Universal Journal of Management 4(1): 36-41, 2016 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/ujm.2016.040105
Growth Determinants of Small Medium
Enterprises (SMEs)
Endi Sarwoko
*
, Christea Frisdiantara
Faculty of Economics and Business, Kanjuruhan University, Indonesia
Copyright©2016 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are still an
issue that is interesting to study because it is recognized that
small businesses have a major role in employment and
contribution to the gross domestic product. Previous
research shows that the growth of SMEs is determined by
the owner/manager characteristics (personal approach), and
how the strategy is taken (managerial approach). This study
empirically tested the three determinants of growth of small
businesses, namely 1) the individual factors 2)
organizational factors, and 3) environment factors. The
study was conducted in SMEs assisted in the district of
Malang, using a sample of 52 owners/managers of SMEs,
which are taken by purposive sampling, analysis techniques
using Path Analysis. The results showed that individual
factors directly affects the growth of the business, as well as
an indirect effect through organizational factors. So the
individual factors are a determinant of the growth of SMEs,
due to individual factors which reflected the business
experience and the motivation of the owners/managers will
be able to manage the organization becomes more effective
so as to compete, and the effects are on the achievement of
business growth. Environmental factors provide the greatest
impact in achieving the growth of SMEs, it means the
ability of owner/managers to produce competitive products,
leverage technology, and diversity of products will
determine the growth of SMEs.
Keywords Business Growth, Individual Factors,
Organizational Factors, Environment Factors
1. Introduction
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a role that
contributed to the gross domestic product and employment,
but the fact that the success of SMEs is still low, one
indicator is the percentage of small and medium enterprises
that have succeeded in penetrating export markets and export
potential is still relatively low compared to total existing
SMEs. This phenomenon needs to be answered by knowing
the factors determining the growth of SMEs. So the results of
this study are expected to contribute to the government in the
formulating policy on SMEs development in Malang..
Studies on the business performance of small and medium
enterprises can be classified into two groups which focus on
personal and the organizational aspect. The aspects of
personality, such as individual characteristics, demographic,
and competencies. While the study of organizational aspects
includes the resources of the organization, the company's
competence, organizational culture, and structure (Sarwoko,
[17]).
Growth determinants of small businesses can be classified
in many factors: individual, organizational, and
environmental (Zhou and Wit, [22]), factor of organizational
resources, the competence of the company, organizational
culture and structure (Covin & Slevin, [5]), competency of
individuals in the entrepreneurial process (Li, [10]), the
owners/managers characteristics and strategies
(Nimalathasam, [15]; Sarwoko, [17]).SMEs performance is
determined by the owner/manager characteristics and
entrepreneurial competence (Sarwoko, [17]).
Entrepreneurial competence will determine the strategy on
the performance of SMEs (Sarwoko, [18]). These findings
show the importance of the individual factors as
determinants of the growth of SMEs.
Although several studies have analyzed the determinants
of business growth, but each factor analyzed separately,
which only focus on personal factors, organizational factors,
as well as strategies (Baum, Locke and Smith, [3]; Covin &
Slevin, [5], Delmar et al., [6]). The environment is a factor
that also influences the growth of SMEs because growth is
uncertain, due to environmental conditions such as
competitive conditions and changing market dynamics.
Therefore, it is necessary to examine the determinants of
SMEs growth are more complex into three dimensions,
namely individual, the organization and the environment.
2. Literature Review
Previous research has found that the attitude and the
ability of owners/manager have an important impact on the
growth of small enterprises and will be reflected in the