Improving SMEs’ performance using innovative knowledge and financial system designed from the Moroccan business environment

Abstract

Information and communication technologies are considered real vectors of corporate performance. However, their adoption by small and medium sized organizations is hampered by unreported or unknown obstacles. As part of a new approach, and rather than opting for a purely theoretical work, this paper deals with real issues that SMEs face whenever the question of information technology integration is raised. SMEs in Morocco are facing many barriers such as poor financial management, significant lack of managerial and professional skills and lack of financial resources. These obstacles have direct consequences on SMEs’ performance, their growth and indirectly have many socio-economic consequences on the labour market and country’s economy. This paper shares the process followed to design an adapted solution to transform SMEs’ current situation considering the specificities of their context. The solution proposed through this work, KFMS, has considered SMEs’ real problems and their life cycle phases’ priorities. The KFMS’ architecture integrates ontologies, statistical models and a sharing strategy component to allow managers to handle the financial domain, interpret financial indicators correctly, and build strategic future orientations.

Keywords:

• ontologies
• SME
• financial forecast
• decision-making
• KFSM
• information system

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank all the managers and reviewers who contributed their time and ideas to this study. All errors are our responsibility.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).