Analyzing the Critical Success Factors Influencing the small- and medium-sized Enterprises in Odisha (India): A Cross-Sectional Study

The majority of “small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)” in Odisha (India) look unable to maintain itself while having a high success-rate, indicating that these SMEs are exposed to considerable risks and vulnerabilities that are affecting their performances. Given the above, it was clear that research into “critical success factors (CSFs)” for the development of SMEs was still in its early-phases. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of CSFs on the SMEs performance. In this study, a survey of 66 SMEs in Odisha with the “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)” analysis was performed in order to examine their continuing difficulties and potential opportunities, which was further followed by statistical-analysis of obtained data from 186 respondents by utilizing designed-questionnaires. The four significant CSFs that were identified through extensive review of literature and SMEs survey included “support of top-management, orientation of entrepreneurship, business-environment, and focus on customers”, respectively. All the four CSFs were found to be significant and positively related to SMEs performance. This was because all of the analyzed factors of CSFs and SMEs performance exhibited strong positive relationships with each other. The findings will be useful to both entrepreneurs and researchers in building a framework for increasing overall organizational performance.