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This manuscript concentrates on addressing the success and failure factors to satisfy the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need when facing challenges during the implementation of the quality management systems (QMSs) such as lack of both the financial and human resources and inadequate technical knowledge of quality management and employee indifference.

This research employs a mixed-method research approach in three different steps. First, based on interviews and a review of previous research, a list of critical factors influencing the success and failure of QMS implementation in SMEs is provided. After conducting the interview and extracting the results, a quantitative questionnaire is recruited as a complementary tool to demonstrate the accuracy of the literature review and interview findings and to increase the validity and reliability of the data. By applying the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) method, the factors affecting the failure and success of QMS implementation are identified separately. In the third step, a focus group meeting is used to name the factors and identify the relationships among them. The relationships among the factors are also shown using the concept map. Finally, after conducting the focus group meeting, several key issues have been extracted from practice and literature to realize the critical success and failure factors.

The current study reveals that the factors supporting the SMEs during the implementation of the QMSs may be classified into nine groups. Of these, six factors are related to critical success factors (CSFs), and three factors are related to critical failure factors (CFFs).

There have been several studies developed and conducted to address the success factors supporting the QMSs in SMEs. However, the scope of these studies has only been set on either qualitative or quantitative approaches. Hence, the proposed method presented in this essay, which is, in turn, a new contribution, attempts to use a combined approach based on both the semistructured interviews and survey methods. The results of this study can be used as a reference by scholars and practitioners to identify the relevant issues of QMSs and their application in SMEs.

The purpose of this study is to measure the gap and compare the quality of services provided by the Central Library of the University of Tehran and Allameh Tabataba'i University and identify the components of service that need improvement in these libraries.

In this study, a descriptive survey method is used for data collection. The study sample contains 205 people selected out of 31,000 members of Tehran University and 100 people out of 15,000 members at Allameh Tabataba'i University. The LibQual tool is used to measure different levels of users' perceptions of library service quality.

Based on the findings of the study, the level of service received at the University of Tehran was higher than the minimum expected level, and at Allameh Tabataba'i University, the level of service received was lower than the minimum level of expected, which indicates users' satisfaction at this index at the University of Tehran and users' dissatisfaction at Allameh Tabataba'i University. In the index of information control and library as a place in Tehran University, the level of service received was higher than the minimum level and in Allameh Tabataba'i University, the level of service received was lower than the minimum level, which indicates the satisfaction of users in this index at the University of Tehran and users' dissatisfaction at Allameh Tabataba'i University.

Service quality, or quality of service, is the measurement and comparison of the size of service provided with users' expectations. The following principles illustrate the dimensions of service quality: Quality of service is much more difficult to measure than the quality of goods. The quality of service is based on users' expectations. Quality of service varies in status, meaning that the quality of a service is measured against the customer's initial expectations of that service (Parasuraman et al., 1985).

Being the first performance evaluation, community synchronization, economic justification, user satisfaction and customer orientation are the values of the present study.

This paper aims to shed light on how small- and medium-sized enterprises can use export promotion programmes (EPPs) to improve their performance. The proposed conceptual model focuses on the need that the mechanism of awareness and use of EPPs should play a more active strategic role in shaping the firm’s export performance.

A meta-analysis of the pertinent literature reveals 16 studies on EPPs.

This study reveals that there are 16 relationships which are important based on the meta-analytic correlations. The analysis of these relationships shows that EPPs, export performance, strategy, knowledge, commitment, capabilities, competitive advantage and experience are the mostly used constructs.

This investigation supports the view that the moderating effects of the improvement of trust relationship between partners, i.e. importers to exporter and public policymakers to exporter, and the mechanism of awareness and use of EPPs accelerate the firm’s export performance. EPPs explain 31.3 per cent of the variance in export performance indicating their catalytic role in the exports’ growth.

The purpose of this paper is to determine and prioritize man-made threats that have the probability of occurring in civilian airports, as an important part of critical infrastructures in each country.

The paper is practical-developmental in terms of research type and its approach is descriptive. Desktop research methods and interviews (qualitative) have been used in identifying deliberate man-made threats that are faced by the civilian airports. Moreover, a questionnaire (quantitative) has been utilized to assess the civilian airports’ assets that are targets likely to be threatened and assess threats by determining and prioritizing.

