Factors that shape the competitiveness of small innovative companies operating in international markets with a particular focus on business advice.

• Author: Stawasz, Edward

INTRODUCTION

The issue of determinants that shape the competitiveness of small innovative enterprises is still poorly recognized in management literature (Sipa, Gorzen-Mitka, & Skibinski, 2015; Adamik, 2011; Ciszewska-Mlinaric, Mlinaric, & Obloj, 2011). This situation seems particularly important for enterprises that are increasingly more active in international markets (Bianchi, Glavas, & Mathews, 2017; Stoian, Rialp, Rialp, & Jarvis, 2016). The scope and intensity of the impact are very diverse due to numerous industry-related determinants, the scale and age of enterprises, prevailing attitudes and development orientations, the level of business knowledge and business management skills, as well as the innovative and knowledge absorptive capacity, or the role of business advice (Navarro & Eldridge, 2016; Blackburn, Hart, & Wainwright, 2013; Stawasz, 2013; Gudkova, 2008; Wiklund & Shepherd, 2003). There is no in-depth empirical material concerning the role of particular factors in relation to small enterprises operating in the Polish economy which is characterised by a lower level of experience of small companies compared to the EU's old countries, mainly due to the relatively short development period of the SME sector (2530 years) and the unsatisfactory state of business advice development. For this reason, it may be interesting to examine the role of management-related factors, with particular emphasis on business advice and business knowledge absorptive capacity, in the process of shaping the competitiveness of small innovative enterprises operating in international markets.

Business advice is considered as an important factor in improving management, especially in the case of small innovative entities, both in the area of reducing barriers to their development and in the field of development management. Managers rarely have all the knowledge necessary for conducting effective and successful business activity (Mole, North, & Baldock, 2017). The necessary knowledge they are lacking can be obtained from the environment, from advisors, in the form of professional and independent services. Their aim is to help managers and enterprises achieve their goals by solving management problems as well as by assisting them in identifying and exploiting new opportunities, learning and implementing changes.

The use of business knowledge for shaping the competitiveness of small enterprises forces the company management to face challenges, the more so given that small companies usually do not have the appropriate management structure or professional managers. Business knowledge absorptive capacity, including the ability to recognize the value of new knowledge, and assimilate and transform it into a commercial outcome, plays an important role in this respect (Grabowski & Stawasz, 2017; Zahra & George, 2002). These are particularly important and difficult to obtain capabilities in technologically advanced and innovative industries (Patterson & Ambrosini, 2015).

The paper is devoted to discussing the role of factors shaping the competitiveness of small innovative enterprises operating in international markets in the context of specific characteristics of their managers and the enterprises themselves. The moderating influence of business advice and business knowledge absorptive capacity in this process was also discussed. The hypothesis was adopted about a positive and significant impact of business knowledge and managerial skills on the competitiveness of enterprises strengthened by business advice and business knowledge absorptive capacity. The second part of the paper presents the results of empirical research conducted in 2016 with the use of the CATI technique on a sample of 67 small, innovative Polish enterprises operating in international markets. The analysis of the research results confirms the existence of a relationship between management-related factors and the competitiveness of enterprises. Using business advice and increasing the capacity for the absorption of business knowledge obtained through advisory services can broaden the scope of the determinants of enterprises' competitiveness and can be considered as an effective factor in improving competitiveness, especially in the case of enterprises characterized by an already high level of competitiveness.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Factors shaping the competitiveness of small innovative enterprises

Competitiveness is a feature of an efficiently operating enterprise which is related to the process of competition in which companies compete with one another (Adamik, 2011; Liao, Rice, Lu, & I-Ch, 2015). Competitiveness of companies is defined as their ability to function in a competitive environment (Sipa et al., 2015; Dzikowska & Gorynia, 2012) in which other entities operate. It is the ability to design, manufacture and sell products and services on the market where similar products and services are offered by other business entities. Thus, multidimensional competition between entities understood as access to resources in order to transform them into products and services that meet broad consumer requirements, is a feature of the market (Stankiewicz, 2002). Being competitive ensures companies' sustainable development.

