OBSERVATORY ON EUROPEAN RESEARCH FOR CRAFTS AND SMEs

Issued by Academy Avignon of Crafts and SMEs in Europe

The Observatory on the European Research for Crafts and SMEs was set up by the Academy Avignon of Crafts and SMEs in Europe, based in Brussels. Its mission is to monitor the results of research on Craft and SMEs carried out in Europe by several bodies e.g. research centres, universities, the EC agencies. The Observatory diffuses the results to Crafts and SME organizations and the other relevant stakeholders.

NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2012/N.37

MAIN CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

1. 2. 3. 4.

SMEs Going Global: A Comparison of the Internationalization Strategies of Publishers and Online Social Network. By Bettina Lis & Heinz-Werner Nienstedt & Patrick Proner & Gzde Yalaz Effects and impact of entrepreneurship programmes in higher education. By Entrepreneurship Unit, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry. Innovationsttigkeit im Mittelstand: Messung und Bewertung. By Maa Frank & Fhrmann Bettina The Irish SME lending market. By Lawless, Martina & McCann, Fergal

SMES GOING GLOBAL: A COMPARISON OF THE INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGIES OF PUBLISHERS AND ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORK
Author(s):

Bettina Lis & Heinz-Werner Nienstedt & Patrick Proner & Gzde Yalazi (Gutenberg University of

Mainz).
Summary: (EN)

Up to now, most research has been conducted on the internationalization strategies of large media companies and groups. But tapping new foreign markets is also relevant to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of all media sectors. This paper therefore focuses on the internationalization strategies of different types of media SMEs. It aims at describing and comparing the motives for becoming an international player as well as the specific market selection, market entry, and market development strategies. Furthermore, it focuses on the main organizational implications. On the basis of a multiple-case design the authors compare two German regional newspaper publishers with two German special interest publishers and two online social business networks. Results show similarities and differences between these media sectors according to the nature of the media businesses. The cases also highlight the importance of international management skills also in the context of SMEs.

Link

EFFECTS

AND

IMPACT

OF

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

PROGRAMMES

IN

HIGHER EDUCATION
Author(s): Summary: (EN)

Entrepreneurship Unit, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry

The primary purpose of entrepreneurship education at university is to develop entrepreneurial capacities and mindsets. The teaching of entrepreneurship has yet to be sufficiently integrated into university curricula - indeed it is necessary to make entrepreneurship education accessible to all students as innovative business ideas may arise from technical, scientific or creative studies.The aim of this study is to assess the impact of entrepreneurship education on four dimensions: 1) the acquisition of the entrepreneurial competence 2) intentions towards entrepreneurship; 3) employability; and 4) impact on the society and on the economy.Results show that entrepreneurship education makes a difference. Those who went through entrepreneurial programmes and activities display more entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, get a job earlier after finishing their studies, can innovate more even as employees in a firm, and start more companies.

Link
In Annex:

Main results of the survey Tables Good practice example

INNOVATIONSTTIGKEIT IM MITTELSTAND: MESSUNG UND BEWERTUNG

Author(s):

Maa, Frank & Fhrmann, Bettina (The Open Access Publication Server of the ZBW Leibniz

Information Centre for Economics)

Summary: (D)

Gegenstand der vorliegenden Studie ist eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme der Innovationsttigkeit kleiner und mittlerer Unternehmen (KMU) im Vergleich zu Grounternehmen in Deutschland. Hierzu wird die vorhandene Literatur ausgewertet und die existierenden Daten-sammlungen in ihrer Erfassungssystematik analysiert. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass Grounternehmen hufiger als KMU innovativ sind. Dies ist insbesondere hinsichtlich der technologischen Innovationen zu beobachten. Neueste Berichtssysteme basierend auf der erweiterten OECD-Begriffsdefinition bercksichtigen auch nicht-technologische Innovationen. Hier zeigt sich eine besondere Strke der KMU. In der Gesamtbetrachtung sind die KMU deutlich hufiger innovativ als bislang angenommen. 78 % der Unternehmen mit 10 bis 49 und 84 % der Unternehmen mit 50 bis 249 Beschftigten beteiligen sich am Innovationsprozess. Der Anteilswert fr die Grounternehmen liegt bei 95 %. -- The objective of this study is to assess the contribution of small.
(EN)

