Vidzeme Region of Latvia: Knowledge Management in Micro Enterprises

The goal of this paper is to study how smart are micro enterprises in rural areas Latvian, to analyze knowledge management in micro enterprises, and to come up with recommendations for micro entrepreneurs in rural areas of Vidzeme region in order to ensure smart, inclusive and sustainable growth. The paper analyses statistical data, considers theory on knowledge management in micro enterprises, as well as explores recent trends and recommendations contained in literature and scientific journals. It is concluded that majority of micro enterprises in rural areas of Vidzeme region pay insufficient attention to knowledge management. Unfortunately, micro enterprises in rural areas are not knowledge intensive; they face different challenges, as well as lack basic knowledge management skills and tools. Recommendations set forth in this paper are aimed at fostering smart and sustainable growth of micro enterprises. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.