The pace of innovation continues to increase not only in the developed world but also in developed markets. The key issue facing many small medium-sized enterprises is related to how they can foster effective innovation. Innovation in SMEs can be (more) efficient and effective; however, this is not the case in many SMEs. SMEs in Iran are industrial and service enterprises with less than 50 employees, because of their size and resource limitations, they are unable to develop new technologies or to make vital changes in the existing ones. The aim of this study is to identify the most important challenges of small and medium businessesa in exploitation of innovation opportunities. We used the exploratory factor analysis which demonstrated the following six challenges in the order of importance: managerial and human resource; research and development; technologies, national policy and regulatory environment and lack of market information.

Purpose: In order to answer which opportunities are better to pursue, the purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test a decision-making model for evaluating and selecting entrepreneurial opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: First, the authors identified common evaluation criteria through a systematic review of 45 high quality articles published in top entrepreneurship and management journals between 2000 and 2017. Second, fuzzy screening technique has been employed to offer the decision-making model. Third, the authors used data of six evaluations provided by five experts at a medium-sized biotech firm to test the model. Findings: The study shows that common decision criteria for evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities fall into seven categories. According to these criteria and using fuzzy screening technique, a multi-expert multi-criteria decision-making (ME–MCDM) model has been suggested for evaluating and selecting opportunities. Practical implications: This model can be served in situations in which decision makers should select a small number of opportunities among the larger set with regard to opportunity profile and minimal information. More opportunities and more decision makers can be included in the model. When the number of opportunities and decision makers are high, it is possible to use programming for fast, accurate and easy calculation. Originality/value: This study is the first systematic review of opportunity evaluation criteria. It is also the first considering opportunity evaluation as a multi-expert decision-making process.

This study explores the roles of women—specifically daughters—in family businesses in the Middle East, a context marked by pronounced structural gender inequality and limited scholarly attention. Drawing on identity theory and a multiple case study approach, we examine how daughters in 17 family firms construct and navigate their professional identities. Our analysis identifies 26 distinct roles, which cluster into six categories: (1) management and leadership, (2) transformative and innovative, (3) ownership and succession, (4) facilitative and social responsibility, (5) identity, continuity and sustainability, and (6) operational and executive roles. The findings reveal that daughters often adopt multiple, layered, and context-dependent identities, and must engage in continuous negotiation to attain visibility, influence, and authority within the family and firm. This study contributes to the literature on family business and identity by illuminating the complex role enactment and identity work of women in patriarchal settings.

'Identification the main challenges of small and medium sized enterprises in exploiting of innovative opportunities (Case study: Iran SMEs)' (Farsi and Toghraee 2014

Purpose: The purpose of the current paper is to provide a review of the researches on the most important typologies of entrepreneurial opportunities and to suggest an individual-based typology of entrepreneurial opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: The literature review method is used in the current paper to review the most important typologies of entrepreneurial opportunities and their contributions. Findings: Considering the three essential concepts of perceivability, exploitability, and desirability of entrepreneurial opportunities, this paper suggests an individual-based definition of the concept of entrepreneurial opportunity. In addition to the implications of the suggested framework for future studies and regarding its potential applications, the policies to move people from one domain of opportunity to another and also recommendations for entrepreneurs and investors are presented. Originality/value: This paper introduces the concept of opportunity domain, and suggests a three-level (domain) typology based on the role of individual(s) in identification and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities.