Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid...

This paper presents the results of empirical research conducted during March to September 2009. The study focused on the influence of virtual research and development (R&D) teams within Malaysian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The specific objective of the study is...

New interaction tools such as internet allow companies to gain valuable input from research and development (R&D) engineers via virtual teams. Consequently, engineers also get more expertise in diminutive time frames. Virtual R&D teams present the key impetus to the technology acquisition...

New product development (NPD) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) virtual team has not been systematically investigated in developing countries. Literatures have shown no significant differences between traditional NPD and virtual NPD in general. New product development especially for...

Purpose - The literature on the topic has evolved exponentially since eight years ago. Relaying on a review of studies published in recent years, this article proposes and discusses a framework which incorporates a set of virtual teams involved in a new product development initiative....

The Information area has revolutionized the workplace. Douglas Kruse, a professor of human resources and the director of the program for disability research at Rutgers University, states that 7% of employed persons with disabilities work 20 hours or more a week from home. While some modern...

Innovation is becoming the most important key issue for company's success in the 21st century. In the competitive environment it is necessary for the enterprises to put together different capabilities and services with the goal. It is widely accepted that innovation can be better achieved by...

National and global collaboration in research and development (R&D) is becoming increasingly important in creating the knowledge that makes research and business more competitive. Multinational enterprises have increased their research and development (R&D) investment in different countries....

In today’s dynamic marketplace, companies are under strong pressure to introduce new products for long-term survival with their competitors. Besides, every company cannot cope up progressively or immediately with the market requirements due to knowledge dynamics being experienced in...

In this paper, we present our more than two years research experiences on virtual R&D teams in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and draws conclusions, giving special attention to the structure of virtual teams required to support education-industry collaboration. We report the relevant...