The Growth and Challenges of SMEs in Abu Dhabi

S. Al-Ali, S. Sidek, S.A. Al-shami

Abstract


Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly becoming important due to their significant impact on the economic growth of a country. Specifically, in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, the SMEs have become the backbone of the economy of the city. Regardless of their significant economic contributions and exponential growth, the SMEs are facing many challenges. Contextualized within the business environment that emphasize on innovation as one of the ways to enhance competitive advantage, this paper presents an overview of the growing landscape and the challenges faced by the SMEs in Abu Dhabi. In this regard, focusing on the need for the SMEs to be innovative, the business process management approach will be proposed. This discussion serves as a contextual background for a research that aims to investigate the adoption of business process management as an approach to enhance innovativeness of the SMEs, which eventually facilitate the achievement of competitive advantage among the SMEs.


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