MANAGEMENT SKILLS IN MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs): A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective: To analyze the level of knowledge generated by various authors on the managerial skills of SMEs between 2014 and 2024. Theoretical Framework: Managerial skills are very relevant for the strategic exercise of innovation and development in companies, where technical skills are not enough, and are composed of various knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that a person requires to efficiently develop the responsibilities to lead a company (Leyva and Cavazos 2018; Leyva et al., 2017). Method: The research has a qualitative approach since the purpose is to present a general study on Managerial Skills in SMEs, aspects of scientific production are analyzed and evaluated, through research in the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) databases. Results and Discussion: Managerial skills, management skills, human relations, such as business relations influence the leadership style of entrepreneurs, generating a positive and people-oriented impact to the extent that there are greater human and business interactions (Abdullah et al., 2023). Research Implications: The development of SME organizations today are involved in a fast-changing environment that requires strengthening managerial skills in order to achieve strategic business objectives effectively and efficiently. Originality/value: The research will contribute to a better understanding of business organizations and the importance of developing managerial skills, enhancing innovation, knowledge management and SME performance.


INTRODUCTION
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, known as SMEs, in most countries of the world, are an important factor in the development, innovation and increase in productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean, representing 99.5% of the companies dedicated to the various productive sectors, they carry out an activity with great economic and social significance in the places where they operate, contributing to the creation of employment and reduction of poverty rates, being a relevant element for the region to achieve a higher level of competitiveness.and diversification in the economy; however, the productivity they achieve is much lower than the largest companies in their sector, so even though they contribute to improving the quality of life of those who work or are linked to them, they do not manage to reach the levels of desired wealth creation (OECD/CAF, 2019; Arcila, 2021: ILO, 2015;Alva, 2017;ECLAC, 2020).
Although these companies have been the subject of numerous investigations, there is no single criterion to establish their definition; and the literature indicates that in Latin America there are various characteristics to define them, the case of the European Union being different where there is a definition agreed upon by all its members; however, in a study carried out in a group of American countries, three criteria were found to be mostly present, these are the number of workers, the amount of sales and the level of assets (Vargas et al., 2020;Cardozo et al. , 2012).
In this sense, the aspects that mostly negatively impact SMEs are: personnel administration and the knowledge of entrepreneurs or managers, and in that sense, those in charge of management face important decisions that affect business results, to which which is known as Management Skills ( Alzate et al., 2022;Handley & Molloy , 2022;Lizama-Mendoza, 2021;Smutny et al., 2016;Trigoso, 2021); and are defined as the knowledge and capabilities that a manager must have to efficiently lead and guide an organization to achieve its objectives, relating effectively with the Stakeholders (Ramírez, 2018;Canizales, 2020).
SMEs have suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been forced to face several challenges to overcome the crisis generated, such as adapting to the new situation; that is, redesign the way of working, reduce the size of the organization if necessary and focus the activity on what provides the greatest returns; promoting digitalization, incorporating digital technology in the development of business activity, the offer and distribution of products or services; and, take advantage of new market trends , using the flexibility that their size gives them to make dynamic changes and innovations that allow them to take advantage of new market trends and in support of improving the competitiveness of SMEs.In this sense, countries Productive alliances, facilitating access to financing sources; and in this way, SMEs must develop their resilience in the face of situations as adverse as the one they faced with COVID-19 (Global Compact Spain Network, 2020;ECLAC, 2020).
Therefore, the purpose of the study is to analyze the level of knowledge generated by various authors about the management skills of SMEs between the years 2014 to 2024 due to the importance and impact that they generate in the economy where they operate, also because to what extent know requires in-depth study .

