This paper examines the mismatch between the impersonality of electronic money on the one hand and Australian customers’ desire to have a personal banking relationship on the other. This gap is illustrated by a critical appraisal of literature relating to the sociology of money, the adoption...

In the manufacturing industry, there are a large number of small and medium‐sized manufacturers (M‐SMEs) which provide specialty manufacturing and support services to large corporations. M‐SMEs form the biggest group of manufacturing entities in many newly industrialized economies. The...

Examines the general macroeconomic crisis of the Venezuelan economy outlining its recent history and the seriousness of the present situation and points out how this crisis is especially serious for small firms. Presents information on the current state of small firms in Venezuela ‐ their...

This paper explores and validates the premise that European small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are less advanced in their adoption of e‐business than their US counterparts. The authors then examine the efforts of the European Information Society Project Office (ECISPO) in...

In an increasingly globalized economy, innovation pursuing the speeding up of technological changes takes a renewed interest. In this study, we attempt to show those characteristics and variables that make businesses successful, especially innovative small and medium‐sized enterprises. The...

This paper describes the status quo of the Austrian franchise situation. Judging from current trends, the future of franchising seems to have a bright outlook in Austria. The growth in franchising is a result not only of the increasing number of homegrown systems, but also of the influx of...

The pressures of globalization in general and the specific fact of declining inward investment represent together a formidable challenge not only to the German political economy itself, but also possibly to the relevance and viability of the “Rhineland” model of capitalism. In particular,...

Describes how an Italian university business school (CUOA) is collaborating with a group of ten small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to develop Internet communication strategies. The work in common outlined some typical problems affecting SMEs in their approach to Internet communication. Six...

The Internet has been called the technology of the century because it is expected to reduce the development gap between developing countries and developed ones. This article examines the validity of that assertion. The researcher examines Internet use at two levels. The first level is the...

Little attention has been paid to the strategy‐making processes of small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs), or to the effectiveness of strategic planning in the SME sector. Planning often fails because of implementation problems often associated with SMEs’ lack of capability to determine and...