In the classical approach, determinants of competitiveness are divided into external and internal ones (Carvalho & Costa, 2014; Piatkowski, 2012). External factors result from the fact that the company is affected not only by the competitive environment (other enterprises) but also by the general, macroeconomic, mesoeconomic and microeconomic environment (Lisowska, 2015). Internal factors are related to the ability of enterprises to develop their own competitiveness (their own competitive advantages). The explanations in this regard are provided by the modern trends in the theory of enterprises: resource, competence and knowledge-based ones (Freiling, Gersch, & Goeke, 2008; Plawgo, 2004), which have emerged as a response to the departure from the classic strategies of cost leadership, differentiation and focus which concentrated on the basic external factors, mainly market ones, but which did not form the basis for sustainable competitiveness of small enterprises (Zvirblis & Buracas, 2012; Karpacz, 2011; Man, Lau, & Snape, 2008). Internal capabilities of small entities, which are key to their competitiveness, occur at both the strategic and organizational levels (Chaston, 2010). The former include the ability of the company to achieve a special market position that gives it a cost advantage or an advantage in diversifying products as well as the ability to use it effectively. It is, therefore, the ability to identify emerging opportunities and formulate an effective strategic response. Key organizational skills include knowledge, innovation, productivity and human resources (Wach, 2017; Stanistawski, 2013).

A conceptual model illustrating the factors shaping the competitiveness of small innovative enterprises in international markets is presented in Figure 1. In line with the currently dominant resource-based approach and competence-based theories of the firm in shaping the development of enterprises and their competitiveness, a total of fourteen factors were distinguished for research purposes: the age of enterprises, the level of management, the industry in which the enterprises operate and innovations. Among the management-related factors, the following were distinguished: the number of people on the board, family relations among the management, managers' experience, managers' education profile, managers' level of business knowledge, business knowledge absorptive capacity, business development priorities, the form of planning and business advice.

The development of the business knowledge base, development orientation and improvement of the management level, as well as building knowledge absorptive capacity and its use for shaping the competitiveness of enterprises may require external support in the form of state aid or professional business advice, important especially for small innovative entities (Caiazza, Richardson, & Audretsch, 2015; Sciascia, D'Oria, Bruni, & Larraneta, 2014; Stawasz, 2013).

The issue of the role of business advice in the management of small innovative enterprises is still poorly explored in the literature (Gtodek, tobacz, Stawasz, & Niedzielski, 2016; Robson & Bennett, 2000). The results of research are ambiguous. On the one hand, there are studies showing a positive impact of business advice on management and business performance (Grabowski & Stawasz, 2017; Delanoe, 2013; Mole et al., 2017; Malinowski, 2017). On the other hand, there are also studies indicating a limited influence of business advisors on the pro-development orientation of managers and business competitiveness (Johnson et al., 2007; Bennett & Robson, 2003). For this reason, it may be interesting to examine the impact of business advice on management, including the creation of knowledge in the field of management and shaping the competitiveness of enterprises.

Business advice

Business advice is one of the elements of external support for enterprises. Its aim is to help managers and enterprises achieve their goals by solving problems in the sphere of management, identifying and exploiting new opportunities, as well as learning and implementing changes (Yusoff, 2010; Ajmal, Nordstrom, & Helo, 2009). It includes the transfer of information on conducting business activity, both in terms of current and strategic management (Blackburn et al. 2013), serving as a potential source of competitive advantage (Gooderham, Tobiassen, Doving, & Nordhaug, 2004). Its scope covers such management areas as the organizational structure, marketing and market analysis, accounting systems, motivation and personnel policy, planning, innovations, etc. Advisory services are provided by professional consultants from the public or commercial sphere, taking on various forms...