especially the growing competition of foreign products and services once the commercial barriers had fallen Romanian SMES are the one of the most affected area.
In order to create a general perspective on small and medium enterprises in Romania, apprehension of the innovative
activities developed within these institutions has an essential role. The undertaken research revealed that innovative efforts within SMES were focused especially on
entrepreneurship I. RESEARCH ISSUES In order to create a general perspective on small and medium enterprises in Romania, apprehension of the
innovative activities developed within these institutions has an essential role. The undertaken research revealed 1 1 Research sponsored from Romanian National Council for
are aware of the fact that as the competition increases within each activity field, innovation represents an
enterprises Small enterprises Medium enterprises 1 New products 30.75%41.82%44.54 %2 New technologies 20.50%36.36%44.54
%3 New managerial and marketing approaches 14.25%18.18%21.85 %4 New informational systems 11.50%17.58%18.49
%5 Human resources training 11.38%16.97%18.49 %6 No innovation activities 27.13%12.12%5. 88 %Analyzing innovative activities within SMES on fields of activity reveals
enterprises within tourism (52.63%),big efforts in order to develop new technologies are undertaken within companies activating in the industrial
activities Industry Constructions Trade Tourism Transportation Services New products 47.56%32.26%31.25%52.63%39.30%24.30
%Considering the part of SMES€ investments dedicated to innovation (products, processes or organization), we observed that in most of the enterprises subject to our
research (22.17%)there is no interest for innovation activities. These are followed by the companies that dedicated for innovation between 5-10%,10-20%and 0-5
%respective 18.21%),companies with investments of 20%and 50%(13.40), %and the last position goes to economic agents
with investments of more than 50%of the investments fund with a weight of 6. 98%of the SMES.
innovative investments, which actually make the difference between companies, generating competitive advantage. See figure 2
Figure 2. SMES€ investments in innovation Analyzing SMES€ investments in innovation by size classes (table 3), we observe that:
the percentages of SMES investing in innovation weights from 5 to 10%and 10-20
decreases together with the enhancement of the enterprises due to the differences regarding the economic potential.
for enterprises investing 20-50%and more than 50%in innovation, the highest weight is covered by small sized
enterprises (22.67%and 9. 00%)and the lowest by micro enterprises (8. 37%and 5. 89
%TABLE III. SMES€ INVESTMENTS IN INNOVATION BY SIZE CLASSES Size classes No Part of investments dedicated to
innovation Micro enterprises Small enterprises Medium enterprises 1 0%29.46%10.67%9. 17 %2 0-5%19.38%16.33%16.51
%3 5-10%19.22%20.33%24.77 %4 10-20%17.67%21.00%23.85 %5 20-50%8. 37%22.67%17.43
%More than 50%5. 89%9. 00%8. 26 %If we classify SMES on economic fields of activity, we
notice the following aspects •enterprises that allocated to innovation more than 50%of investments register higher percentage in
constructions (14.29%)and lower in trade business 2. 26 %•as for the SMES that accomplished no innovative
activities in the last year, the highest percentage belongs to the companies in trade business (29.32
%and the lowest to the companies within industry 12.82 %•enterprises within tourism register a higher
percentage regarding the investments in innovation of 10-20%(27.03%)and lower proportions if we
take into account investments of 5-10%and 20-50 %13.51%,respective 8. 11%.%See table 4 for further
details 337 TABLE IV. SMES€ INVESTMENTS IN INNOVATION BY FIELDS OF ACTIVITY Fields of activity
No Part of investments dedicated to innovation Industry Constructions Trade Tourism Transportation Services 0%12.82%17.86%29.32%24.32%25.57%21.79
%0-5%15.90%14.29%21.05%16.22%15.86%20.95 %5-10%24.62%14.29%21.05%13.51%19.42%18.72
%10-20%25.13%21.43%14.29%27.03%18.77%17.32 %20-50%13.85%17.86%12.03%8. 11%15.21%12.29
renewed products and/or services introduced in the last year we notice that: 21.53%of the enterprises hold a percentage
of 5-10%;%21.24%of the economic agents had no innovation activities in 2007; 19.31%of SMES register a 10-20
%from new and/or renewed products and/or services. Taking into account these aspects, we may conclude that the
the number of enterprises with a 5-10%percentage from their turnover generated by new products/services increases
as the size of the firm increases As well as for the enterprises having 10-20%,20-50%and more than 50%of
their turnover generated by new products/services, the small sized companies hold the highest weights (23.21%,22.18
%respective 6. 83 %TABLE V. PART OF SMES TURNOVER GENERATED BY INNOVATION †CLASSIFICATION BY SIZE CLASSES
enterprises Small enterprises Medium enterprises 1. 0%27.85%10.92%9. 52 %2. 0-5%19.62%12.97%20.95
%3. 5-10%19.30%23.89%27.62 %4. 10-20%16.93%23.21%22.86 %5. 20-50%11.08%22.18%15.24
%6. More than 50%5. 22%6. 83%3. 81 %The analysis of The SMES by fields of activity highlights
as for the enterprises with no innovation activities the highest weight is registered in trade business (25.58%)and the lowest one in constructions
their turnover generated by new products/services the highest percentage is recorded by the companies in tourism
new products/services. See table 6 TABLE VI. PART OF SMES TURNOVER GENERATED BY INNOVATION â€
Industryconstructions Trade Tourismtransportation Services 0%15.26%10.34%25.58%22.22%23.36%21.84 %0-5%18.42%27.59%17.05%5. 56%16.45%19.54
•Taking into account the percentage of investments dedicated to innovation in products, processes or
organization, the majority of enterprises subject to our research (22.17%)register no innovative activities. These are followed by the companies that
the investment fund (with weights of 20.00 %19.25%,respective 18.21%),companies with investments of 20-50%(13.40%),and the last
position is held by economic agents with investments of more than a half of the investment fund (with a weight of 6. 98%of the SMES
•Innovation investments of more than 50%are more frequent for the SMES with more than 15 years of
experience (10.14%),enterprises in North West 14.71%),small sized companies (9%),companies with other juridical status (10.91%)and firms within
constructions (14.29 %•Almost 1/5 of the enterprises hold a percentage of 10-20%from their turnover generated by new
products/services and 21.24%of the economic agents made no innovation efforts in 2007 •Only in 5. 50%of the SMES turnover is generated by
new products/services in a proportion of more than 50 %REFERENCES 1 Nicolescu O.,Maniu A i.,Nicolescu C.,Anghel F.,White Chart of
SMES, Olimp Publishing house, Bucharest, 2008 2 Nicolescu O.,SMES Management, fourth edition, Economic Publishing house, Bucharest, 20
Lecturer Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Management Linet Hove Student of Entrepreneurship Arnold Thondhlana Lecturer Accounting Sciences and Finance Department
Nicholas Kakava Coordinator in Consumer Sciences Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe Corresponding author: Rangarirai Mbizi
economy, innovation and creativity becomes a decisive factor in the economic activity because knowledge tends to be developed in the actual contexts.
played by innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) operations sustainability in the manufacturing sector of Chinhoyi.
Worldwide, small and medium enterprises (SMES) are seen by policymakers as the ideal way to increase sustainable development (Naude 1998.
development of the South african economy (Butcher 1999), and inextricably linked to economic ijcrb. webs. com
and integrate this sector into the mainstream of economic activities (Luiz, 2002 In Zimbabwe, although SMES are currently at the forefront of local economic development and
catalysts of activity for an entire economy (Chichoni, 2011), many of them fail. In Zimbabwe up
Zimbabwe 80%of economic activities are in hands of SMES and big enterprises only contributes the remaining 20%(SEDCO Report, 2010.
This shows that the SMES have been dominating the country and one would expect that by now the big entrepreneurs should have increased in
dream in Lowly Developed Economies (LDES) like Zimbabwe. According to Allocca and Kessler (2006), the ability to develop
investment, and long-term viability. In this vein it is imperative to assess the role played by
enterprises (SMES) in the manufacturing sector make a significant contribution to economic growth, while most of the research on innovation management in the manufacturing sector has
SMES gain access to financing explore products and services developments that are driven both market and offer a value-addition component to the supply
2. 1 Small to Medium Enterprises (SMES Evidence from literature reveals that there is no universally agreed definition of an SME across
and Medium Enterprises Institute, SMES are defined as a registered enterprise with employment levels ranging from 30 to 70 depending on the types of industry.
enterprises that are formalized not through a legal structure such as registration in terms of the Companies Act or a Partnership Agreement was referred as micro-enterprises. †In a study by
Machipisa (1998) he defined an SME as a registered company with a maximum of 100
while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.
environment's ability to meet present and future needs "In this case long time life of the organisation and its stakeholders is vital
Previous research indicates that the operations function in SMES generally has a poor relationship with other functions in the business.
Business failure is attributed often to the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and business management skills (Zimmer, 1990.
Most entrepreneurs often start a new enterprise while ignorant of many key dimensions of running their own enterprises and must obtain the necessary skills
if they are to survive (Shepard, 2000. It is imperative that the entrepreneur be knowledgeable about all the
Skills development and education in general form part of human capital and according to human capital theorists these assets can improve SME productivity significantly (Honig, 2001
and less than 30, making a profit and expanding in terms of infrastructure and growth (Nieman et al, 2003
competition force SMES to search for new, innovative, flexible and imaginative ways to survive Therefore, the above statement provides a relationship between innovation and SME survival
economic growth and development was highlighted also by Joseph Schumpeter in his Theory of economic development (1912) who considered the entrepreneur†s task
departure the investment in R&d by industry or at the country level as a percentage of GDP and
inputs of customers and their fast changing needs makes it imperative that enterprises continuously improve the way business is conducted.
constantly experience shortages in capital to employee skills to improve production capacity which makes it necessary to continuously improve their production strategies with customized
and services being enhanced over time. However these enhancements typically took the form of refinements in components rather than changes in
They asserted that manufacturers may well take the opportunity to refine and improve some ijcrb. webs. com
toward improving the features and functionality of existing products and services. Radical product/service innovation was oriented toward creating wholly new products and/or services
Hamel (1996) contended that radical business concept innovation was paramount. He stated that in business concept innovation what was required was to ensure organizational success by
ï Radically re-conceiving products and services, not just developing new products and services ï Redefining market space
ï Redrawing industry boundaries For the sake of the study the first reviewed types were considered as the types of innovation and
competition had a strong negative effect, on organizational innovations. Moreover diversification was associated with more innovation.
heavy competition isnegatively associated with innovation, and showed that this was more in the case for process and organizational innovations than for product and marketing innovations
for technical work, capital investment for plant and equipment, marketing and promotions. They went on to clarify that larger size have a key enabling condition because of access to key
and the business environment in which they operate according to Burrone and Jaiya (2005. Leseure (2000) in support observed that, works
providing an environment for innovation Whereas Rothwell and Zegveld (1986) contrasted firm size and innovation across several
to put together different capabilities and services with the goal, through cooperation between suppliers and customers, service providers
and scientific institutions to achieve innovations of high quality. The results of Nguyen and Mothe (2008) confirmed that cooperation with
customers had a positive impact on performance Pavitt (1991) raised issues such as flexibility, short communication lines, close relations with
customers, motivation of management and labour force, less bureaucracy, little filtering of proposals with strong interest in product development and technological change as part of the
characteristics and strengths of an innovative culture. Lack of bureaucracy, efficiency informal communication, flexibility were emphasised further by Birchall, Chanaron and
Soderquist (1996 Adaptability through nearness to markets and close working relationships with customers were again found to be associated with innovation.
In addition, Chandler, Keller and Lyon (2000) found close analysis of competitors, supervisory and reward system support to
vision, enthusiasm, future-oriented exploit external opportunities for inward investment and information gathering. In addition, Motwaniet al.
themes such as fostering a creative environment, the right leadership in addition, listen to new ideas, top management play multiple roles,
According to their study, close linkage and cooperation with customers and suppliers had a direct and significant positive impact on the innovation performance of
included the level of competition and extent of customer options, geographical co-location, inter -organizational associations and communities of practice, partnerships and alliances, the
and the extent of customer and stakeholder engagement However, Hamel (2000) suggested different capabilities and he stated that an innovation
antithetical to promoting radically innovative business models and strategies ï Create an open market for capital investment and rewards.
