Title: What factors drive performance of small and medium-sized enterprises?

Authors: Heiko Haase; Mário Franco

Addresses: Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Department of Business Administration, University of Applied Sciences Jena, Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 2, 07745 Jena, Germany ' CEFAGE-UBI Research Center, Management and Economics Department, University of Beira Interior, Estrada do Sineiro, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal

Abstract: From a resource-based perspective, the objective of this study is to identify determinant factors for success in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and their influence on business performance. For this purpose, we performed a quantitative study among Portuguese SMEs. We used a broad data set of factors internal to the business and performance indicators derived from previous studies. For data examination, principal component and linear regression analyses were applied. Empirical evidence indicates the overwhelming importance of strategic planning for business performance. Regarding the implications, we contribute to resource-based theory and make suggestions for practitioners in the realm of SMEs.

Keywords: SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; success factors; firm performance; strategic planning; resource-based view; RBV; Portugal; principal component analysis; PCA; linear regression analysis; business performance.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2016.079527

European Journal of International Management, 2016 Vol.10 No.6, pp.678 - 697

Received: 02 Mar 2015
Accepted: 16 Jun 2015
Published online: 30 Sep 2016 *

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