Crises are unavoidable in the economy and historical evidence proves that they take place every five years on the average. Thus it is advisable that every enterprise, be it small, medium-sized or large, is prepared for their occurrence. The objective of this monograph is to contribute to the management literature on possible successful approaches to an economic crisis.
The publication constitutes a report which synthesizes empirical studies carried out on a sample of 246 Polish small and medium-sized enterprises established before 2008 - the year the financial crisis broke out. The research was conducted by a team of scholars from the Institute of Management of the Warsaw School of Economics. The authors of this work hope that its content will be useful for broad audiences including present and future managers as well as entrepreneurs.
[[[separator]]]The financial and economic crisis of 2008 and in Poland the time of economic slowdown in the years 2009-2014 made many enterprises resort to particular adaptive actions as well as create and introduce new solutions, methods of operation and business models. For many businesses the time of crisis signifies difficulties in conducting operations, but on the other hand, it is a time that brings motivation. The downturn forces companies to redefine their objectives and strategies as well as to alter their operations i.e. triggers broadly defined changes in the behaviour of enterprises. These changes let them survive but they may also have decisive influence on the long-term perspective of functioning of a company.
The following publication constitutes a synthetic report on empirical studies conducted by a team of researchers from the Institute of Management of the Warsaw School of Economics. Their aim was to identify the changes in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stemming from the crisis. The empirical research concerning this matter was conducted with the use of the CAWI i.e. Computer-Assisted Web Interview method. It is a method of collecting information for the purposes of quantitative analysis of the market and public opinion in which the interviewee is asked to fill in an online questionnaire.
The research company that carried out the empirical study at the commission of the Institute of Management possesses electronic access to 71468 people aged 25 and older in their CAWI PANEL. All of them were asked whether they owned a business belonging to the group of micro, small or medium-sized enterprises that operated on the market at the time of the economic slowdown and was set up before 2008. A positive answer was received from 246 persons in which there were 86 women. Almost a half of the respondents (47%) were owners or co-owners of the enterprises participating in the study, while the remaining ones worked as managers in the examined firms.
The research targeted small and medium-sized enterprises and included micro enterprises as well. It ought to be noted that the size of a firm was measured with the number of its employees. Micro enterprises constituted a little over a half of the studied firms. The numbers of small enterprises (22%) and of medium-sized ones (27%) were considerably lower. For the most part, the studied enterprises included service companies (51%). Trading firms made up a little over a quarter of the sample, while the manufacturing ones just over a fifth. The sample was dominated by young enterprises set up just before the crisis broke out. There were 41% of them. The second largest group in the study sample were enterprises established before 1995 which were between ten and twenty years old before the crisis (37%). Such enterprises are already considered to be mature. The smallest part of the sample was made up of the so-called "adolescent" enterprises. There were only 22% of them. Broader information concerning the characteristics of the enterprises in the study as well as of the respondents is presented in the Appendix at the end of the publication.
We are aware that the results obtained in the course of the empirical research have more features of a survey rather than of a study that would be representative for the entire SME population in Poland (they are, however, representative for the research panel). Nevertheless, the research in a particular way reflects the changes that have been taking place in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in recent years as it made it possible to obtain answers to the following research questions formulated in the course of the study:
- What were the external factors influencing the changes in the behaviour of the SMEs in the conditions of the crisis?
- What instruments of direct and indirect support of growth and operations of enterprises were employed by the small and medium business entities?
- What results in the area of innovations of the SMEs triggered changes in their organizational behaviour?
- Did information and communication technology affect the changes in the behaviour of the SMEs? If so, in what way?
- What types of competitive strategies were adopted by the SMEs in the conditions of the economic slowdown?
- What forms of cooperation with other businesses did the SMEs engage in?
Numerous conclusions concerning the changes of the behaviour of the SMEs were formulated on the basis of the empirical research; they refer for instance to managing human resources, managing information and communication resources, changes in the growth strategies as well as in the models of cooperation of companies. The aforementioned issues are discussed in the chapters that follow.
