The World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute, and the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID), in collaboration with researchers affiliated with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), recently conducted a study on Africa s domestic enterprises to improve the understanding of the constraints micro and small enterprises in Africa face in improving productivity and expanding their markets. In Africa, there are stark performance gaps between domestically owned enterprises and foreign-owned enterprises in terms of sales performance, productivity, and ability to reach distant markets. Among others, size appears to be a dominant factor in explaining the gap. Against this background, the study analyzes how naturally formed industrial clusters concentrations of enterprises engaged in same or closely related industrial activities in specific locations could potentially mitigate constraints Africa s micro and small enterprises face and enhance their business performance. The study is one of the first comprehensive quantitative inquiries on industrial clusters in Africa. The analysis specifically focuses on the role of spontaneously grown clusters of light manufacturing industries based on a set of original case studies of industrial clusters conducted for this research project. One of the key findings from the case studies was that cluster-based micro and small enterprises are performing better than similar micro and small enterprises outside of the clusters in terms of sales performance and ability to reach distant markets. Market access is a leading reason for cluster-based enterprises to choose their current locations. However, cluster-based enterprises face another set of unique growth constraints. By the very nature of spontaneous agglomera tion, new enterprises continue to flow to the clusters seeking the profit opportunities and better access to markets at such locations. The result can be intense competition in addition to increased congestion. Space constraints often impede growth within clusters. The lack of alternative locations available for industrial activities in the same cities, generic infrastructure bottlenecks, and unclear zoning policies and their unpredictable changes limit firms location choices and constrain their mobility. While competition should improve efficiency, lack of capacity among those competing cluster-based enterprises to invest and innovate does not generate growth out of the competition. The vast majority of naturally formed clusters of light manufacturing industries in Africa are still at a survival level, where agglomeration externalities are only limited to expand quantity but not quality as we observe in more advanced innovation-oriented clusters in elsewhere in the world. Existing studies on such natural industrial clusters in Africa have found that the lack of managerial skills among entrepreneurs running micro and small enterprises is a major constraint for innovation and growth in the clusters. As a part of this study, pilot managerial skills training programs were conducted in two industrial clusters on an experimental basis, where a group of randomly selected entrepreneurs within the clusters were given three-week long crush course of based management such as bookkeeping, marketing, business planning, and production management. The impact evaluation of the experiments showed significant positive impacts of the training programs on value added and gross profits of enterprises. Raising the current survival-type industrial clusters, which have been formed as a coping mechanism to weak investment climate, into more dynamic innovating clusters will be an important avenue for fostering growth of micro and small enterprises in Africa. While national efforts to improve investment climate and investments in human capital are undoubtedly important, there could be more targeted policies to be formulated, in complementing general policies, to support growth of micro and small domestic enterprises using existing industrial clusters as a natural springboard for their growth. In that context, the study discusses the merit of cluster-based managerial human capital development to build steps toward more innovation-oriented clusters, the importance of sound spatial planning policy, particularly at the local level in the context of urban planning, the need to expand market access and economic linkages for industrial clusters including regional integration and linkages with large enterprises.

This book addresses the implications of technology, entrepreneurship, and business ‎‎development gadgets ‎for applications in societies. In this book proceedings, we attempt to address the importance and impact of digitalization and ‎on business development in the context ‎of economic ‎diversity, that is through various propositions of ‎modern technology and entrepreneurial ‎actions, and through the lens of case studies, experiments, empirical ‎assessments, just to name a ‎few research methodological stances and approaches.‎ This book highlights a range of topics in the fields of technology, ‎entrepreneurship, business administration, accounting, and economics that can contribute to business ‎development in developing countries, such as learning machines, artificial intelligence, big data, ‎deep ‎‎learning, game-based learning, management information system, ‎accounting information ‎system, knowledge management, entrepreneurship and social enterprise, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, business policy and strategic management, international management and organizations, organizational behavior and HRM, operations management and logistics research, controversial issues in management and organizations, turnaround, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation, legal issues, business ethics, and firm governance, and firm financial affairs, non-traditional research, and creative methodologies. This book is ideal for academicians, activists, curriculum ‎developers, researchers, professionals, administrators, and policymakers. The readers of this book could gain an up-to-date know-how on state-of-the-modern technology, entrepreneurship, and business development and achievements in this regard from the research standpoint of view.

