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The aim of this article is to investigate the determinants of the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets: evidence from Vietnam.

This article relies on the resource-based view to examine the factors affecting the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets. The method employed in the research is the generalized method of moments for testing hypotheses of data collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam in the period of 2013–2016.

The results show that factors such as the intensity of capital investment, age and size of the firm, labor productivity, foreign ownership, location, cost management effectiveness and export activities have a positive effect on the performance of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises, while revenue growth rate, fixed assets and financial leverage tend to hinder their performance. This has brought important messages that the input markets and the business environment in emerging markets like Vietnam have not yet stimulated well-economic activities.

This study sheds light on a topic that has not been fully explored in small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets in general, and Vietnam in particular. Specifically, small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets reconfigure available resources and strengthen internal capabilities to overcome barriers of the shortages of strategic, rare and irreplaceable resources in order to improve their performance. This is a unique contribution to the existing literature and highlights the original value of this article.

This research probes into the execution of small and medium‐sized enterprises’ value creativities by a difference analysis with different classifications, different capital, different turnover, different employees, and different established years. This study develop a questionnaire about value creativity with five dimensions and thirty‐five items according to “Valuation” by McKinsey and Company, Inc. and Copeland et al., such as: “Aspiration and target,” “Portfolio management,” “Organization design,” “Process management,” and “Business and individual performance management.” The results are as follows: (1) Most small and medium‐ sized enterprises (SMEs) have executed value creativities; (2) There is a difference in the execution of value creativities between the livelihood industry and the chemical industry; the execution of value creativities by livelihood industry is better than the chemical industry; (3) For value creativities of the execution of different capital and turnover for SMEs, bigger entities are better than smaller ones; (4) For the value creativities of the execution of different numbers of staff in SMEs, those with more staff are better than those with fewer staff; (5) For the value creativities of the execution of different established years for SMEs, those established longer are better than those established shorter.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance evolution of enterprises in Italian industrial districts. In particular, economic performance indicators are analysed for Arezzo goldsmith enterprises, to highlight: differences in the goldsmith local systems performances; the role played by firm size in the evolution trajectories; and the emergence of a medium‐sized nucleus of firms with better performance.

The paper first conducts a brief literature review on medium‐sized firms in Italian industrial districts. Then it examines the economic‐financial indicators of 183 Arezzo goldsmith firms to evaluate firm performance in comparative terms both with other Italian industrial districts and with firm size. Finally it focuses its attention on 15 medium‐sized firms or groups, carrying out a statistical analysis by organizational model comparing the aggregate data of the Arezzo goldsmith district.

The results regarding the Arezzo experience show: a reduction of competitive capabilities compared with other industrial districts; considerable difficulties for both small enterprises and the historical large firm leader; and the emergence of a medium‐sized firm nucleus which seems better able to manage a changing competitive environment.

The main implication for researchers and SME (small to medium‐sized enterprises) consultants is that the selection process currently in play among Italian industrial districts and local enterprises appears to reward only certain entrepreneurial categories. Findings of this exploratory study need future research both at an inter‐industry level and with international comparative analysis.

Medium‐size firms represent a new area of research on SMEs. Empirical evidence supports the research hypothesis.

Addresses the question of whether the lean enterprise concept is applicable to small and medium‐sized firms. The implications of the lean enterprise framework for the smaller firm can be summarized in three basic ideas. First, building a larger and more comprehensive offer through partnerships, which has a potential to offer comparatively significant advantages. Second, building unique competence through collaboration with smaller and focused businesses. Third, avoiding large geographical distances when collaborating in more advanced knowledge areas and paying attention to the amount of corporate management capacity that can be occupied by global networking issues.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid understanding of entrepreneurship and examine the relationships between small and medium‐sized Chinese manufacturing enterprises, the intensity of their entrepreneurial orientation and the degree of their internationalization. In addition, it examines whether entrepreneurial orientation would affect enterprises' internationalization strategies and their success.

The seven‐step procedure for scale development is used and survey data have been utilized to conduct statistical analysis.

The paper finds that entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to the degree of internationalization, particularly amongst the small and medium‐sized Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The international experiences of enterprises have significant importance and positively affect the degree of their internationalization. In addition, the degree of their success depends greatly on their attitudes towards risk taking, their ability to diversify internationally and successfully compete with those already established in the market.

