One of the key factors of a competitive economy is creating a strong, internationally competitive SME sector. This essay is based on the fact that management tools used in the SME sector are insufficient. With the development of these tools, the competitiveness of companies could improve. According to the literature, using lean thinking has a positive influence on the company’s effectiveness, and also proved that lean approach can be successfully extended out of the car industry, into the limitedly resourced SME sector, too. Even though the topic of lean manufacturing is analysed by many studies, there is a lack of papers dealing with its usage in the SME sector. The originality of this paper lies in analysing the current status of using lean manufacturing practices among the Hungarian SMEs operating in the manufacturing industry. The paper includes an examination about how deeply the elements of lean thinking are present in the Hungarian SME sector, how large the development reserves are, and whether there is a difference between the usage of lean practices. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. SMEs’ representatives, mostly CEOs and managers from the Hungarian manufacturing industry participated in the survey. The sample contained 128 observations. The study has two control variables, which are the size of the company and the relation to the lean management. The survey brought the following results. First of all, it shows that the level of using lean is low among the Hungarian SMEs. Furthermore, customer orientation is a key factor in the sector, however, there are considerable possibilities for progress by the inner processes and the handling and involvement of the suppliers. Firstly, a good basis to increase the effectiveness could be the creation of thinking in processes influencing the supply chain. Secondly, the development of the leadership and the involvement of the employees at some level are also significant. Key findings is that without state incitement and the involvement of outside experts, progress cannot be expected to spread on a broad scope. The background of the research method was created to fit the available literature and to capable to be used in other countries, too. Moreover, this way the available information can be expanded with a regional dimension, in case further studies are going to be made.

In digital revolution, the appropriate IT infrastructure, technological knowledge are essential for the success of companies, where the success of the digital transformation depends on digital maturity. The aim of the study is to define the digital maturity, theoretical foundation of the digital maturity model and present a framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) understanding where they are in digitalisation (how advanced their digital resource system and digital approach) to respond faster and efficiently to environmental changes. The model construction is based on theory of dynamic capabilities, graduation models, and SMEs management challenges. The model is a dynamic model to support management in strategic, digital and organizational developments, which is divided into IT and organizational dimensions, including 6 components and 28 subcomponents. The ultimate goal of the study is to determine the component weights to create a neurofuzzy model.

The situation on the construction market is difficult. One way to improve it can be to implement modern methods and techniques related to the lean management in construction. The article presents an algorithm supporting the selection of appropriate Lean Management tools and techniques for construction companies using AHP method. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is illustrated by a case study consisting of a small construction company performing insulation works in a multifamily house. The presented approach is part of the broader research work carried out by the authors in the field of improving construction processes and verifying the efficiency and effectiveness of Lean Management methods and techniques construction works.

The article presents the analysis of the simulation test results for three variants of the power electronics used as interface between the power network and superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) with the following parameters: power of 250 kW, current of 500 A DC and voltage of 500 V DC. Three interface topologies were analyzed: two-level AC-DC and DC-DC converters; three-level systems and mixed systems combining a three-level active rectifier and a two-level DC-DC converter. The following criteria were considered: input and output current and voltage distortions, determined as THDi and THDu, power losses in power electronics components; cost of the semiconductor components for each topology and total cost of the interface. Results of the analysis showed that for high-power low-voltage and high-current power electronics systems, the most advantageous solution from a technical and economical perspective is a two-level interface configuration in relation to both AC-DC and DC-DC converters.

The objective of this research is to investigate the perception of owner – managers and

their employees regarding entrepreneurial leadership. To develop the research, two questions

are raised related to the similarities or differences of the perceptions of both groups

with what is established in the literature and between the self – evaluation of the owner –

managers and their employees on whether the former perform as an entrepreneurial leader.

As a research method, both groups are asked to perform, first individual evaluations and

then to match certain behaviours and the levels at which they should appear at certain levels

of entrepreneurial leadership capacity. The data gathered during the investigation were

processed using the Categorical Principal Components Analysis and revealed the similarities

and differences between the perceptions of the owner-managers and their employees on

entrepreneurial leadership. In spite of not finding significant differences between what is established

in the literature and among the perceptions of the groups under study, interesting

nuances stand out that, if not identified and understood, could have a negative effect on

the performance of SMEs. The results of the research demonstrated the importance of the

approach of behaviour and perception in the study of entrepreneurial leadership.

