Title: Systematic review on performance and growth drivers of SMEs

Authors: Mokhalles M. Mehdi; Tridib Ranjan Sarma

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University, Assam, India ' Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University, Assam, India

Abstract: The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector is an influential driver in the growth of any economy in the world. Albeit scholars have conducted SME research on performance and growth factors for over two decades, our understanding of this particular type of research is still limited. The study is an attempt to explore the determinants of SMEs' performance and systematically reviewed 78 relevant literatures. It concluded that SMEs characteristics, managerial characteristics, internal and external factors influenced the growth and performance of SMEs. The study proposed a framework integrating the past approach and literature. Through the systematic review, we noticed inconsistencies in paradigms that allowed us to offer suggestions for future research. Among the opportunities for future research in the area of SME performance is in-depth qualitative research in the diverse SME sector to understand the performance followed by a focus on methodological trends in SMEs research that need further attention.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; small and medium enterprises; SMEs; performance; financial; non-financial; systematic literature review.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2022.125753

Global Business and Economics Review, 2022 Vol.27 No.3, pp.324 - 351

Received: 30 Jun 2021
Accepted: 04 Nov 2021
Published online: 27 Sep 2022 *

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