Management of SME's operational sustainability in developing countries: A conceptual study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reveal management lapses/practices that affect Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operational sustainability in a developing country context. SMEs have been the backbone of Ghana's economic and social development for the past years, contributing significantly in terms of employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Notwithstanding its significant contribution to the economy of the country, the long term operational sustainability of SMEs in Ghana is still a challenge due to some management practices. Research in this knowledge area, however, is inadequate to address this challenge, with few attempts made by researchers concerning the management of SME's operational sustainability in Ghana. The paper employed a qualitative research inquiry, with a specific document/thematic analysis. Thirty-four relevant articles were retrieved from the databases; Scopus, WoS, and Google Scholar were used via keywords search in addition to some secondary sources. From the literature reviewed, we found that; poor management competencies, wrong usage of technology, Government policies/regulations, financial misappropriation, and international market acceptability are noted to be potential research constructs that consequently affect SME's management and operational sustainability. The theoretical implication of this paper would contribute to the existing knowledge on some potential lapses affecting the management and operational sustainability of SMEs in developing countries. Also, this research would enable practitioners to know some of the management practices which inherently affect their long term operational sustainability. This paper has a limitation of being purely literature review and thus provides opportunities for future research. © ECIAIR 2020.All right reserved.