A lot of studies have been conducted on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation. However, few people have ever studied the relation between the degree of entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization. Empirical studies on the correlations between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance are not abundant in China. Furthermore, very few researches on the correlations between entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization have been conducted. The research presented in this paper is intended to bridge this gap. Through empirical analyses of their relationships, this paper shows how entrepreneurial strategies can stimulate competitive advantages and drive forward the international developments of the Chinese enterprises, particularly the small and medium‐sized.

This study examines the relationship between task-oriented leadership style, psychological capital, job satisfaction and organizational commitment: evidence from Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises.

The method employed in the research is the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for testing hypotheses of data collected from a sample of 800 employees working in small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam.

The results show that the task-oriented leadership style has a positive impact on organizational commitment, limits job satisfaction and no obvious association with the psychological capital of employees. Besides, job satisfaction and psychological capital play an important role in the organizational commitment of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises of Vietnam.

This paper aims to shed light on a less fully explored topic for organizational behavior in small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets like Vietnam. In contrast to extensive studies on the participative and supportive leader, this study focuses on task-oriented leadership style in the testing and analysis to understand the theory of leadership style, psychological capital, job satisfaction and organizational commitment in emerging markets and provides more knowledge on employee behavior management for companies in Vietnam. This is a unique contribution to the original value of this article.

This article analyzes the impact of social insurance on firm performance by obtaining evidence from Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The method employed in the research is the generalized method of moments for testing hypotheses of data collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

The results show that social insurance contributions can enhance firm performance in three dimensions: return on equity (ROE), labor productivity and total factor productivity (TFP). In addition, financial leverage, firm size, the average wage of workers and fixed assets have an impact on the social insurance costs of these companies.

This article provides a novel explanation of the contribution of social insurance to firm performance. In particular, social insurance contribution not only increases labor productivity but also boosts the growth of the TFP of companies. In addition, the article points out that taking care of the benefits of employees is a valuable investment of companies. These are the unique contributions of the paper to the literature on the economic impact of social insurance.

Introduction: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the economic development of economies by generating job opportunities. Considering their significance, understanding the challenges and skills required in these enterprises becomes essential and timely.

Purpose: This study aims to discuss the limitations and skill gaps faced by SMEs in emerging economies, such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Ghana, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, UAE, Iran, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Zambia, Romania, and Vietnam.

Methodology: The study adopts a systematic review and meta-synthesis approach, utilising a literature review to comprehensively analyse, synthesise, and map the existing literature by identifying overarching themes.

Findings: The study examines the challenges SMEs encounter in emerging economies, including resource scarcity, limited access to credit, inadequate infrastructure, low technology adoption, restricted global market access, and ineffective marketing strategies. There is a notable shortage of skilled labour and development initiatives within SMEs in India even though the country has a sizeable pool of qualified workers. There is a pressing need for additional technical and managerial skills to remain competitive in the market. The findings of this study will assist HR managers in addressing skill shortages among employees in SMEs operating within emerging economies

Long‐standing vocational training institutions in Latin America countries are undergoing significant transformation to improve their relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in responding to the challenges of increased competitiveness, economic restructuring, technological change and evolving social demands. Based on an extensive survey conducted in 1990, reviews and analyses the recent changes and innovations taking place in such organizations, focusing on their institutional policies, strategies, programmes and services delivered. Trends show that training authorities are evolving towards: (1) emphasizing in‐service training; (2) up‐grading the level of training; (3) organizing training by economic sectors; (4) transferring training delivery to enterprises; (5) focusing on direct support to small‐scale enterprises; and (6) taking on new roles in technology transfer. national training authorities have thus managed to strengthen their linkages and legitimacy with enterprises against a background of reduced public funding and mounting pressure from enterprises to satisfy their increasing and more diverse demands.

This article aims to present an overview of the historical development and current status of Chinese small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) examine major political initiatives contributing to SMEs' development and draw out some experience from SME development practices in China.

This paper is exploratory in nature, using archives of government documents and related statistics.

The article argues that the fundamental role of the market in allocating resources and the self‐operation status of SMEs should be respected, that it is imperative to encourage SMEs to optimise industrial structure, and that it is important to properly handle the government‐enterprise relations and bring the role of the government in macro control into full play so as to create a fair competitive environment for SMEs.

The Chinese experience of SME development is of great interest to policy‐makers and academics alike.

The article explores entrepreneurship and SME development in China from a policy‐making perspective.