Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Research Group
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Ongoing Research Projects
Corporate social responsibility engagement by Australian SMEs
Craig Parker (contact), Bardo Fraunholz, Ambika Zutshi, Merete Crofts
This project explores how Australian SMEs communicate their Corporate Social Responsibility activities (that is, their social and environmentally responsible practices and values) via their websites. This qualitative, exploratory research involves content analysis of SME websites from a range of industry sectors, as well as follow-up surveys and interviews with SMEs. The results of this project will be used to develop case studies which can be used to promote to SMEs the economic, social and environmental benefits which they can achieved when engaging in CSR.
Publications:
- Parker, C.M., Fraunholz, B., Zutshi, A. and Crofts, M. (2011) A method for examining corporate social responsibility descriptions on SME websites, 15th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, Brisbane, Australia (to appear).
- Parker, C.M., Fraunholz, B., Zutshi, A. and Crofts, M. (2010) How do Australian small and medium enterprises communicate their environmental improvement activities online?, Australasian Journal of Information Systems 17(1): 5-21.
- Parker, C.M., Zutshi, A. and Fraunholz, B. (2010) Online corporate social responsibility communication by Australian SMEs: a framework for website analysis, 23rd Bled eConference, Bled, Slovenia, 20-23 June, pp. 509-523.
- Parker, C.M., Zutshi, A. and Fraunholz, B. (2010) How Australian small businesses are using their websites to communicate CSR initiatives, 2010 Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada, 6-10 August.
- Parker, C.M., Fraunholz, B. and Zutshi, A. (2009) How do Australian small and medium enterprises communicate their corporate social responsibility activities online?, 23rd Annual Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 1-4 December.
The impact of university capstone projects on SME eBusiness adoption
Susan Keller (contact), Caroline Chan (external) and Craig M. Parker
The School runs third year projects in which groups of students design and develop eBusiness solutions for not-for-profit SMEs. Students gain valuable real-life skills to prepare them for employment and the SMEs receive highly valued solutions. This research project involves interviews and surveys with SME and student participants to examine the long-term impact of these projects on SMEs' use of eBusiness.
Publications:
- Keller, S., Chan, C. and Parker, C.M. (2010) Generic skills: do capstone courses deliver?, 33rd HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 6-9 July, pp. 383-393.
Emergent Web 2.0 stakeholder communication strategies by businesses
Funding: $6,394
Dr Craig Parker, Dr Dilal Saundage and Chia Yao Lee
This project explores emergent Web 2.0 communication strategies which Australian small through to large businesses are using with stakeholders and whether the strategies are different depending on the type of Web 2.0 application. This qualitative, explore research involves content analysis of the publicly available Web 2.0 content of business websites or associated third party services (e.g. Facebook). A secondary outcome of this project will be to explore the Web 2.0 strategies which are being used for environmental and social responsibility related communications among businesses and their stakeholders.
Publications:
- Lee, C.Y., Saundage, D. and Parker, C.M. (2010) Helping businesses leverage Web 2.0 to generate social capital, 21st Australasian Conference on Information Systems, Brisbane, 1-3 December.
- Chua, A., Deans, K.R. and Parker, C.M. (2009) Exploring the types of SMEs which could use blogs as a marketing tool: a proposed future research agenda, Australasian Journal of Information Systems 16(1): 117-136.
Practical strategies and approaches to engage SMEs in environmental improvement
Dr Craig Parker, Dr Janice Redmond (external), Dr Mike Simpson (external)
This project explores the (negative) impact which SMEs have on the environment and the interventions which can be used by all levels of governments and other stakeholders to engage SMEs in environmental improvement.
Publications:
- Parker, C.M., Redmond, J. and Simpson, M. (2009) Review of interventions to encourage SMEs to make environmental improvements, Environment & Planning C: Government & Policy 27(2): 279-301.
- Redmond, J., Walker, B., Wang, C., Simpson, M. and Parker, C.M. (2008) The impact of small business on the environment, 31st Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference, Belfast, Ireland, 5-7 November.
- Parker, C.M., Redmond, J. and Simpson, M. (2008) Intervention strategies to engage small and medium sized enterprises in environmental good practice, 2nd SME - Entrepreneurship Global Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 3-4 July.
Supporting environmentally responsible behaviour among Australian small businesses
Craig Parker (contact), Rodney Carr, Tanya Castleman, Darryl Coulthard, Mary Graham, Cecily Mason, Michael Polonsky
This project will identify practical strategies and solutions which Government and business development groups can use to support and encourage Australian small businesses to improve their existing level of environmental responsibility; and to document the factors underpinning the success of existing strategies and solutions which are being employed. The results of this project will be used to provide policy recommendations to Government.
Publications:
- Carr, R., Graham, M., Mason, C. and Parker, C.M. (2009) Encouraging SMEs to participate in the management of common pool resources, 23rd Annual Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference, Melbourne, Australia 1-4 December.
Can social networks help us manage global common pool resources? A study involving small businesses
Mary Graham, Rodney Carr (contact)
This project will investigate the effectiveness of social networks of small businesses for promoting the adoption of business practices that lead to better management of global common pool resources (e.g., the wider environment), via, for example, the use of 'moral-suasion' techniques.
Time horizons small businesses use in making decisions about adopting environmentally friendly practices
Mary Graham, Rodney Carr (contact)
This project will investigate why many small businesses do not adopt environmentally friendly practices in spite of there often being clear long-term benefits to the business; why do they use a relatively short time horizon in this situation?
Software Choice by SMEs
Luba Torlina, Rodney Carr
This project investigates the importance of switching costs and network effects, in a model that incorporates other factors influencing the choice of software by SME. The project complements previous studies of factors affecting software acquisition, with new dimensions which have recently become important when SMEs are considering improving their current system.
Project Knowledge in SMEs
Bardo Fraunholz
This project investigates the way projects are managed in SMEs and how common practice can be improved by integration. The research is conducted in cooperation with six SMEs in trade. Among the many questions explored, it is important to understand why project management has not been popular with this part of the production sector. Additionally the project explores the special needs of the trade sector with its particular structure, the education of the employees, the size of the businesses, the manpower involved, typical projects and organisational issues thus designing a framework for integrated project and knowledge management for SMEs.
Mobile Payments in SMEs
Bardo Fraunholz
This project investigates the potential for mobile payment in SMEs. The purpose of the study is to determine the potential and challenges for the uptake of mobile payments. Currently payment using the mobile phone is considered unpractical and costly and trials have not been able to determine a practical business model. This research is conducted by semi-structured interviews with payment providers as well as a representative selection of SMEs.
