How are changes in companies initiated and implemented in detail? How are resistances dealt with? To answer questions such as these, five small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) took part in a business program run by FHWien der WKW. A workshop at the end of the project provided impulses and offered an arena for the exchange of experience and knowledge.
In order to be innovative and competitive, SMEs must develop their resources, processes and competencies in a targeted and strategical manner. The Competence Center for SMEs & Strategic Change at FHWien der WKW focused on the diagnosis of the change logic of SMEs. If one wants to strengthen these and identify and reduce innovation blockades, “organization logic” must be considered. Apart from the direct practical use for the enterprises involved and the transfer into teaching, the research results were presented in academic journals and at international conferences. More information on the research project can be found here and in the project folder.
At the end of April, the project “Strategic Innovation and Change Capability of SMEs“, funded by the City of Vienna, will be completed successfully. On this occasion, the project team, led by FH-Prof. Dr. Christina Schweiger invited interested persons to a final workshop on April 9. The workshop was characterized by close cooperation between research and business practice. The focus was on the exchange of experience and knowledge to promote change strategies in SMEs. After the presentation of the results of the study, the owners and managing directors of the partner companies reflected on what had been achieved so far and looked at opportunities for SMEs.
The exchange of experiences on the topic of change logic was supported by the “Persona Method“. Personas are fictitious figures that combine a variety of characteristics (age, gender, profession, life goals, etc.). In this case, the participants designed personas that characterized how their own company “ticks” in dealing with change. The construction of personas facilitated the reflection of development processes in individual SMEs.
The whole workshop was accompanied by “Graphic Recording“: The aim of this “visual protocol” was to document the project results and the workshop results in graphical form. The central statements and positions were thus brought to the point visibly for all. This simultaneous translation of the spoken word to a visual level provided a basis for discussion for all participants and represents a successful summary of the project and the evening. At the following get-together the successful project and event were toasted and the exchange continued.
The cooperation with the Competence Center for SMEs & Strategic Change at FHWien der WKW was evaluated very positively by the owners and managing directors of the partner companies. Kristina Schlechta (Hübner & Hübner Steuerberatung) summed up: “Participation in the research project has meant that we are focusing more strongly on important strategic considerations. We were very well accompanied, individually supported and repeatedly inspired by the research team at FHWien der WKW”.
Questions & Contact:
Competence Center SMEs & Strategic Change
Research Cluster
FHWien der WKW
Währinger Gürtel 97
1180 Vienna
Austria
Phone: +43 1 476 77-5765
E-mail: sme.change@fh-wien.ac.at
Website: www.kmu-in-veraenderung.at
