation suggestions that make using tools to start building word-of-mouth quick and easy. Built around actual success stories from small businesses, such as the Roger Smith Hotel, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Cafe Yumm, and the Tattered Cover Bookstore, the book illustrates how different social media can help achieve different business goals, how the Internet can be used to "listen" to customers, how networks and relationships are built online for both B2C and B2B, and how effective messages can generate awareness and attract customers. Measurement strategies and techniques for a social media audit are included. For the complete novice, step-by-step instructions on getting started with popular social media applications are provided as well. Interviews with 25 small business owners and marketers detailing how they are using social media successfully right now An evaluation tool and example spreadsheets for conducting a social media audit Call-outs that show how different types of businesses can implement various marketing ideas Action-item tips that can be used in online messaging today

How do I know if my idea will work?How do I decide on the business model?How do I find my audience?

Your digital business start-up journey begins here.

From the bestselling author of "The Small Business Start-up Workbook," Cheryl Rickman brings you a thoroughly practical guide to starting up a digital business, covering the full journey from idea to exit, with easy-to-implement strategies to make your online venture an ongoing success. With a combination of tips, exercises, checklists, anecdotes, case studies and lessons learned by business leaders, this workbook will guide you through each step of digital business.

Learn how to:

- Assess whether your business idea will work online/digitally- Choose the right business model for your proposition and avoid wasting time- Assess demand, viability and uncover untapped needs and gaps in the market- Build a usable, engaging website and mobile app- Create a buzz using social networking- Drive high quality traffic to your site and convert visitors into paying customers- Use search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing (SEM) tools effectively- Raise finance and protect your business- Build and maintain a strong brand- Recruit and retain a strong team- Sell the business or find a suitable successor.

Reviews for the book:

" "If you want advice on starting your own internet business, don't ask me, read this book instead. It is more up-to-date and costs far less than a good lunch." "Nick Jenkins, Founder of Moonpig.com""

""This book excels in providing practical guidance on how to create a successful digital business which exceeds customer expectations and keeps customers happy each step of the way." "Scott Weavers-Wright, CEO of Kiddicare.com, and MD of Morrison.com (non-food)""If you read just one book on digital business, make it this one... It is inspirational, informative and interactive in equal measure. Highly recommended " "Rowan Gormley, Founder and CEO of NakedWines.com

""Interspersed with inspiring and useful stories from successful entrepreneurs, this book can help aspiring business owners through a step-by-step process of refining their start-up ideas and building a solid business." "Elizabeth Varley, Founder and CEO of TechHub

Lawrence W. Tuller pens an invaluable resource for business owners or buyers looking for accurate small business appraisals. How much a small business is worth can be difficult to determine, but when a business is about to change hands, a fair and objective valuation is crucial to the sale. This completely revised and updated book outlines the major valuation methods, including discounted cash flow, excess earnings, asset value, and income capitalization. This edition includes completely new material on the following topics: exploring the 8 myths of business valuations; using the Internet for research; and advice on startups and first generation service businesses. With this book, appraising a business has never been easier-or more accurate!

Typically, business tenets advise: never go into business with your family. This book proposes that this discrepancy may actually be at the core of modern problems: social harm and environmental problems are largely related to advancements focused on current dualistic metaphors that value only the business dimension and devalue the family. This book aims to offer an alternative viewpoint, by discussing how core beliefs linked to various metaphors change the way we conduct and perform in our lives and businesses, so that the reader can practice sustainable methods, which also includes the family. Situating family businesses as the primordial way of social organizing, chapters explore definitions of organizational symbolism, metaphors, and archetypes in order to guide readers and change the way we consider the family role within business and the economy.

Are Small Firms Important? Their Role and Impact proposes and supports the claim that small firms make two indispensable contributions to the economy. First, they are an integral part of the renewal process that pervades market economies. New and small firms play a crucial role in experimentation and innovation that leads to technological change, productivity and economic growth. Second, small firms are the essential mechanism by which millions enter the economic and social mainstream of American society. The public policy implications for sustained economic growth and social well-being is the continued high-level creation of new and small firms by all segments of society. It should be the role of government policy to facilitate that process by eliminating entry barriers, lowering transaction costs, and minimizing regulation.

This open access book explores the experience of working as a craftsperson or designer maker in the contemporary creative economy. The authors utilise evidence from the only major empirical study to explore the skills required and the challenges facing contemporary makers in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Drawing upon 180 interviews with peak organisations, established and emerging makers, and four years of fieldwork across Australia, this book offers a unique insight into the motivations informing those who seek to make an income from their craft or designer maker practice, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing them as they do so at this time of renewed interest internationally in the artisanal and handmade. Offering a rich and deep collection of real-life experiences, this book is aimed both at an academic and practitioner audience.

INCREASE THE LIFE SPAN OF YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

The average small business has a life span of about five years, and inadequate internal controls are the main cause of failure. Cyber fraud, the leading culprit today in internal criminal activity, occurs when advanced technologies are used to steal money or property. The majority of such crimes occur in-house, and the lack of sufficient capital and technological resources committed to protecting company assets makes small businesses especially vulnerable. Awareness of the dangers of internal theft by computer, illegal access to information systems, credit card fraud, and Internet scams is integral–especially as auditors, business owners, and managers are increasingly held responsible for negligence.

Providing critical guidance on what auditors and businesses can do to better prevent and detect the growing number of occurrences of cyber fraud, the information in this one-of-a-kind manual:

• Protects outside auditors by supplying the knowledge to ensure they meet their responsibilities
• Protects small business owners by providing them with the necessary tools to meet due diligence requirements in cyber fraud prevention
• Focuses on the key areas of vulnerability

Take the first step in protecting your company–and your future–with Avoiding Cyber Fraud in Small Businesses, the only book committed to helping you keep your small business free of computer crime.