The first chapter discusses the conditioning of growth, operations and changes in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland at the time of the economic slowdown. The context of external factors triggering the changes made it possible to assess how they affected the operations and growth of the studied businesses as well as the adaptive actions taken by them.
The second chapter aims to present the tools and instruments of support of the activities of SMEs that originate in the broadly defined institutional environment and were used by the studied entities. Particular role is attributed to financial instruments that come from the structural funds and from various business environment institutions.
What is discussed in the third chapter of this work is the issue of adaptive actions and results achieved through them in the area of organizational behaviour of managers as well as changes in this field. Not only are the factors facilitating and limiting innovation of the studied businesses assessed here, but the level of innovation measured in a synthetic way by the number of introduced innovations is evaluated here as well.
The fourth chapter focuses on the changes in the behaviour of the enterprises in the study with regard to their way of using modern information and communication technologies. Modern businesses are under constant competitive pressure and are therefore forced to invest in the Internet and introduce IT systems in basically every area of their operations. This conclusion was confirmed by the results of the empirical research.
The next chapter deals with the issue of the changes taking place in the area of strategic management of the SMEs. These changes contributed to the increase of importance of strategic actions such as: strengthening ties with business partners or engaging into selective investment in new products or new technologies that reduce the costs.
The last chapter turns attention to the issues concerning the models of cooperation between businesses. The economic slowdown increased the level of competition but at the same time it encouraged cooperation between businesses. It is believed that business cooperation is one of the key factors to success of enterprises, which is particularly significant for the smaller ones. This very conclusion can be drawn from the empirical research.
We do hope that the discussion presented in this publication shall let the readers expand their knowledge on the subject of the changes that have taken place in recent years in the behaviour of the small and medium-sized enterprises operating on the Polish market. Therefore, we kindly encourage the readers to acquaint with this publication.
[[[separator]]]About the Authors
About the Institute of Management
Foreword
Chapter 1
External Factors Influencing the Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at the Time of the Crisis - Anna Skowronek-Mielczarek
Chapter 2
Structural Funds and the Changes of the Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises - Rafał Kasprzak
Chapter 3
The Influence of Organizational Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises on Their Innovativeness at the Time of the Crisis - Research Results - Barbara Bojewska
Chapter 4
Internet Technologies Used by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Due to the Crisis - Celina Sołek-Borowska
Chapter 5
The Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Area of Strategic Management - Mirosław Jarosiński
Chapter 6
The Models of Cooperation Between Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as an Expression of the Changes in Their Behaviour Triggered by the Crisis - Marta Ziółkowska
Appendix
Opis
Crises are unavoidable in the economy and historical evidence proves that they take place every five years on the average. Thus it is advisable that every enterprise, be it small, medium-sized or large, is prepared for their occurrence. The objective of this monograph is to contribute to the management literature on possible successful approaches to an economic crisis.
The publication constitutes a report which synthesizes empirical studies carried out on a sample of 246 Polish small and medium-sized enterprises established before 2008 - the year the financial crisis broke out. The research was conducted by a team of scholars from the Institute of Management of the Warsaw School of Economics. The authors of this work hope that its content will be useful for broad audiences including present and future managers as well as entrepreneurs.
Wstęp
The financial and economic crisis of 2008 and in Poland the time of economic slowdown in the years 2009-2014 made many enterprises resort to particular adaptive actions as well as create and introduce new solutions, methods of operation and business models. For many businesses the time of crisis signifies difficulties in conducting operations, but on the other hand, it is a time that brings motivation. The downturn forces companies to redefine their objectives and strategies as well as to alter their operations i.e. triggers broadly defined changes in the behaviour of enterprises. These changes let them survive but they may also have decisive influence on the long-term perspective of functioning of a company.
