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Dy, Sovann (2013) Importance of SME development in Cambodia. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
This research is concentrated mainly on Cambodian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are said to playa vital role in economic development and income growth in Cambodia, as they have been the primary source of job creation, not only in urban areas but also in rural areas. However, there are still considerable controversies over whether SMEs are more efficient than large enterprises (LEs) in contributing to economic development in Cambodia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of SMEs in development taking Cambodia as a case study. Three hypotheses are investigated to reveal SMEs' advantages relative to LEs: (1) SMEs are more labour-intensive than LEs and S"MEs provide more jobs for women than LEs; (2) SMEs are as productive as LEs or even more productive than LEs; and (3) srvms are more equitable in distributing the income they generate than LEs. Most of the previous researchers have provided empirical evidences to support the three hypotheses. In this study, however, srvms were found to possess many undesirable characteristics, including the uneconomic use of capital, the inequitable distribution of the income they generate, the low productivity of SMEs, especially in provincial areas, and employing less female labour. Thus, Cambodia experiences the low efficiency of SMEs' performance. This is due to the government's ability to implement an enabling environment for business remaining weak. In particular, the legal framework for supporting SME activity remains weak, infrastructure and communication in rural areas are poor, and labour productivity is relatively low. Therefore, in order to improve SMEs in Cambodia, the government has to improve the efficiency of SMEs, implementation an action plan of the market-oriented framework for SME development, reduce the cost of doing business and related to bureaucratic red tape, improve the access to finance for SMEs, and improve market access for SMEs.
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