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Management skills are very relevant for the strategic exercise of innovation and development in companies, where technical skills are not sufficient, and are composed of various knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that a person requires to efficiently develop the responsibilities for run a company (Leyva and Cavazos 2018;Leyva et al., 2017).In that sense, the manager needs to have several skills that give him the ability to carry out competitive management, through ensuring that the team of people achieves good productivity (Chowdhury et al., 2022;Santos et al., 2021).
In this sense, these skills are made up of three dimensions: (i) technical skills, referring to knowledge of a specific field; (ii) interrelationship skills are those associated with teamwork, leadership and communication with the people and areas with which the manager interacts; and (iii) conceptual skills, those related to the skills of analyzing and using theoretical concepts in difficult moments such as communication, teamwork, stress management and the ability to interact with other members (Gilli et al., 2023;Ngo & Hwang, 2022).
That is why, to achieve business competitiveness, the organization must achieve a relevant position in the market, strengthening its presence and growth in a solid and firm manner, its sales and results, among other aspects, placing it in an expectant situation vis-à-vis companies.of the sector (Acosta et al., 2019;Barradas et al., 2021); and SME managers need to have knowledge, management skills, speed in problem solving; as well as, good financial education and innovation to achieve business competitiveness that allows them to achieve the desired profitability and achieve healthy and solid performance, strategies to solve problems, allowing the company to achieve relative stability in the face of changes in the environment.environment (Bawono et al., 2022;Ocampo and López, 2020).
Likewise, the aspects that negatively affect SMEs are personnel administration and the knowledge of entrepreneurs or managers, and those in charge of management, who face important decisions that impact business results, require management skills, which are closely linked to the profile of entrepreneurs, encompassing attitudes and behaviors that give rise to a specific personal profile focused on self-confidence, creativity, strength of innovation and risk management (Pérez et al., 2022;Alzate et al., 2022;Ovalles-Toledo et al., 2018;Santos et al., 2021;Carhuancho et al., 2019).
That is why human skills are necessary in different fields, but above all they are essential in the workplace, because companies require managers who have the capabilities of acquiring knowledge, adaptation or anticipation to carry out successful management at the same time.
face the various changes that occur in them as well as in the environment in which they carry out their activities; leadership and the ability to establish external links are decisive; that is, they are key elements to obtain knowledge and information internal and external to the company, and thereby generate the relevant actions or changes in a complex and competitive environment; In other words, management skills are fundamental for the success of the company, likewise, skills in the right direction are the element that allows the strategy and the exercise of business management tools to achieve the desired performance and objective (Ramírez, 2018;Rodríguez et al., 2017;Baque et al., 2020).

METHODOLOGY
The research has a qualitative approach (Hernández-Sampieri, 2014) since the purpose is to present a general study on Management Skills in SMEs.The study is a non-experimental investigation; however, it analyzes and evaluates the aspects of scientific production that can be taken from the scientific documents reviewed; for which, the search for research in the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS), considered the most relevant bases.
The first searches for the variable Management Skills in SMEs were carried out in March 2024, Scopus and Web of Databases.Science, combining the terms "managerial skills" and "small business", with appropriate similarities, using the Boolean operators AND and OR, resulting in a considerable number of results, several of them repeated or not very useful for analysis and systematic review.In this research work, publications from the Scopus database were used since most of the studies published in Web of Science are also published in Scopus.
Then, the total publications in this first search resulted in a total of 885 publications in Scopus.
Table 1 shows the search equation for Management Skills in SMEs in the Scopus database.