The following publication constitutes a synthetic report on empirical studies conducted by a team of researchers from the Institute of Management of the Warsaw School of Economics. Their aim was to identify the changes in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stemming from the crisis. The empirical research concerning this matter was conducted with the use of the CAWI i.e. Computer-Assisted Web Interview method. It is a method of collecting information for the purposes of quantitative analysis of the market and public opinion in which the interviewee is asked to fill in an online questionnaire.
The research company that carried out the empirical study at the commission of the Institute of Management possesses electronic access to 71468 people aged 25 and older in their CAWI PANEL. All of them were asked whether they owned a business belonging to the group of micro, small or medium-sized enterprises that operated on the market at the time of the economic slowdown and was set up before 2008. A positive answer was received from 246 persons in which there were 86 women. Almost a half of the respondents (47%) were owners or co-owners of the enterprises participating in the study, while the remaining ones worked as managers in the examined firms.
The research targeted small and medium-sized enterprises and included micro enterprises as well. It ought to be noted that the size of a firm was measured with the number of its employees. Micro enterprises constituted a little over a half of the studied firms. The numbers of small enterprises (22%) and of medium-sized ones (27%) were considerably lower. For the most part, the studied enterprises included service companies (51%). Trading firms made up a little over a quarter of the sample, while the manufacturing ones just over a fifth. The sample was dominated by young enterprises set up just before the crisis broke out. There were 41% of them. The second largest group in the study sample were enterprises established before 1995 which were between ten and twenty years old before the crisis (37%). Such enterprises are already considered to be mature. The smallest part of the sample was made up of the so-called "adolescent" enterprises. There were only 22% of them. Broader information concerning the characteristics of the enterprises in the study as well as of the respondents is presented in the Appendix at the end of the publication.
We are aware that the results obtained in the course of the empirical research have more features of a survey rather than of a study that would be representative for the entire SME population in Poland (they are, however, representative for the research panel). Nevertheless, the research in a particular way reflects the changes that have been taking place in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in recent years as it made it possible to obtain answers to the following research questions formulated in the course of the study:
- What were the external factors influencing the changes in the behaviour of the SMEs in the conditions of the crisis?
- What instruments of direct and indirect support of growth and operations of enterprises were employed by the small and medium business entities?
- What results in the area of innovations of the SMEs triggered changes in their organizational behaviour?
- Did information and communication technology affect the changes in the behaviour of the SMEs? If so, in what way?
- What types of competitive strategies were adopted by the SMEs in the conditions of the economic slowdown?
- What forms of cooperation with other businesses did the SMEs engage in?
Numerous conclusions concerning the changes of the behaviour of the SMEs were formulated on the basis of the empirical research; they refer for instance to managing human resources, managing information and communication resources, changes in the growth strategies as well as in the models of cooperation of companies. The aforementioned issues are discussed in the chapters that follow.
The first chapter discusses the conditioning of growth, operations and changes in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland at the time of the economic slowdown. The context of external factors triggering the changes made it possible to assess how they affected the operations and growth of the studied businesses as well as the adaptive actions taken by them.
The second chapter aims to present the tools and instruments of support of the activities of SMEs that originate in the broadly defined institutional environment and were used by the studied entities. Particular role is attributed to financial instruments that come from the structural funds and from various business environment institutions.
What is discussed in the third chapter of this work is the issue of adaptive actions and results achieved through them in the area of organizational behaviour of managers as well as changes in this field. Not only are the factors facilitating and limiting innovation of the studied businesses assessed here, but the level of innovation measured in a synthetic way by the number of introduced innovations is evaluated here as well.
The fourth chapter focuses on the changes in the behaviour of the enterprises in the study with regard to their way of using modern information and communication technologies. Modern businesses are under constant competitive pressure and are therefore forced to invest in the Internet and introduce IT systems in basically every area of their operations. This conclusion was confirmed by the results of the empirical research.
The next chapter deals with the issue of the changes taking place in the area of strategic management of the SMEs. These changes contributed to the increase of importance of strategic actions such as: strengthening ties with business partners or engaging into selective investment in new products or new technologies that reduce the costs.
