GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND LOCAL ANSWERS BY THE SMES IN THE NORTH HUNGARIAN REGION – ROLE OF STRATEGIC THINKING
GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND LOCAL ANSWERS BY THE SMES IN THE NORTH HUNGARIAN REGION – ROLE OF STRATEGIC THINKING

Summary/Abstract: The economic role of small and medium enterprises is increasing however their long term survival depends on their changing and reaction ability with special regards to world globalization processes, to the world economic crises. The research covers the small and medium enterprises within the North Hungarian Region. The low economic activity, the high unemployment rate, the low proportion of the industrial enterprises’ that are below the national average and the low professional skills are typical for the region. Due to the low economic power of the region it must be found out which factors needed to be strengthened from the SMEs’ management side. In our opinion one of these factors should be the strategic thinking and the innovation capability. To become stronger it is necessary to have the ability to adjust within competition, the continuous renewal of the strategic and innovative thinking. For them mainly the application of creative, loose, partly formal vision of future oriented strategy making could be practical. The question is in what kind of changes necessary to achieve, that the skill can be developed. Based on questionnaire carried out in the North Hungarian Region we examine the existence of the conscious strategic future of vision and find the relationships between the SME’s survival ability, innovative behavior and their growth during and after the economic crises. One of the aims of the research is the identification of those factors that influence the success and competitiveness with special regard to the innovation. The additional aim of the research, is to reveal those relations, that can be shown between the existence of the strategic thinking and the ability of renewal and the examination, whether a change can be revealed in the enterprises’ behavior due to the economic crisis. It can be stated that due to the interpretation of innovation its extended meaning is uncharacteristic between the characters of the sector. The difference can be manifested in relating to the innovation according to the small and medium enterprises main activity, and according to the life cycle. In those small and medium enterprises, where the importance of the innovation is realized, the change induces is strong within the managers and owners, the existence of the formalized strategy is typical. The knowledge and the acceptance of innovational cooperation opportunities (innovational nets) are in low-level in the region between small and medium enterprises’ characters. In our opinion not only the financial support of innovation is needed but to establish an innovation and enterprise friendly environment from the governmental is also important. Aspect change is needed within the sector, the key of cooperate competition’s success is the innovative thinking.

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