Variable
Search equation Management Skills in SMEs ("Managerial Skills OR "Management Skills" OR "Administration Skills" OR "Business Skills" OR "Management Capacity") AND ("Small Business" OR "Entrepreneur" OR "SMEs" OR "SMEs") Source: Documents obtained from searches in the indicated database Then, applying the methodology established in the PRISMA statement, all publications were identified that had the objective of better contrasting the purpose of the study, choosing the results with the greatest relevance for research on Management Skills.For which the following inclusion criteria were considered to be able to filter the studies obtained, the publications carried out cover from 2014 to 2024; only open access articles those whose topic is closely linked to management, management, entrepreneurship and SMEs; that the area of study is only in the field of Business, Management and Accounting ; that in the title, and in the keywords, there are words related to: Business management, Small business or Entreperneurship management ; that in the abstract it is identified that the objective of the study is referred to "small business management"; written in English or Spanish.And with respect to the exclusion criteria: duplicity, not corresponding to scientific articles (presentations, doctoral theses, testimonies, among others), and not belonging to the area of interest.
A flow chart was prepared to show all the articles found, with a total of 885, of which 21 were chosen, and then ordered in Table 2 according to the criteria: author, year, origin, research design, source database and the scientific contributions of each one; to present the scientific contributions of each one on the research topic.planning, decision making and control; demonstrating that management and performance measurement systems contribute to the company being able to make the internal and external changes that the environment demands, so that they impact the desired success.Source: Taken from the Scopus database The administration of any company is based on business management and competitiveness, to the point that they can be considered one as a complement to the other to achieve the sustainability of the company when facing the intense changes that the environment has presented in recent times.However, there is a significant lack of skills in managers that are necessary for the competitiveness of companies (Pérez et al., 2022), and the relevant factors that influence the performance of companies are precisely the skills of the managers, their knowledge of the market (Garcia and Anido, 2021), as well as education and experience (Paredes and Quispe, 2022).In addition, there are leadership, culture and innovation, as skills and competencies that drive sustainable business performance, and therefore the manager must have them in business management and people management to ensure that the team of people achieves good productivity (Chowdhury et al., 2022).
Management skills, human relations, such as business relationships influence the leadership style of entrepreneurs, generating a positive and people-oriented impact to the extent that greater human and business interactions occur (Abdullah et al., 2023).And it is the founding owners who influence the path of the company through the choice of strategic options based on the optimization of their skills and competencies in business management (Xiao and Ramsden , 2016).In this sense, Armada (2021) in its documentary analysis study proposed a "competence management model" that is made up of three phases: the previous phase, the assignment and training phase, and the development and evaluation phase; the objective being to develop skills and knowledge, to have the commitment of all staff and the support of senior management.Additionally, Riaño (2017) developed a study to develop a methodological guide that evaluates knowledge administration; whose management model improves the sustainability and growth strengths of SMEs.
SMEs are a relevant segment in some countries, due to their impact on the country's economy (Acuña, 2021).These are threatened from the beginning of their activity, as the 14 entrepreneur applies his own strategy to compete in the market, supported by empirical financial knowledge, basic strategic skills and not proven methodologies (Arcila, 2021).That is why the main variables of failure in the management of SMEs are lack of experience, limited preparation, a complex economic environment and the weak ability to face a changing environment (Alva, 2017); that is, the factors that negatively impact the growth of an SME are administrative, personal, operational and strategic (Paredes and Quispe, 2022).
Online, one of the biggest difficulties faced by SMEs in the world is obtaining external financing, because the products developed by banks are more oriented to large companies (Baloyi & Khanyile, 2022).Given that for SMEs it is a permanent struggle, due to their weaker characteristics (economic, social and technological), compared to large companies, the relationship between innovation in methods and products with management skills and technological adaptation, to influence productivity and its performance (Asghar et al., 2023).
That is why innovation is a factor that links knowledge management and company performance, and must be conceived by SMEs as the element that will allow improvement in business performance (Byukusenge and Munene, 2017).
According to research, the conceptual competencies that managers have in SMEs influence business performance, so there is an important link between the management skills of the owners and/or managers with the result of performance in innovation and the return of profits.investment (Mashavira and Chipunza, 2021).In the field of decision making, planning, and control in companies, researcher Hernández (2017) finds the application of a management and performance measurement system relevant, coinciding with Armada (2021) with his proposal of a competency management model; as well as, Riaño (2017) with a similar model based on a knowledge management methodology, which enhances strengths and growth.Both proposals, those of Armada and Riaño, consider that the commitment of all staff and the support of responsible management must be generated.Consequently, the leader's traits and skills model the leadership style of the owners in SMEs, with the type of transformational leadership being the most frequent and related to the personal competencies of the owner or manager (Bamiatzi et al., 2015).
Another relevant factor in the management of SME companies is the emotional support that SME entrepreneurs have with the passion and tenacity that they apply in the development of their ventures and that favors business performance (Saleem et al.,2023).However, aspects such as the lack of formal and business education, management skills, and lack of capital make their sustainability difficult, which is why support plans in the economic field and training are needed so that SMEs can better develop their activities and specify their contribution to the 15 economy of the place where they operate (Agrawal et al.,2023).What is also important is that training begins from early education, so that it strengthens the entrepreneurial spirit and the growth of business capabilities at an early age (Santos et al., 2018).And if over time the knowledge acquired by those who manage SMEs occurs both outside and inside the organization, and at the same time, the benefit on the performance of SMEs is even greater in business organizations (Idris et al., 2023).

CONCLUSIONS
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a relevant factor in the development and economic and social competitiveness of Latin America and the Caribbean, being an important engine for generating employment; and where nine companies out of ten are SMEs, with approximately 25% of the region's total production.These operate in a very changing environment and are threatened by various risks throughout their existence, which endangers their sustainability.Furthermore, due to the low growth of Latin American countries, SMEs are affected because they concentrate their commercial relations with these countries, for which improvement in the management of SMEs could be achieved by accessing training programs, such as tool to achieve sustainability.
In Latin America there is no single criterion to define an SME, unlike, for example, the European Union (EU) where they have agreed on a definition on which they categorize them.
For the purposes of the research, the definition of an SME is considered, based on the study carried out by Cardozo et al. (2012) considering three criteria mostly present in the countries of the region such as the number of workers, sales and assets.
The management of SMEs faces several types of problems, in operational and strategic issues, which forces them to make important decisions that can positively or negatively affect their future.The main variables of failure in the management of SMEs are: little experience, lack of education, a harsh economic environment, weak ability to face a changing environment; as well as, the absence of management skills to face changing environments, not being aware of changes in the market; therefore, they need to strengthen their management skills, and this would be achieved with an adequate level of knowledge and optimal management of management skills, becoming the strategies that can confront the danger of mortality that they face.
Management skills such as planning, organizing, managing problems, among others, are what allow a person to efficiently run a company; and in the case of SMEs, since they are ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest .Soc. Ambient .| Miami | v.18.n.9 | p.1-20 | e08564 | 2024.4 must develop policies in four dimensions: (i) Innovation in productive aspects and the managerial field; (ii) Opening of access to markets; (iii) Business cooperation; and (iv)

Figure 1
Figure 1 presents the process followed in this research, the sequence of which was: (1) Definition of the field of study; (2) Database selection; (3) Search process and adjustment of the initial research criteria; (4) Application of the PRISMA method in the selection of relevant articles; (5) Analysis of the articles selected for discussion and (6) Presentation of the discussion.