The last chapter turns attention to the issues concerning the models of cooperation between businesses. The economic slowdown increased the level of competition but at the same time it encouraged cooperation between businesses. It is believed that business cooperation is one of the key factors to success of enterprises, which is particularly significant for the smaller ones. This very conclusion can be drawn from the empirical research.
We do hope that the discussion presented in this publication shall let the readers expand their knowledge on the subject of the changes that have taken place in recent years in the behaviour of the small and medium-sized enterprises operating on the Polish market. Therefore, we kindly encourage the readers to acquaint with this publication.
Spis treści
About the Authors
About the Institute of Management
Foreword
Chapter 1
External Factors Influencing the Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at the Time of the Crisis - Anna Skowronek-Mielczarek
Chapter 2
Structural Funds and the Changes of the Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises - Rafał Kasprzak
Chapter 3
The Influence of Organizational Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises on Their Innovativeness at the Time of the Crisis - Research Results - Barbara Bojewska
Chapter 4
Internet Technologies Used by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Due to the Crisis - Celina Sołek-Borowska
Chapter 5
The Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Area of Strategic Management - Mirosław Jarosiński
Chapter 6
The Models of Cooperation Between Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as an Expression of the Changes in Their Behaviour Triggered by the Crisis - Marta Ziółkowska
Appendix
Opinie
Crises are unavoidable in the economy and historical evidence proves that they take place every five years on the average. Thus it is advisable that every enterprise, be it small, medium-sized or large, is prepared for their occurrence. The objective of this monograph is to contribute to the management literature on possible successful approaches to an economic crisis.
The publication constitutes a report which synthesizes empirical studies carried out on a sample of 246 Polish small and medium-sized enterprises established before 2008 - the year the financial crisis broke out. The research was conducted by a team of scholars from the Institute of Management of the Warsaw School of Economics. The authors of this work hope that its content will be useful for broad audiences including present and future managers as well as entrepreneurs.
The financial and economic crisis of 2008 and in Poland the time of economic slowdown in the years 2009-2014 made many enterprises resort to particular adaptive actions as well as create and introduce new solutions, methods of operation and business models. For many businesses the time of crisis signifies difficulties in conducting operations, but on the other hand, it is a time that brings motivation. The downturn forces companies to redefine their objectives and strategies as well as to alter their operations i.e. triggers broadly defined changes in the behaviour of enterprises. These changes let them survive but they may also have decisive influence on the long-term perspective of functioning of a company.
The following publication constitutes a synthetic report on empirical studies conducted by a team of researchers from the Institute of Management of the Warsaw School of Economics. Their aim was to identify the changes in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stemming from the crisis. The empirical research concerning this matter was conducted with the use of the CAWI i.e. Computer-Assisted Web Interview method. It is a method of collecting information for the purposes of quantitative analysis of the market and public opinion in which the interviewee is asked to fill in an online questionnaire.
The research company that carried out the empirical study at the commission of the Institute of Management possesses electronic access to 71468 people aged 25 and older in their CAWI PANEL. All of them were asked whether they owned a business belonging to the group of micro, small or medium-sized enterprises that operated on the market at the time of the economic slowdown and was set up before 2008. A positive answer was received from 246 persons in which there were 86 women. Almost a half of the respondents (47%) were owners or co-owners of the enterprises participating in the study, while the remaining ones worked as managers in the examined firms.
The research targeted small and medium-sized enterprises and included micro enterprises as well. It ought to be noted that the size of a firm was measured with the number of its employees. Micro enterprises constituted a little over a half of the studied firms. The numbers of small enterprises (22%) and of medium-sized ones (27%) were considerably lower. For the most part, the studied enterprises included service companies (51%). Trading firms made up a little over a quarter of the sample, while the manufacturing ones just over a fifth. The sample was dominated by young enterprises set up just before the crisis broke out. There were 41% of them. The second largest group in the study sample were enterprises established before 1995 which were between ten and twenty years old before the crisis (37%). Such enterprises are already considered to be mature. The smallest part of the sample was made up of the so-called "adolescent" enterprises. There were only 22% of them. Broader information concerning the characteristics of the enterprises in the study as well as of the respondents is presented in the Appendix at the end of the publication.
