Dynamic capabilities, value creation and value capture: Evidence from SMEs under Covid-19 lockdown in Poland.

Dynamic capabilities, resulting from activities that allow conscious and skillful modification of a firm's strategic potential, are seen as one of the key drivers of a firm's value creation, competitive advantage and above-average performance in changing environments. However, little is known about how dynamic capabilities can shape business survival and performance during crises. The research objective of this paper is twofold. First, through a literature review, we seek to identify which first-order dynamic capabilities-managerial decisions under uncertainty-are vital for rapid response to a crisis. Second, we present the results of research carried out among 151 small and medium-sized companies in Poland immediately after the beginning of the economic lockdown (April 2020). The survey that we developed identifies which dynamic capabilities were essential for businesses to survive during this unexpected black swan event. We also present dependence and regression analyses showing the links between the identified dynamic capabilities and value creation, understood as retaining employees and production levels, as well as value capture, understood as maintaining cash flow and current revenues.

Perceptions of SNAP and Stocking Standards: A Qualitative Study of California Small Food Store Owners and Managers.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is critical to alleviating food insecurity, but low diet quality among program participants is a concern. Nutrition-related interventions have focused on SNAP-authorized food retailers, but the perspectives of small food store owners and managers have not been represented in national policy discussions. This study aimed to explore the opinions of store owners/managers of SNAP-authorized small food stores about their overall perceptions of the program and the stricter stocking standards previously proposed in 2016. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 33 small food store owners and managers in San Francisco and Oakland, California in 2016. Interviews were analyzed for thematic content using the general inductive approach. Four themes emerged from owners/managers' discussion of their overall perceptions of SNAP: the beneficial impact of SNAP on their business, how SNAP enables them to connect with the broader community, the importance of SNAP in preventing hunger, and the nutrition-related struggles that SNAP participants face. Store owners/managers had a generally favorable response towards the proposed stricter stocking standards. Additional themes discussed pertained to the concern about whether stocking changes would lead SNAP participants to purchase more healthful food and some logistical challenges related to sourcing and storing perishable foods.

Microfinance and Peer Health Leadership Intervention Implementation for Men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A Qualitative Assessment of Perceived Economic and Health Outcomes.

Men in sub-Saharan Africa continue to experience health disparities that are exacerbated by low employment. This study qualitatively assessed men's perceptions of the economic and health-care-seeking effects of participation in an integrated microfinance and peer health leadership intervention on violence and HIV risk reduction in Tanzania. Three focus group discussions with 27 men, aged 20 to 44 years, examined the perceived effects on income generation, employability, mental health, and uptake of HIV and related health services. All discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using deductive and inductive coding methods. Men reported that the benefits of the intervention included increased employability and income-earning activities due to greater access to entrepreneurial training, low-interest microfinancing, and male-oriented group supports to start or strengthen their businesses. Increased wages through business or other forms of employment were also attributed to men's lower anxiety and distress as financial providers for their families. However, men indicated that apart from the uptake of free HIV testing services, there was limited change in overall health-care-seeking behavior given the high clinic fees and lost time to earn income when attending routine health visits. Men recommended that future microfinance and health promotion interventions provide larger loan amounts, less frequent repayment intervals, and access to health and social insurance. Microfinance and peer health leadership interventions may help to address economic and health disparities in poor, urban men. Efforts are needed to assist lower income men in accessing financial tools as well as fee-based preventive and health-care services.

Improving Boston Nail Salon Indoor Air Quality Through Local Public Health Regulation, 2007-2019.

In 2011, following years of outreach and training, Boston, Massachusetts, enacted regulations to improve health and safety in nail salons. These were amended in 2013 to require mechanical ventilation, including dedicated exhaust for each manicure and pedicure station. As of June 2019, 185 of 190 salons have satisfied the regulatory requirements. Regulations can help ensure that environmental health benefits are widespread and that small businesses' investment in occupational health does not result in a competitive disadvantage.

Using database linkages to measure innovation, commercialization, and survival of small businesses.