The objective of this study is to assess the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to innovation in Germany. The paper reviews the empirical literature on SMEs' innovation activities and conceptualises indicators to identify the key dimensions of innovation processes and outputs. The analysis of statistical data and surveys from various sources shows that large enterprises on the whole are more often innovative than SMEs. This is particularly the case for technological innovations. As new data based on the OECD wider concept of innovation reveal, the strength of SMEs lies in their non-technological innovation capacity. Covering both types of innovation

activities SMEs turn out to be innovative more often than presumed. Indeed, 78 % of all small enterprises with 10 to 49 employees engage in innovation activities. The share of innovators is even higher among the enterprises with 50 to 249 employees (84 %) and the large enterprises with more than 250 employees (95 %).

Link

THE IRISH SME LENDING MARKET

Author(s): Summary: (EN)

Lawless Martina & McCann Fergal (Central Bank of Ireland)

The Prudential Capital Assessment Review (PCAR) 2011 uncovered significant potential losses in the Irish banking sector, leading to a considerable recapitalisation. This letter uses a large sample of the loan level data provided for PCAR 2011 to present descriptive statistics on the SME lending market in Ireland as of December 2010. These data allow us to document the geographic and sectoral allocation of loans, exposure sizes and the performance of those loans. We find that there are significant losses, both incurred and potential, across all sectors of activity. These losses are most severe in the hotels and restaurants, construction and wholesale and retail sectors. In almost all sectors, a striking pattern in which large exposure buckets are associated with larger shares of non-performing loans, points to a higher-than-normal risk of large SME loans leading to significant losses. The contribution of property speculation to these losses is unobserved in these data but of huge policy interest.

Link

ISME SPRING 2012 BUSINESS TRENDS SURVEY

The Irish Business Climate is in continuous change and ISME, the independent business organisation, wish to assess the impact of these changes on the SME sector. We hope in your cooperation, please to complete the attached survey.

SURVEY ADDRESS

NEWSPAPERS

How local authorities and SMEs could benefit from cloud computing 18 /04/2012, The Guardian The Castelfranco Charter provides a roadmap to adopting cloud technology to achieve cost efficiency and profits. Small businesses and local authorities' adoption of cloud services could provide a big boost to the economy and the Castelfranco Charter could help speed up the transition...

EVENTS
REACH-the European Regulation on chemicals:next deadlines and SME's role

Details:

The event, organized in collaboration with National Authorities competent to deal with REACH, aims at highlighting the main aspects of the implementation REACH the European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use. The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. At the same time, REACH aims to enhance innovation and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry. The benefits of the REACH system will come gradually, as more and more substances are phased into REACH. In particular the seminar will focus on upcoming deadlines and documentation that manufacturers, importers and downstream users of chemicals will have to respect and to prepare by 31 May 2013.

When: Where:

15/05/2012 - 15/05/2012 09:00 to 14:00

Sala delle Vetrate S.N. Piazza delle Murate Firenze Italy (IT)

Organisers:
Metropoli- the Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Florence Chambers of Commerce & Industry/Chamber of Economy Enterprise Europe Network partner www.metropoliaziendaspeciale.it

THE LIST OF SOURCES IN THIS ISSUE.

Central Bank of Ireland: The Central Bank Reform Act, 2010, created a new single unitary body the Central Bank of Ireland - responsible for both central banking and financial regulation. The new structure replaced the previous related entities, the Central Bank and the Financial Services Authority of Ireland and the Financial Regulator. The Act commenced on 1 October 2010.

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) with more than 36,000 students from about 130 nations, is one of the ten largest universities in Germany. As a comprehensive university, JGU combines almost all academic disciplines. JGU was founded in 1477, just a few years after the death of its namesake Johannes Gutenberg, the famous inventor of movable type printing. The ZBW is engaged in national and international projects to develop new customer-oriented services. For this
purpose it closely cooperates with partner institutions from librarianship, information science and economics.

The present edition of the Newsletter for the Academy Avignon was edited by Maura Albanesi.

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