This book introduces a new approach to the analysis and management of growth in small tourism markets for regional and rural locations. It recognizes from the outset that the vast bulk of the tourism industry’s product is delivered by small business enterprises and that many of these are located outside of metropolitan areas. Its central premise is that a myriad of small-scale clusters can provide an effective means to establish a local competitive advantage in tourism activities based on the resources of existing communities. The book brings together contemporary views of the potential of clustering theory to promote development in micro-markets, within the paradigm of competition, to create a new framework for regional development that might serve to enhance the growth of small-scale tourism destinations. Microclusters and Networks provides a theoretical explanation of how and why micro-clusters come about, with chapters by specialist authors to illustrate examples of their practice in the real world; but it goes further to demonstrate not only why they work but also how community members interact to form successful clusters. The incorporation of networking theory provides the means to explain the role of local community interaction in delivering successful social outcomes. The analysis that is provided clearly has applications for many industries beyond the development of rural and regional tourism destinations.

In the first stage of the book - explain the various element that effect in the growth of micro industry and in the second stage -clustering model have been shown. In the second stage the reader can understand why the private entrepreneurs took the initiative to cluster the micro industry. The book explain – how the private entrepreneurs independently run their business for growth of each other business and for whole economy of a country without intervention of the government.

Programs to improve the performance of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) through clustering is now becoming the design of industrial and innovation policies which is implemented by policy makers in Indonesia. There has been a common perception that clusters are able to encourage entrepreneurship, learning, and productivity improvements for MSEs more effectively. This common perception, however, should be further explored whether clustered MSEs successfully obtain "collective efficiency" from clusters or they even suffer from "collective failure". This book is an attempt to reveal such issues of MSEs clustering by presenting a case study on small industrial clusters in Central Java which is well known as the "heartland" of MSEs operate in clusters. While supporting programs are persistently introduced to such clusters, in fact, to obtain "the collective efficiency of clustering" is not so easy. Unfair competition accompanied by ineffective cooperation might be factors that cause to clustered MSEs failed to gain the benefit of clustering.

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are recognized as the backbone of today’s world economy. However, SMEs are well known for having limitations and acceptance barriers in adopting new technology even though the internet and communications channel’s revolution has changed the way people conduct business today. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed the operations of SMEs and increased the burden on social media application globally. It is essential that SMEs utilize social media to strengthen their performance. Strengthening SME Performance Through Social Media Adoption and Usage explores experiences in different technological, managerial, organizational, and entrepreneurial environmental issues. It focuses on different conceptions of factors and consequences influencing social media usage and SME performance. Covering topics such as corporate social responsibility, marketing frameworks, and social media adoption, this premier reference source is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers, human resource managers, marketers, consultants, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book presents an in-depth analysis of the functional dynamics of Indian industrial clusters which have grown and stayed as hubs of business activity in India, thanks to a large calibrated domestic market for goods. The examples given contribute towards the understanding of theoretical underpinnings of small firm clusters in LDCs and also indicate steps towards effective policy making for SME development in general, and local economic regeneration in LDCs in particular. The industries studied include modern as well as traditional/artisanal sectors which span at least ten Indian states. They provide insights into informality, labour, inter-firm relationship (cooperation and competition), technological and organisational flexibility, and forms of supportive institutional arrangements and nature of linkages with agencies external to the cluster, among other things. This book will be of particular interest to SME practitioners and to students and researchers of economics, business management, regional development, economic geography, industrial sociology and industrial organisation.