A majority of small manufacturing firms (SMFs) have been alienated from policy benefits, as policy focus had been put on the improvement of business environment of small merchants. Given that the SMFs in Gyeonggi Province play important roles in terms...
A majority of small manufacturing firms (SMFs) have been alienated from policy benefits, as policy focus had been put on the improvement of business environment of small merchants. Given that the SMFs in Gyeonggi Province play important roles in terms of regional job creation and production, it is crucial to develop policies exclusively specialized for the SMFs.
Main challenges faced by the SMF in Gyeonggi Province are insufficient labor supply, lack of economies of scale, weak internal capabilities, unfavorable transaction structure, and financial burden. The policy recommendations include developing an online platform specialized for the SMFs, strengthening the networks between institutions, continuously supporting for infrastructure maintenance, and strengthening the autonomous authority of the operating institutions.
This study suggests that policies for the SMF in Gyeonggi Province should focus on the development of smart working environment, reinforcement of cooperation network among the SMF, and the improvement in expertise in supporting the SMF.
Major tasks should be the 1) establishment of an organization dedicated to supporting the SMFs, 2) establishment of a control tower to support the SMF in Gyeonggi Province, 3) introduction of a system to discover ‘masters’ of Gyeonggi Province, 4) establishment of smart work applications customized to the SMFs, 5) improvement of the quality of education, and 6) improvement of mobile literacy of the SMFs.