Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review

Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed and Zahari Taha
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Shamsuddin Ahmed: UM - University of Malaya = Universiti Malaya [Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie]
Zahari Taha: UM - University of Malaya = Universiti Malaya [Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie]

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Abstract: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Towards that end, research and development (R & D) aspect deserves particular attention to promote and facilitate the operations of SMEs. Virtual R & D team could be a viable option. However, literature shows that virtual R & D teaming in SMEs is still at its infancy. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R & D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the state-of-the-art literature review is to provide an overview on the structure and dynamics of R & D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the foundation and importance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R & D team and SMEs has been examined. It concludes with the identification of the gaps in the existing literature's and calls for future research. It is argued that setting-up an infrastructure for virtual R & D team in SMEs still requires a large amount of engineering efforts and deserves consideration at top level management.

Keywords: Virtual teams; small and medium enterprises; literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00593358
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published in Scientific Research and Essay, 2009, 4 (13), pp.1575-1590

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Working Paper: Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review (2009)
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