He outlined that strategic thinking must not only be encouraged but also sponsored and rewarded ï Manage the risk.
open up innovation opportunities to all staff and engage customers, suppliers competitors, and complementary organizations to develop new approaches to
generating new wealth The above were required capabilities to execute innovation processes. There were various capabilities open to firms and according to the reviewed literature it depended on how the
flexibility, short communication lines, close relations with customers, motivation of management and labour force, less bureaucracy, little filtering of proposals with strong interest in product
their structures and strategies periodically in order to suit the changing environment From the hypotheses conducted, the results showed that there was link between innovation and
through networking some services can be exchanged for free ï SMES should recruit skilled personnel. New ideas can be injected in the business rather
Enterprise (SME. Creativity and Innovation Management 15 (3): 279-295 Babbie, E. 1979) the practice of social research, 3rd ed. Wadsworth, California
Chapter14, Innovation, www. maxwell. af. mil/au/awc/awcgate/doe/benchmark/c h14. pdf Accessed 18 september 2012
Beaver, G. & Prince, C. 2002, â€oeinnovation, entrepreneurship and competitive advantage in the entrepreneurial ventureâ€, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 9 (1): 28-37
Beck, T.,Demirguã§-Kunt, A. & Levine, R. 2005. SMES, Growth, and Poverty: Cross-country Evidence.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Wiley, UK Birchall, D.,Chanaron, J. &soderquist, K. 1996. Managing innovation in SMES, International
Innovation processes within Small and Medium-sized enterprises http://www. dare2. ubvu. vu. nl/bitstream/handle/1871/16050/dissertation. pdf. Accessed 19
A stakeholder management perspective. Strategy Management Journal 24 (5): 453-470 Cummings, B. S. 1998.
of an innovation-supportive organizational cultureâ€, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 25 1): 59-76 Damanpour, F. 1991.
Virtual Environments Innovation and R&d Activities, University of Technology Malaysia, Malaysia Essentials, 1999. Entrepreneurship development, 2: 1 http://www. essentials-on
-entrepreneurship. pdf. Accessed 25 october 2012 Ettlie, J. E. & Rubenstein, A. H. 1987, â€oefirm size and product innovationâ€, Journal of Product
Innovation 4: 89-108 Gupta, A k. &govindrajan, V. 1991. Knowledge flows and the structure of control within
Heunks, F. J. 1998, â€oeinnovation, creativity and successâ€, Small Business Economics, 10 (3): 263 -72
and performance in Chinese technology ventures. Strategy Management 23 (6): 469-490 Machipisa, L. 1998.
Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry. Strategic Management Journal 26 (2): 159-180
study of small to medium enterprises (SMES) â€, Measuring Business Excellence, 7 (2): 78-92
enterprises (SMES) in the manufacturing sector. Strategic Management Journal 31 (8): 892-90 Tidd, J.,Bessant, J. &pavitt, K. 2002.
Linking Entrepreneurship and Economic growth, Small Business Economics, August 13 (1): 27-55 World bank (2009. Innovative Firms or Innovative Owners?
Determinants of Innovation in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, The World bank Development Research Group, Finance
and Private Sector Team Yin, R. K. 1989) Case study Research: Design and Methods, Sage, Cardiff
Demand for passenger and freight transport is constantly increasing in cities and towns, contributing to congestion, pollution,
Increasing demand for passenger and freight transport in urban areas is a challenge for governments and transport authorities in all EU Member States.
environment itself, congestion adversely affects economic competitiveness, social cohesion and sustainable growth in Europe. Mobility issues in European cities and
towns are key drivers of the economy, contributing up to 85%of EU Gross domestic product (GDP Efficient urban transport is essential to the
and economic hubs in their national economies and for the EU in the global context.
in many transport services Traffic congestion Urban expansion and high dependence on the car and truck have led to congestion in cities and towns
and the economic and social demand for rapid and efficient movement of goods and people, safely
and accompanying impacts on economy, society and the environment requires a change in mindset by both decision makers and transport users.