Small and Medium Enterprises SME play a crucial role in the global economy through their contribution in countries economy and creation of employment opportunities, and their success heavily relies on the implementation of efficient manufacturing systems like Lean Production(LP). LP is a continuous improvement philosophy based on various lean activities for improving enterprise lean performance. A fuzzy model that integration Fuzzy Consistency Algorithm (FCA) and Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was proposed as a comprehensive framework to assess the levels of importance and priority of nineteen SME lean activities that categorized into the related five related lean dimensions. FCA was used to construct the fuzzy pairwise comparison matrix to ensure obtaining consistent experts judgment, whereas FAHP was applied to identify the level of importance and priority of lean activities. Identifying the level of importance of lean activities will be contributed in focuses SME efforts in the improvement process on the most important lean activities to ensure effective resource allocation and foster continuous improvement process and offer a practical tool for enhancing their competitiveness and sustainability. The proposed model was applied in Iraqi SME. The result showed that FCA is an efficient approach to construct a consistent judgment matrix. Efficient manger, Kaizen team, supplier relationship, execution customer suggestions and customer satisfaction job rotation are the most important lean activities with level of importance 58.90%, 21.30%, 49.80%, 38.50%, 41.20% respectively. The proposed model can be used for small or medium size enterprise for various production industries.

Lean manufacturing has been the most deliberated concept ever since its introduction. Many organization across the world implemented lean concept and witnessed dramatic improvements in all contemporary performance parameters. Lean manufacturing has been a sort of mirage for the Indian automotive industry. The present research investigated the key lean barriers to lean implementation through literature survey, confirmatory factor analysis, multiple regression, and analytic network process. The general factors to lean implementation were inadequate lean planning, resource constraints, half-hearted commitment from management, and behavioral issues. The most important factor in the context of lean implementation in Indian automotive industry was inadequate lean planning found with the help of confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Further analysis of these extracted factors through analytic network process suggested the key lean barriers in Indian automotive industry, starting from the most important were absence of proper lean implementation methodology, lack of customer focus, absence of proper lean measurement system, inadequate capital, improper selection of lean tools & practices, leadership issues, resistance to change, and poorly defined roles & responsibilities. Though literature identifying various lean barriers are available. The novelty of current research emerges from the identification and subsequent prioritization of key lean barriers within Indian automotive SMEs environment. The research assists in smooth transition from traditional to lean system by identifying key barriers and developing customized framework of lean implementation for Indian automotive SMEs.

The rapid development of digital technologies have created unprecedented opportunities for the industrial world. Enterprises, especially small and medium sized companies, struggle to successfully implement these technologies, and there is scant literature to support this endeavor. The authors hypothesize that ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) implementation, being a mature field, can guide digital technology implementation, taking into considerations the similarities. A systematic literature review was conducted to determine the critical success factors (CSF) of ERP implementation in SMEs that were used to derive guidelines for digital technology implementation case study. The results of the case study is another list of CSF that more correctly mirror the digital technology implementation needs. They are: “digitalization strategic plan”; “project sponsor/leader”; “commitment to the workplace”; “involvement of top management”; “reasonable project scope”; “compatibility with existing processes/systems”; “progressing with small steps”; “use of correct competencies”; and “involving the users”.

Technological progress is the driving force behind industrial development. It is a multidimensional and multi-level phenomenon. In this article we focus on its three manifestations: information and communication technologies (ICT), Industry 4.0 and agile manufacturing. The aim of this article is to analyse the relationship between these constructs as they are undoubtedly interrelated. ICT plays a key role, but it is not a goal itself. They are a prerequisite for the implementation of Industry 4.0, but together with it they serve to achieve agility by the manufacturing system and, as a result, achieve a competitive advantage by companies operating in turbulent and unpredictable environment. The literature findings in this paper are part of a broader study conducted on the impact of ICT on agility of SMEs operating in India. Therefore, we include also subsections showing the level of this relationship in Indian SMEs.

Many stages of growth models have been introduced to clarify management priorities during the early stages of business growth. However, many of these models are conceptual and universal, providing only limited benefits to specific industries and business contexts. The early stages of technology-based ventures have attracted broad interest, while less attention has been paid to the early stages of service-based firms. However, in recent years, interest in service-based businesses, as well as servitisation, has grown. This literature-based study explores and compares the early stages of growth in service-based and technology-based firms. On one hand, this study condenses the basic characteristics of recent empirical studies on the early stages of technology- and service-based firms. On the other, this study clarifies the central themes, sequential patterns and central differences in the early stages of service- and technology-based firms. This study pinpoints the importance of contextual understanding related to the early stages of business growth and encourages the scholars towards bridging the contextual gaps of this stream of literature.

Maintenance involves a large amount of data management. Although many tools, strategies, and systems, have been developed to organize the maintenance information resources, SMEs have not found the same benefits as large companies due to their inherent characteristics and, above all, the maturity level of the maintenance department. Maturity models are useful tools for assessing the maturity of maintenance information practices; however, existing models are not suitable for any type of business context, as they required companies to have a clear organizational structure and definite informative infrastructure. Moreover, they do not assist in identifying and defining actions to reach the highest level. This paper proposes a model for assessing and improving maintenance management information practices. It allows a clear measure of the maturity of the maintenance information management practices in industrial contexts and provides improvement actions identifying the information and data needed to enhance maintenance management information practices.