Despite being relatively small in size and made up of highly fragmented and heterogeneous industries, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are epitomised as the ‘engines of growth’ by economists and the ‘key source of dynamism, innovation and flexibility’ in developed and developing economies (The Economist, 2010; Ng, 2016; OECD, 2010). SMEs account for a large share of total enterprises and make significant contributions to real GDP growth, new job creation, and poverty reduction. In fact, most of the large corporations like Apple and Microsoft initially began as an SME and later evolved into a corporate titan. In Malaysia, SMEs account for 97.3% of all enterprises and contributed 36.3% to the GDP (2005: 30.0%), 65.5% to employment (2005: 56.8%) and 17.6% to exports (2010: 16.4%) in 2015 (SME Corporation Malaysia, 2016). There are two definitions commonly referred to in classifying industrial sectors. For the manufacturing sector, SMEs are defined as firms with a sales turnover not exceeding RM50 million or a number of full-time employees not exceeding 200. For the services and other sectors, SMEs are defined as firms with a sales turnover not exceeding RM20 million or a number of full-time employees not exceeding 75 (SME Corporation Malaysia, 2016). Most SMEs are family-owned and owner-managed businesses where the owners are also the managers holding both management and operational roles. However, SMEs have not achieved the desired trajectory of success, despite being positioned at the centre of attention by the governments with massive support. During the formative years, SMEs have to grapple with the risk of failure, survive downturns and thrive in an environment characterised by market uncertainty and unpredictability (Hotho and Champion, ۲۰۱۱). SMEs have to struggle and compete with larger enterprises in a different and niche arena through product innovativeness and competitiveness (Wagner and Hansen, 2005).