We are aware that the results obtained in the course of the empirical research have more features of a survey rather than of a study that would be representative for the entire SME population in Poland (they are, however, representative for the research panel). Nevertheless, the research in a particular way reflects the changes that have been taking place in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in recent years as it made it possible to obtain answers to the following research questions formulated in the course of the study:
- What were the external factors influencing the changes in the behaviour of the SMEs in the conditions of the crisis?
- What instruments of direct and indirect support of growth and operations of enterprises were employed by the small and medium business entities?
- What results in the area of innovations of the SMEs triggered changes in their organizational behaviour?
- Did information and communication technology affect the changes in the behaviour of the SMEs? If so, in what way?
- What types of competitive strategies were adopted by the SMEs in the conditions of the economic slowdown?
- What forms of cooperation with other businesses did the SMEs engage in?
Numerous conclusions concerning the changes of the behaviour of the SMEs were formulated on the basis of the empirical research; they refer for instance to managing human resources, managing information and communication resources, changes in the growth strategies as well as in the models of cooperation of companies. The aforementioned issues are discussed in the chapters that follow.
The first chapter discusses the conditioning of growth, operations and changes in the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland at the time of the economic slowdown. The context of external factors triggering the changes made it possible to assess how they affected the operations and growth of the studied businesses as well as the adaptive actions taken by them.
The second chapter aims to present the tools and instruments of support of the activities of SMEs that originate in the broadly defined institutional environment and were used by the studied entities. Particular role is attributed to financial instruments that come from the structural funds and from various business environment institutions.
What is discussed in the third chapter of this work is the issue of adaptive actions and results achieved through them in the area of organizational behaviour of managers as well as changes in this field. Not only are the factors facilitating and limiting innovation of the studied businesses assessed here, but the level of innovation measured in a synthetic way by the number of introduced innovations is evaluated here as well.
The fourth chapter focuses on the changes in the behaviour of the enterprises in the study with regard to their way of using modern information and communication technologies. Modern businesses are under constant competitive pressure and are therefore forced to invest in the Internet and introduce IT systems in basically every area of their operations. This conclusion was confirmed by the results of the empirical research.
The next chapter deals with the issue of the changes taking place in the area of strategic management of the SMEs. These changes contributed to the increase of importance of strategic actions such as: strengthening ties with business partners or engaging into selective investment in new products or new technologies that reduce the costs.
The last chapter turns attention to the issues concerning the models of cooperation between businesses. The economic slowdown increased the level of competition but at the same time it encouraged cooperation between businesses. It is believed that business cooperation is one of the key factors to success of enterprises, which is particularly significant for the smaller ones. This very conclusion can be drawn from the empirical research.
We do hope that the discussion presented in this publication shall let the readers expand their knowledge on the subject of the changes that have taken place in recent years in the behaviour of the small and medium-sized enterprises operating on the Polish market. Therefore, we kindly encourage the readers to acquaint with this publication.
About the Authors
About the Institute of Management
Foreword
Chapter 1
External Factors Influencing the Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at the Time of the Crisis - Anna Skowronek-Mielczarek
Chapter 2
Structural Funds and the Changes of the Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises - Rafał Kasprzak
Chapter 3
The Influence of Organizational Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises on Their Innovativeness at the Time of the Crisis - Research Results - Barbara Bojewska
Chapter 4
Internet Technologies Used by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Due to the Crisis - Celina Sołek-Borowska
Chapter 5
The Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Area of Strategic Management - Mirosław Jarosiński
Chapter 6
The Models of Cooperation Between Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as an Expression of the Changes in Their Behaviour Triggered by the Crisis - Marta Ziółkowska
Appendix
