Abstract

Microenterprises provide more than 90% of the jobs in the Nordic Arctic region and are the main source of new job creation and innovation. Operations in this region can have many drawbacks related to the long distance from customers, sparse population, and climate conditions that lead to higher operation costs in comparison to other regions. Microenterprises in this region aiming for business growth must therefore pursue operational excellence to achieve a competitive advantage. Microenterprises operations development in resource constrained environment needs special approach. This study assesses the operational excellence of microenterprises in the region through 20 case studies. The performance assessments focused on order–delivery process indicators (production/manufacturing, sourcing, and sales). An operational excellence maturity review (OEMR) tool was developed to collect and analyze the data. Overall, the microenterprises obtained relatively low operational excellence scores. The review done by OEMR tool can inform initiatives for improving the competitiveness of microenterprises and their associated processes in the global market by setting practical metrics and priorities for order–deliver process development.