2012 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2013), "2012 Awards for Excellence", European Business Review, Vol. 25 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2013.05425aaa.002

2012 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2012 Awards for Excellence From: European Business Review, Volume 25, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for European Business Review

“Impact of globalization: the ability of less developed countries' (LDC's) firms to cope with opportunities and challenges”

Gabriel Baffour AwuahHalmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden

Mohamed AmalUniversidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB, Blumenau, Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to contribute to the debate on the impact of globalization on the competitiveness of firms in least developed countries (LDCs). Two main research questions will be addressed. How does globalization affect the competitiveness of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in LDCs? How can SMEs handle opportunities and challenges emerging from globalization?

Design/methodology/approach – The methodology for this study is a conceptual attempt to review the existing literature and make some propositions about how SMEs can handle the opportunities and challenges emerging from globalization.

Findings – Building on a developed operational framework affecting the competitiveness of firm's, some of the expected results are thatfirms capabilities with regards to innovation, learning, and internationalization, which increase their competitiveness, are enhanced by institutional setups. Second, establishing relationships with governmental and non-governmental institutions is crucial in terms of accessing resources, innovating, and entering into foreign markets.

Originality/value – The paper represents a contribution to the debate on the impact of globalization on the competitiveness of firms, particularly SMEs, in LDCs. Although globalization has brought considerable benefits to many actors worldwide, its impact on competitiveness of (SMEs) are controversial. We suggest that globalizations' effects depend on the capability of firms to learning, to innovate, and also on the institutional setup in LDCs.

Keywords Globalization, Competitive strategy, Small to medium-sized enterprises, Developing countries

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/09555341111098026

This article originally appeared in Volume 23 Number 1, 2011, pp. 120-32 European Business Review

Outstanding Reviewer

Michael CallaghanDeakin University, Australia