Here, we report the results of an outcomes evaluation of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Since the programs' inception, assessments of the SBIR/STTR programs at several federal agencies have utilized surveys of former grantees as the primary source of data. Response rates have typically been low, making non-response bias a potential threat to the validity of some of these studies' results. Meanwhile, the availability of large publicly-available datasets continues to grow and methods of text mining and linking databases continue to improve. By linking NIGMS grant funding records, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data, and business intelligence databases, we explored innovation, commercialization and survival for recipients of NIGMS SBIR/STTR funding. In doing so, we were able to more completely assess several key outcomes of the NIGMS SBIR/STTR program. Our evaluation demonstrated that the NIGMS program performed above baseline expectations along all dimensions, and comparably to other federal agency SBIR/STTR grant programs. In addition, we show that the use of extant data increasingly is a viable, less expensive, and more reliable approach to gathering data for evaluation studies.

Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies.

The Circular Economy is a paradigm shift attempting to replace the end-of-life concept with reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering materials and to slow down, close and narrow material and power loops. This concept is much discussed in the academic literature, but limited progress has been accomplished so far regarding its empirical analysis. The objective of this work is to study circular economy practices and analyze in depth the circular economy behavior in European firms. We find that firms' circular economy behavior is a gradual process where measures are implemented gradually, starting with activities involving control measures and ending with putting preventive practices in place. We discovered also that the most proactive companies in implementing circular economy measures generally come across certain common barriers such as administrative processes, regulations and a lack of human resources to perform these practices, while firms that have not implemented circular economy measures view financing, investment and cost⁻benefit barriers as the most significant. Significant efforts need to be undertaken by firms to accomplished circular economy. Also circular economy regulation should be improved to make it easier for companies to implement strategies that will make them more sustainable.

Human resource factors associated with workplace safety and health education of small manufacturing businesses in Korea.

OBJECTIVES: Human resources (HR) are essential indicators of safety and health (SH) status, and HR can be key sources of workplace safety management such as safety and health education at work (SHEW). This study analyzed significant HR factors associated with SHEW of small manufacturing businesses in Korea. METHODS: The secondary data of the 2012 Korea Occupational Safety and Health Trend Survey were used to achieve this research purpose. A total of 2,089 supervisors or managers employed in the small manufacturing businesses completed the interview survey. Survey businesses were selected by multiple stratified sampling method based on industry code, business size, and region in Korea. The survey included workplace characteristics of HR and SHEW. RESULTS: SHEW was significantly related to business size, occupational injury incidence in the previous year, foreign and elderly worker employment, presence of site supervisors, and presence of SH committees (p <.05). SHEW for office workers, non-office workers, and newcomers was associated with business size, presence of site supervisors, and presence of SH committees in logistic regression analysis (p <.001). Businesses with 30-49 workers conducted SHEW 3.64 times more than did businesses with 5 to fewer than 10 workers. The companies that had occupational injuries in the previous year conducted SHEW 1.68 times more than the others. The businesses that had site supervisors and committees conducted SHEW 2.30 and 2.18 times more, respectively, than others. CONCLUSIONS: Site supervisors and SH committees were significant HR factors that improved SHEW in small manufacturing businesses.

Findings From the National Machine Guarding Program: Safety Climate, Hazard Assessment, and Safety Leadership in Small Metal Fabrication Businesses.

OBJECTIVES: This manuscript assesses safety climate data from the National Machine Guarding Program (NMGP)-a nationwide intervention to improve machine safety. METHODS: Baseline safety climate surveys were completed by 2161 employees and 341 owners or managers at 115 businesses. A separate onsite audit of safety management practices and machine guarding equipment was conducted at each business. RESULTS: Safety climate measures were not correlated with machine guarding or safety management practices. The presence of a safety committee was correlated with higher scores on the safety management audit when contrasted with those without one. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a safety committee is easily assessed and provides a basis on which to make recommendations with regard to how it functions. Measures of safety climate fail to provide actionable information. Future research on small manufacturing firms should emphasize the presence of an employee-management safety committee.

Key Organizational Characteristics for Integrated Approaches to Protect and Promote Worker Health in Smaller Enterprises.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between worksite organizational characteristics (size, industrial sector, leadership commitment, and organizational supports) and integrated approaches to protecting and promoting worker health implemented in smaller enterprises. METHODS: We analyzed web-based survey data of Human Resource Managers at 114 smaller enterprises (<750 employees) to identify organizational factors associated with levels of integrated approaches among their worksites. RESULTS: The companies' mean integration score was 13.6 (SD = 9.6) of a possible 44. In multivariate analyses, having a safety committee (P = 0.035) and top leadership support for health promotion (HP) (P = 0.004) were positively associated with higher integration scores. CONCLUSIONS: Smaller enterprises in one U.S. region have relatively low levels of implementing integrated safety and promotion approaches. Having a safety committee and leadership support for HP may be important contributors to implementing integrated approaches in smaller enterprises.

