A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF TOP SMEs IN MALAYSIA: KEY SUCCESS FACTOR VS GOVERNMENT SUPPORT PROGRAM

Given that SMEs have been identified as main growth engines under Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), there is now a pertinent need to provide SMEs with the necessary management skills and know-how in order to compete, sustain and succeed in today’s challenging business environment. This paper is based on quantitative research to examine the real contributing factors towards excellence performance among top SMEs in coping with the rapid changes in today business world. And further the paper reviews the effectiveness of government support program. In the preliminary study conducted, a sample of 20 top SMEs winners of Malaysia Enterprise Award 2004-2008 was selected and 11 of them responded. The findings showed that there are six main factors (networking, product, ability to focus on market, customer, supportive management, and leadership) contribute to the success of local SMEs. Lacks of accessibility of government support however do not stop them from achieving a greater height. The paper provides guidelines as to how these successful practices may be adopted and used for future direction by even start-up enterprise