Research and analysis

Small and medium sized business (SME): attitudes towards adopting best practice

Kantar Public conducted 40 interviews with SMEs to understand barriers and enablers to adopting best practice management and technologies.

From:
Department for Business and Trade and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Published
11 October 2019

Documents

Attitudes to adoption: understanding barriers and enablers to the adoption of best practice technologies and management practices by SMEs

Ref: BEIS Research Report number: 2019/018

PDF, 1.47 MB, 80 pages

Details

Kantar Public were commissioned to conduct some research as part of the Business Basics Programme. They conducted 40 in-depth interviews with SMEs to understand barriers and enablers to adopting best practice.

The research identified several factors that influence the adoption of management and basic technologies, which need to be considered when communicating to SMEs, for example:

  • business mindset
  • age and stage of the business
  • focus of the business
  • people
  • processes
  • capabilities

The SMEs interviewed were classified into 5 ‘typologies’, varying in terms of their approach to innovation and the length of time the key decision makers had been in the role.

The findings will be of value to those designing interventions to SMEs, such as those funded through the Business Basics Programme.

Published 11 October 2019

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