Leveraging strong social ties among young men in Dar es Salaam: A pilot intervention of microfinance and peer leadership for HIV and gender-based violence prevention.

Gender inequality is at the core of the HIV patterns that are evident in sub-Saharan Africa. Gender-based violence (GBV) and lack of economic opportunity are important structural determinants of HIV risk. We piloted a microfinance and health promotion intervention among social networks of primarily young men in Dar es Salaam. Twenty-two individuals participated in the microfinance component and 30 peer leaders were recruited and trained in the peer health leadership component. We collected and analysed observational data from trainings, monitoring data on loan repayment, and reports of peer conversations to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Eighteen of the loan recipients (82%) paid back their loans, and of these 15 (83%) received a second, larger loan. Among the loan defaulters, one died, one had chronic health problems, and two disappeared, one of whom was imprisoned for theft. The majority of conversations reported by peer health leaders focused on condoms, sexual partner selection, and HIV testing. Few peer leaders reported conversations about GBV. We demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of this innovative HIV and GBV prevention intervention. The lessons learned from this pilot have informed the implementation of a cluster-randomised trial of the microfinance and peer health leadership intervention.

A model for effective planning of SME support services.

This paper presents a model for effective planning of support services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The idea is to scrutinize and measure the suitability of support services in order to give recommendations for the improvement of a support planning process. We examined the applied support services and matched them with the problems and needs of SMEs, based on the survey conducted in 2013 on a sample of 336 SMEs in Serbia. We defined and analysed the five research questions that refer to support services, their consistency with the SMEs' problems and needs, and the relation between the given support and SMEs' success. The survey results have shown a statistically significant connection between them. Based on this result, we proposed an eight-phase model as a method for the improvement of support service planning for SMEs. This model helps SMEs to plan better their requirements in terms of support; government and administration bodies at all levels and organizations that provide support services to understand better SMEs' problems and needs for support.

National Machine Guarding Program: Part 2. Safety management in small metal fabrication enterprises.

BACKGROUND: Small manufacturing businesses often lack important safety programs. Many reasons have been set forth on why this has remained a persistent problem. METHODS: The National Machine Guarding Program (NMGP) was a nationwide intervention conducted in partnership with two workers' compensation insurers. Insurance safety consultants collected baseline data in 221 business using a 33-question safety management audit. Audits were completed during an interview with the business owner or manager. RESULTS: Most measures of safety management improved with an increasing number of employees. This trend was particularly strong for lockout/tagout. However, size was only significant for businesses without a safety committee. Establishments with a safety committee scored higher (55% vs. 36%) on the safety management audit compared with those lacking a committee (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Critical safety management programs were frequently absent. A safety committee appears to be a more important factor than business size in accounting for differences in outcome measures.

National Machine Guarding Program: Part 1. Machine safeguarding practices in small metal fabrication businesses.

BACKGROUND: Metal fabrication workers experience high rates of traumatic occupational injuries. Machine operators in particular face high risks, often stemming from the absence or improper use of machine safeguarding or the failure to implement lockout procedures. METHODS: The National Machine Guarding Program (NMGP) was a translational research initiative implemented in conjunction with two workers' compensation insures. Insurance safety consultants trained in machine guarding used standardized checklists to conduct a baseline inspection of machine-related hazards in 221 business. RESULTS: Safeguards at the point of operation were missing or inadequate on 33% of machines. Safeguards for other mechanical hazards were missing on 28% of machines. Older machines were both widely used and less likely than newer machines to be properly guarded. Lockout/tagout procedures were posted at only 9% of machine workstations. CONCLUSIONS: The NMGP demonstrates a need for improvement in many aspects of machine safety and lockout in small metal fabrication businesses.

