Ale Ebrahim, N.; Ahmed, S.; Taha , Z. (2008) Virtual R&D teams: a sustainable infrastructure for promoting SMEs. In: 2nd Engineering Conference (EnCon 2008), 18-19 December, Crowne Plaza Riverside Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
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small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are a major part of the industrial economies. Their survival and growth has therefore been a prominent issue. Research and development (R&D) enables firms to create new technologies and/or to build on existing technologies obtained through technology transfer. Nowadays unpredictable environment suggests that many firms seek new ways of conducting their business through some kind of R&D activities to make a profit and stay ahead of the competition. To survive in the global economy SMEs have to improve their products and processes exploiting their intellectual capital in a dynamic network of knowledge-intensive relations inside and outside their borders. SMEs need to focus on core competences for efficiency matters; they need to cooperate with external partners to compensate for other competences and resources. Responding to the increasing de-centralization and globalization of work processes, many SMEs have responded to their dynamic environments by introducing virtual teams. Virtual teams are growing in popularity. By a comprehensive literature review this article following define a virtual teams, SMEs and its characteristics, addressing a sustainable infrastructure for promoting SMEs. Finally conclude that managers of SMEs should invest less in tangible assets, but more in the areas of expanding virtual R&D activities which will directly generate their future competitive advantage. Future research need to elaborate the effect of virtual R&D team working on the performance of SMEs.
|Item Type:||Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)|
|Uncontrolled Keywords:||Virtual R&D; SMEs|
|Subjects:||H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)|
L Education > L Education (General)
T Technology > T Technology (General)
|Divisions:||Faculty of Engineering|
|Depositing User:||Dr. Nader Ale Ebrahim|
|Date Deposited:||31 Oct 2011 10:56|
|Last Modified:||31 Oct 2011 10:56|
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