FACTORS AFFECTING BUSINESS SUCCESS OF THE MALAYSIA’S SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES): A CONCEPTUAL PAPER

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) help developing countries in providing employment, increase income, and fostering economic growth. The establishment of SMEs increases over time, especially in Malaysia. SME is one of the major contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP) and job creation in Malaysia. A considerable number of researches have been conducted to investigate factors that influence the success of SMEs, which is beneficial to assist new entrepreneurs. Therefore, this study intends to discuss the details of factors that affect business success based on the previous literature. The conceptual framework introduced in this study hopefully will shed more light on the cause and effect of each factor on the success of SMEs.