The results of the paper show that the main threat faced by civilian airports is “Air and missile strikes.” An additional 15 threats endangering civilian airports that have been extracted and presented through integrating specialized literature were prioritized in the main components of civilian airports. This prioritization has been performed on the basis of the following five indicators: “Damage Severity,” “Threat Precedent,” “Target Attractiveness,” “Negative Consequences for the Enemy” and “Enemy Ability.”

This paper is extracted from master’s thesis that identifies and assesses the threats to civil airport, and prioritizes them, and the results were confirmed by the experts.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the direct effect of extra-industry network (EIN) and organization–stakeholder relationships (OSR) on absorptive capacity (ACAP). In addition, this study explored indirect effects of EIN and OSR on performance through ACAP among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Oman by considering the moderating role of big data analytics (BDA) outsourcing.

This study utilized quantitative method through survey questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested with a sample size of 202 surveys completed by SME owners. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was administered to analyze data via the SmartPLS 4.0 software.

The analysis revealed that EIN and OSR had an indirect effect on performance through ACAP, while propensity to outsource BDA was found to have a positive moderating role between EIN and performance. Interestingly, propensity to outsource BDA was found to have a negative moderating influence on the relationship between ACAP and performance.

This research is beneficial for entrepreneurs who wish to learn about the specific intangible resources significant for venture growth, to devise effective strategies to expand their EIN and OSR and to consider the significance of the correlations established in this study through ACAP. The result also assists managers in a way that the propensity to outsource BDA strengthens the positive effect of EIN on performance and weakens the positive effect of ACAP on performance.

This research appears to be among the first empirical studies that attempt to provide insights into the importance of ACAP as the key mechanisms to transform the advantages of EIN and OSR to enhance performance by considering the moderating role of propensity to outsource BDA.

Water/Al₂O₃ nanofluid with volume fractions of 0, 0.3 and 0.06 was investigated inside a rectangular microchannel. Jet injection of nanofluid was used to enhance the heat transfer under a homogeneous magnetic field with the strengths of Ha = 0, 20 and 40. Both slip velocity and no-slip boundary conditions were used.

The laminar flow was studied using Reynolds numbers of 1, 10 and 50. The results showed that in creep motion state, the constricted cross section caused by fluid jet is not observable and the rise of axial velocity level is only because of the presence of additional size of the microchannel. By increasing the strength of the magnetic field and because of the rise of the Lorentz force, the motion of fluid layers on each other becomes limited.

Because of the limitation of sudden changes of fluid in jet injection areas, the magnetic force compresses the fluid to the bottom wall, and this behavior limits the vertical velocity gradients. In the absence of a magnetic field and under the influence of the velocity boundary layer, the fluid motion has more variations. In creeping velocities of fluid, the presence or absence of the magnetic field does not have an essential effect on Nusselt number enhancement.

In lower velocities of fluid, the effect of the jet is not significant, and the thermal boundary layer affects the entire temperature field. In this case, for Hartmann numbers of 40 and 0, changing the Nusselt number on the heated wall is similar.

This paper seeks to explore how contextual factors influence the effectiveness of government support initiatives in enhancing the international performance (IP) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Addressing the fragmented nature of international business literature regarding institutional context, this study adopts an institution-based view (IBV) to examine how specific components of institutional context act as moderators in the relationship between government support and SME performance in international markets.

The study is grounded in empirical research, utilizing data collected from 257 exporting SMEs in the Caucasus region through a random sampling method, achieving a response rate of 57.1%, comparable to similar studies in international business. Data analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess both direct effects and moderating relationships.

The results confirm that government support, whether informational or experiential, significantly enhances SMEs’ performance in international markets. However, the relationship between government support and IP is moderated by the stability and specificity of the institutional environment. Institutional enforceability does not exhibit a significant moderating effect. Notably, institutional predictability moderates only the relationship between informational support and SMEs’ IP, highlighting the nuanced role of institutional context.

This research contributes to international business literature by applying an IBV, emphasizing the critical role of context in interactions among market stakeholders. It provides novel insights into how institutional context shapes the effectiveness of government support initiatives in fostering international success for SMEs, particularly in emerging economies. These findings advance the understanding of institutional context influences on SME internationalization and highlight the importance of tailoring government support in accordance with institutional context.