A new culture in urban mobility is needed in order to deliver integrated and sustainable transport planning, and
and demands for new and flexible lifestyles, cities are faced with finding new transport solutions for
bring opportunities for integrating data for journey planning and electronic ticketing, and smart cards to facilitate interoperability between public transport
and was followed in 1998 with the Communication on Developing the Citizens†Network. To promote sustainable transport and to meet mobility needs
Strategy on the Urban Environment, adopted in 2006 stresses the contribution of urban mobility trends to
damage to the built environment and social exclusion as well as increasing traffic volumes and congestion All policy documents highlight the EU€ s facilitating role
results in †demonstration†cities with stakeholders in other urban areas in Europe. By linking cities with
•Demand management strategies based on economic tools, regulatory measures and tele-services •Mobility management plans and communication
campaigns for managing mobility demand •Safe and secure road infrastructure and transport for all users
•New forms of vehicle use and/or ownership and a less car-dependent lifestyle
•Energy-efficient freight logistics and new concepts for goods distribution •Innovative transport telematics systems for traffic
concepts and seamless mobility services. Urban areas are becoming †laboratories†for technological and organisational innovation in transport and mobility
processes engaging stakeholders help to bridge the gap between research and market take-up. The EU
operators, key stakeholders and citizens by including dissemination of results and best practices in research programmes,
communication tools such as the ELTIS portal Launched by the European commission in 2003 the Intelligent Energy Europe programme (IEE
The Partnership's stakeholders define joint targets for 2020 and more specific operational objectives, they
local action and investment For more information, the Smart Cities and Communities Stakeholder Platform is available at
www. eu-smartcities. eu *Smart city solutions could include: innovative, integrated technologies and services with applications in buildings
heating/cooling), grids, mobility, traffic management, broadband communications that contribute to sustainable development in cities and communities
6 INNOVATION IN URBAN MOBILITY-POLICY MAKING AND PLANNING Integrated and sustainable transport planning The EU policy objective of reducing dependency on the private car is pivotal in
demand and to provide services that enhance the overall urban system and surroundings. Thus an integrated package of measures needs to
Furthermore, early participation of stakeholders in local decision-making contributes to wider acceptance of new mobility measures.
policy makers, stakeholders and civil society Urban traffic management Increasing transport demand is creating a major challenge in traffic management in urban areas
throughout Europe. Decision makers have at their disposal a wide range of technology solutions that have emerged from recent research and
services, bus lanes, cycle lanes and pedestrian zones. The aim is to facilitate a shift to more
management can influence transport demand to some extent. Research has focused on information and communication on alternative transport
options, such as awareness raising and information campaigns, organisation of sustainable homework and home-school transport services, and mobility
measures for large events. Investigations indicate that such measures do not require large financial INNOVATION IN URBAN MOBILITY-POLICY MAKING
investment and may have a high cost-benefit ratio The concept of mobility management has been investigated in various research projects, and a wide
investment and operations. The EU Regulation on Public Passenger Transport Services by Rail and Road
Regulation EC no 1370/2007) sets out conditions for competent authorities to grant exclusive rights and/or compensation to public service operators.
and integrating services into the urban transport network. Directed to stimulating use of public transport, research has been carried
services Research on intermodal public transport is directed to seamless transfer from one mode to another by, for instance, smart ticketing systems and
sharing services New technologies are being developed to improve public transport use, such as PRT (Personal Rapid Transit), BRT (Bus Rapid transit) and GRT (Group
Rapid transit), and new services such as demand responsive public transport. These technologies and services are being tested in the CIVITAS Initiative, in
the Citymobil projects and in the Intelligent Energy -Europe (IEE) programme Sustainable mobility concepts Research has shown that sustainable mobility
of flexible public transport services such as buses on demand Increasing attention is being given to non -motorised transport.
