bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computerisation as a Factor in the Development of Young Entrepreneurs
Authors: Raymond Louis
Published: October 2007

Professor Lousi Raymond is with the department of administration and economics at the university of Quebec at Trois-Riviers, Canada. The advent of low-cost yet poweful microcomputers and easy to use applications software resently allows any small enterprise to computerise itself at or near the time of its creation. As thefirst years are th most critical ones for th enterpreneur and his firm, it becomes important to understand better the role computer-based information systems can play during this period. specifically, is computerfisation acutallly a factor in the development of young firms? This paper presents the resulto of Quebec Canada, Within these firms, whose median and maxiuimu ages were 11 and 24 months respectvely, 64 (28)per cent were found to use computers alredy for operational and mangment purpose. the develment stages of the sampled enterprise was measured onvarious dimensions of organiation structure, function and effectivenss. Computeriation and inforation systems sophistication were found to be positively related to the organsaisational development of young firm when they are small but not whe nthey are very small.
Information Asymmetries and the Provision of Finance to Small Firms
Authors: Binks M. R. , Ennew C. T. , Reed G. V.
Published: October 2007

Dr M. R. Binks and G.V. Reed are with the department of economics, nottingham university, England, and C.T. Ennew with the Department of industrial economics of the same university. Ascertaining the risk associated with the provision of external finance to small firms involves the collection of considerable amounts of external fiance to small firms involves the collection of considrable amounts of inforation. The cost incurred in this process are sufficient to cause both an equity and a debt gap. Mainstream econmic therorists are divided as to whetehr the inforatmion asymmetries concerened cause an under or an over-supply of credit. This paper outlines the main elements of the eimpact of asymmetries concrened cause an under of over supply of credit.idicates the tendency of a cpaital as opposed to an incoming-generting approach to loan evaluation to emerge as a natural default process by United Kingdom banks. Although identifying the anture of asymmetries in practice is very difficult. it is important to make attempts to do so in order to guide and monitor progress in theri removal .the authors explain how a measure of demand, supply and attainment quality, with respect.The result illustrate tehrrelative experience of firms by sector, size and growth rate and reveal the possiblity tha those firms most in need of a prospectus based approach may be least well placed to receive it.
Pre-Tendering in the Construction Sector: A Comparison of Small and Large Firm Issues
Authors: Carter Sara , Dunne Anne
Published: October 2007

Sara Carter is senior research fellow at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, and Anne Dunne is with the Department of Marketing, Stirling University, Scotland.
Defining Small Business Failure
Authors: Watson John , Everett Jim
Published: October 2007

JOHN WATSON IS A SENIOR LECTURER IN accounting and finance and Dr. Jim Everett is associate professor of management science, both in the School of Commerce, University of Western Australia, Australia. In examining small business mortality researchers have used, or suggested, a variety of definitions (or proxies) for failure. It has been argued that a lack of a reliable measure of failure is a major obstacle to understanding and alleviating the causes of small business mortality. The objective of this study is to examine various definitions (or proxies) for failure identified in the literature and to assess these definitions against a set of criteria that have been developed for this purpose. The history of 333 small businesses that began in the period 1973-1988 in six managed shopping centres in Western Australia are analysed to illustrate the variation in reported failure rates that result from using the various definitions. The results show that the reported average annual failure rate ranged from less than 1 per cent through to 14 per cent, depending on which definition of failure is adopted. The results also indicate the possibility for using modelling to estimate potentially more relevant failure rates using readily available data such as bankruptcy statistics.
Exports and Small Business in the Netherlands: Presence, Potential and Performance
Authors: Thurik Roy
Published: October 2007

PROFESSOR DR. A. R. THURIK IS director of fundamental research at the Research Institute of Small and Medium-sized Business in The Netherlands and professor of small business economics at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; he is also director of the Centre of Advanced Small Business Economics at EUR. This paper discusses the role of exports in The Netherlands, the actual small business share therein, some measures to stimulate exports and the hidden potential of small business. Additionally, it provides a description of a regression analysis of the performance differential between small and large businesses depending upon export share. It concludes with suggestions for an awareness programme for stimulating small business exports.
Predatory Networking: The Role of Small Firms in the Development of the British Biotechnology Industray
Authors: Oakey R. P.
Published: October 2007

