This open access book explores the concept of Industry 4.0, which presents a considerable challenge for the production and service sectors. While digitization initiatives are usually integrated into the central corporate strategy of larger companies, smaller firms often have problems putting Industry 4.0 paradigms into practice. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) possess neither the human nor financial resources to systematically investigate the potential and risks of introducing Industry 4.0. Addressing this obstacle, the international team of authors focuses on the development of smart manufacturing concepts, logistics solutions and managerial models specifically for SMEs. Aiming to provide methodological frameworks and pilot solutions for SMEs during their digital transformation, this innovative and timely book will be of great use to scholars researching technology management, digitization and small business, as well as practitioners within manufacturing companies.

This book establishes and explores existing and emerging theories on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the adoption of IT/IS. It presents the latest empirical research findings in that area of IS research and explores new technologies and practices. The book is written for researchers and professionals working in the field of IS research or the research of SMEs. Moreover, the book will be a reference for researchers, professionals and students in management information systems science and related fields.

International Human Resource Management provides a concise overview of the rich HR landscape in Europe to help students develop cutting-edge people management approaches. The innovative, multi-disciplinary approach of the book provides a holistic picture of the key issues on the individual, organizational and societal levels. The book is divided into three parts: Part I explores the institutional and economic contexts that organizations face in different European countries. This section goes beyond exploring issues of diversity to include a discussion of the impact of the recent financial crisis. Part II concentrates on the key challenges and trends facing HR, including an aging population, migration, and sustainability, and analyzes the unique and inventive ways these are addressed in different countries across Europe. Part III focuses on the fundamental HR areas – recruitment and selection, performance management and rewards, employment relations, global careers, and so forth – and the ways in which these policies and practices are shaped by the European Union. With broader coverage, the latest thinking in the field, and cutting-edge cases, examples and insights, this book will prove a highly valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners working in human resource management, and international business.

Have you ever wondered why many of the over 28 million small businesses in operation in the United States do not survive past the first five years? Is it the economy? The stock market? Or is it something else? Two years of research by Jamey Long on factors affecting small business survival revealed a direct relationship linking management and leadership skills. Management and Leadership Skills That Affect Small Business Survival presents the research leading to this discovery that focuses solely on small businesses in the United States and teaches them how to improve management and leadership skills so that they can survive past the historical five-year failure mark.

Well-managed employment relationships can be a secret to business success, yet this factor is relatively poorly understood when it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s). Written by active researchers with teaching experience, this book brings together the fields of entrepreneurship and human resource management for the first time, providing entrepreneurship students with a solid grounding in HRM as well as a platform for further critical engagement with the research. The concise and authoritative style also enables the book to be used as a primer for researchers exploring this under-developed terrain. As the only student-focused specialist book on human resource management in entrepreneurial firms, this is vital reading for students and researchers in this area, as well as those interested in small business and management more generally.