Internal and external factors influencing SMEs development : a qualitative case study of import-and-export oriented SMEs in Jiangsu province of China

Abstract: The SME sector of Jiangsu Province of China contributes quite a big percentage to the GDP and solves the unemployment problem. Moreover, the import-and-export industry has been the pillar industry that boosts the development of the economy ofJiangsuProvince. With the take-off ofJiangsu’s economy, problems have also appeared; the import-and-export-oriented SMEs have been influenced by many internal and external factors, and some of the factors are: Yuan appreciation, inflation, industrial structure, skilled employees, and CRM, etc. Therefore, the thesis is going to analyze the internal and external factors that influence the development ofJiangsuimport-and-export-oriented SMEs by researching the books and articles, and make qualitative case studies to observe how these factors have influenced the case companies. In order to make the qualitative case analysis, the authors have travelled back toJiangsuprovince and interviewed with different SME managers with selective questions.