Efficacy of a savings-led microfinance intervention to reduce sexual risk for HIV among women engaged in sex work: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: We tested whether a structural intervention combining savings-led microfinance and HIV prevention components would achieve enhanced reductions in sexual risk among women engaging in street-based sex work in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, compared with an HIV prevention intervention alone. METHODS: Between November 2011 and August 2012, we randomized 107 eligible women who completed baseline assessments to either a 4-session HIV sexual risk reduction intervention (HIVSRR) alone (n=50) or a 34-session HIVSRR plus a savings-led microfinance intervention (n=57). At 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments, participants reported unprotected acts of vaginal intercourse with paying partners and number of paying partners with whom they engaged in sexual intercourse in the previous 90 days. Using Poisson and zero-inflated Poisson model regressions, we examined the effects of assignment to treatment versus control condition on outcomes. RESULTS: At 6-month follow-up, the HIVSRR plus microfinance participants reported significantly fewer paying sexual partners and were more likely to report zero unprotected vaginal sex acts with paying sexual partners. CONCLUSIONS: Findings advance the HIV prevention repertoire for women, demonstrating that risk reduction may be achieved through a structural intervention that relies on asset building, including savings, and alternatives to income from sex work.

Identifying vulnerable Asian Americans under Health Care Reform: working in small businesses and health care coverage.

Working in small businesses has been identified as a key factor for low coverage rates in immigrant communities. In this study, we identify specific cultural and socioeconomic predictors of Asian Americans who work in small businesses to identify subgroups at a greater disadvantage than others in obtaining health insurance. Logistic regression models were fitted using a sample of 3,819 Asian American small business owners and employers extracted from pooled 2005­2012 California Health Interview Survey data. We found that individuals with low income levels, Korean Americans, U.S.-born South Asian and Southeast Asian (other than Vietnamese) Americans, immigrants without citizenship (particularly those lacking a green card), and individuals with limited English proficiency had higher odds of lacking coverage. The odds of being uninsured did not differ between small business owners and employees. Based upon these key findings, we propose several strategies to expand coverage for Asian Americans working in small businesses and their most vulnerable subgroups.

Self-employment as a solution for attitudinal barriers: a case study.

This paper uses a case study to examine attitudinal barriers to employment and underemployment. We follow the career path of PR, a woman with multiple physical impairments, as she seeks financial independence through several employment strategies. In these, she faced attitudinal barriers and employment situations without opportunity for advancement. Eventually, PR opens her own business, turning to an alternative loan program to acquire the funds necessary to purchase a ready-made vehicle that matches her needs for accessible transportation. Use of this vehicle to provide delivery services for her business has more than doubled her income.

The Health IT Regional Extension Center Program: evolution and lessons for health care transformation.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the Regional Extension Center (REC) program's progress toward its goal of supporting over 100,000 providers in small, rural, and underserved practices to achieve meaningful use (MU) of an electronic health record (EHR). DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Data collected January 2010 through June 2013 via monitoring and evaluation of the 4-year REC program. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study of 62 REC programs. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Primary data collected from RECs were merged with nine other datasets, and descriptive statistics of progress by practice setting and penetration of targeted providers were calculated. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: RECs recruited almost 134,000 primary care providers (PCPs), or 44 percent of the nation's PCPs; 86 percent of these were using an EHR with advanced functionality and almost half (48 percent) have demonstrated MU. Eighty-three percent of Federally Qualified Health Centers and 78 percent of the nation's Critical Access Hospitals were participating with an REC. CONCLUSIONS: RECs have made substantial progress in assisting PCPs with adoption and MU of EHRs. This infrastructure supports small practices, community health centers, and rural and public hospitals to use technology for care delivery transformation and improvement.

[Development of Human Health Discoveries. 10 years results of Young Innovative Company incubation]. / Le développement des découvertes en Santé Humaine. Résultats de 10 ans d'incubation de Jeunes Entreprises Innovantes.

Medicine is evolving every day in its operating procedures and the services offered to patients, emphasizing personalized medicine, safety and medical benefits. The individual patient is more than ever the hub of healthcare organization. Medical innovation is thus a public health priority. However it requires an accurate assessment of medical utility and risk-benefit ratios, and in-depth analysis of economic and organizational impacts. Ten years of experience in the Paris Biotech Santé company incubator has identified key actions for effective support of research projects and the success of innovative companies. Strong expertise is needed to prepare development plans, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and obtain research funding. During its first decade, this incubator has created 87 innovative companies employing 1500 people, raised more than 90 million euros of funding, and reached a cumulative company value of 1200 million euros. Key factors of success have been identified, but an analysis of the causes of failure shows that operational adjustments are mandatory, particularly a strong commitment from medical experts, in order to promote access to new and useful products for patients while at the same time assessing their social impact.