Page 39 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

A.M.Gebreselassie: The Impact of Economic Integration on SME
Competitiveness in E thiopia, Tigray

3. METHODOLOGY
The study adopted a case study research design which is a cross-sectional mixed
approach method to supplement data obtained in one approach with that of another
and to provide a full picture of the issue under consideration. To attain the aim of the
study, qualitative and quantitative data were used. The study population included
1448 operators of small and medium enterprises from purposively selected 5 sub-
sectors of the manufacturing sector. To carry out this study, 123 operators were
selected through a stratified sampling method after the pilot test was managed to
determine the appropriateness and relevance of the questions in the instrument. For
interview purposes, 15 small and medium enterprise development agency leaders
and experts and stakeholders, and 8 groups of SME council members were selected
purposively for focus group discussions. The data collected from primary sources
and non-participatory observations were recorded, edited, organized, analyzed,
interpreted, and presented with research questions. The quantitative data were
analyzed using descriptive statistics SPSS version 25 and were presented by tables,

FINDING AND DISCUSSIONS
1. Policies and Strategies of SMEs

Std.
N Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation Variance
Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic
Are the policies and strategies
applicable to SMEs 96 1 5 3.53 1.239 1.536
Are the policies and strategies
flexible and ready to amend 96 1 5 3.23 1.244 1.547
The policies and strategies were
designed based on the regional 95 1 5 3.13 1.142 1.303
context
The policy contributes to the
living hood improvement of 94 1 5 3.21 1.086 1.180
SMEs
The financial policy of the
country affects the operating 94 1 5 3.09 1.142 1.305
activities of SMEs
Strategies were favored for
large-scale enterprises than 95 1 5 2.99 1.096 1.202
SMEs
Strategies promote the
productivity of SMEs 96 1 5 2.93 1.207 1.458
Strategies promote
entrepreneur and human capital 95 1 5 2.92 1.217 1.482
the policies offer the utmost
attention to SME 96 1 5 2.90 1.138 1.294
Valid N (listwise) 89

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