stakeholder needs. As a result, the EBSF vision has been formulated for the bus system for the
Bringing together 47 stakeholders in the bus sector the European Bus System of the Future (EBSF) project launched a bus
with real-time multimodal information, quality services with improved accessibility, enhanced comfort, and onboard services. In addition
R&d included improving commercial speed by shortening journey times improving reliability and punctuality of services, and enhancing safety
for passengers and drivers Project reference: European Bus System of the Future Status: Completed Total cost:
Four prototype vehicles have been tested by partner operators in eight cities across Europe Bremerhaven, Brunoy, Budapest, Gothenburg
•Improved onboard e-services with screens providing information on real departure times and disruptions with alternative routes
services for passengers and operators. For example in Paris, the EBSF bus station offers diversified services to fulfil both transport and
urban requirements: electric bikes for better inter -modality, library, public Wi-fi, dedicated space for mobile retailers.
More than 100 bus stakeholders contributed to the EBSF Roadmap, which identifies key areas and priorities for research on bus systems
Easy access to efficient transport services †whether road, rail or waterborne †is essential to the quality of
to improve access to regular services in all appropriate transport modes. Policy focuses on improving the
cohesion to ensure more accessible jobs, services and facilities to help overcome social exclusion The key policy focus is to provide all citizens with
orientation guides, connecting services, and alerts to delays In Europe, research is being conducted to develop
planning services both face-to-face and via the web While reliable information is often available for
criteria and benchmarks are being developed to enable authorities and transport operators to assess security levels and to apply the most efficient and
assessing accessibility of public transport services and have identified best practices on how to improve urban mobility,
-friendly for everyone, travel opportunities need to be equitable for all. This includes ACCESSIBILITY For ALL
concepts for vehicles, infrastructure, services and public information directed to eliminating barriers in the public transport chain.
-assessment tool to support stakeholders in assessing the strengths and weaknesses in the transport system, and in defining
environment and human health. While these problems occur at local level, their impacts extend beyond city boundaries.
environment. Road transport alone contributes two -thirds of transport-related emissions of greenhouse gases New technologies are being developed to enable a
phase out †conventionally fuelled†vehicles in the urban environment and to introduce lower emission vehicles.
The Communication on Clean Power for Transport A European alternative fuels strategy evaluates the main alternative fuel options available to
services. Such requirements are expected to enhance market uptake of environmentally friendly vehicles while research is assessing the impact of this new
software systems, prototypes and applications have been developed for activities such as truck access control, dynamic tunnel access control and vehicle and cargo monitoring.
-to-vehicle and road-to-vehicle communication implementation in on-board and on-cargo units. Specific systems have been designed
posed by the increasing demand for passenger and freight transport. A policy framework to support cities
urban environment, and to increase living standards economic competitiveness, and social cohesion The guidelines on the Sustainable Urban Mobility
influence transport demand, including incentive schemes for more sustainable use of transport modes and infrastructure.
improve stakeholder participation in the decision -making process have been implemented with the EU support. Innovative approaches have been tested
Citymobil †Advanced Transport for the Urban Environment, Final Citymobil Brochure November 2011 â Civitas Initiative (2012:
Communication from the Commission Developing the Citizens†Network, COM 1998) 431 final, Brussels â European commission (2006:
Communication from the Commission on the Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment, COM (2005) 718 final, Brussels
â European commission (2007a: Green Paper, Towards a New Culture for Urban Mobility, SEC (2007) 1209 final, Brussels
Transport Services by Rail and by Road, Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007, Brussels â European commission (2009a:
Communication from the Commission, Action Plan on Urban Mobility, SEC (2009 1211, SEC (2009) 1212, final, Brussels
Communication from the Commission, Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative, Innovation Union, SEC (2010) 1161, Brussels â European commission (2010b:
Communication from the Commission, European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe SEC (2010) 1324, Brussels
Communication from the Commission, Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020, COM (2010) 0389 final, Brussels
Communication from the, The EU Internal security Strategy in Action: Five steps towards a more secure Europe, COM (2010) 673 final, Brussels
Communication Clean Power for Transport: European alternative fuels strategy (COM (2013) 17 â European commission (2013b:
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