DR. RAY OAKEY IS ADDLESHAW SONS & Latham Professor of Business Development at Manchester Business School, England. This paper examines the effects of networking in competitive conditions, in particular the effects on new firms in the biotechnology sector. He finds that a close networking relationship, while helpful in the initial stages of formation and growth, can become a major barrier to independent expansion once a certain level of success has been achieved. As an increasing minority of growing firms were acquired by larger firms he suggests that a strong small firm contribution to innovation and growth in the emerging biotechnology sector is unlikely. He suggests that in Britain, for example, government should ensure that medium to long-term investment capital is available to viable small independent biotechnology firms who wish to remain independent. This is necessary because large firm dominance leads to a slow rate of technological change which in the long term renders industry uncompetitive at an international level.
Improving Small Business Survival Rates via Franchising The Role of the Banks in Europe
Authors: Stern Peter , Stanworth John
Published: October 2007

PETER STERN IS SENIOR FRANCHISE manager of the National Westminster Bank and has a background in small business lending. The unit in which he works pioneered franchisee lending in Britain. Professor John Stanworth is Director of the International Franchise Research Centre at the University of Westminster, England and has been involved in research into franchising since 1975. The paper examines issues such as the early origins of franchising and different manifestations of the concept. Some international statistics are presented and certain problems of measurement illustrated. Finally, a survey of specialist bank provision for franchising in Europe shows only British and Dutch banks as giving full support with French banks also displaying a good level of franchise knowledge. The article concludes that the banking sectors of both Western and Eastern Europe have much left to do if they are to assist the development of franchising to its full potential.
The Dark Side of Franchising
Authors: Hoy Frank
Published: October 2007

FRANK HOY IS DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF Business Administration at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA. As editor of Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, he has studied the entrepreneurship/ franchise interface. The United States Congress and other legislative bodies have been enacting or considering laws regulating franchisor-franchisee relations. The various causes of legislative action suggest there is a dark side to franchising: problems between franchisors and franchisees that are often downplayed in the attention given to low failure rates and industry growth. A recently proposed theory of entrepreneurship may help explain the inevitability of conflict between the parties. In turn, the theory may suggest conflict resolution actions that may help solve the problems that arise.
Shifting the Frontier of Control: Small Firm Autonomy within a Franchise
Authors: Felstead Alan
Published: October 2007

DR. ALAN FELSTEAD IS A RESEARCH Associate at the Centre for Labour Market Studies, University of Leicester, England. Before that he was a Research Officer at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, where the research for this paper was conducted. The paper examines the extent to which small firms can enjoy autonomy within a franchise setting as well as investigating how and why this might change. The paper is based on a study of one of the world's largest and oldest franchise users the Coca-Cola Company. In particular, attention is focused on the reasons why the Coca-Cola Company's original franchise structure in Germany had by the 1980s outlived its usefulness. It also considers the nature of the reshaped franchise structure which was put in its place and the consequences this had for franchisee autonomy. An expanded and more detailed version of this paper can be found in his book, The Corporate Paradox: Power and Control in the Business Franchise, London: Routledge, 1993.
Stakeholders and the Strategy Formation Process in Small and Medium Enterprises
Authors: Atkins Martin , Lowe Julian
Published: October 2007

Martin Atkis is co-ordinator, center for management studies, Univeristy of Aberdeen, Scotland, and professor Julian Lowe is professor strategic Managment, Univerisity of Western England, Bristol, England. Strategic network are becoming increasingly recognised for theri potential to reduce transaction costs for fimrs. Networks are built on trust and it is therfore appropriate to consider partner in the network among the stakhodler in the firm. in this paper, data from an extensive survery of small firms in the united kingdom have been used to construct a measure of stakeholder involvment and there is very storng statistical evidence in favour of theoretical models which predct greater stakeholder involvment by firms who experience greater external turbulence, especially when that turbulence is measured in terms of changing technology.
The Impact of Gender on Small Business Management: Preliminary Findings of a British Study
Authors: Rosa Peter , Hamilton Daphne , Carter Sara , Burns Helen
Published: October 2007

Dr Peter Rosa, Lecture with the scottish enterprise fondations, stirling unviersity and sara carter, sernior research fellow with the deprtment of Marketing, stratchclyde univerisity. Glasgow, Scotland, directed a three year study on the impact of Gender on small business managment, funded by the UK economic and social science research council. Daphne Hamilton and Helen burns were research fellows working on the project. in spite of growing research into women in business, the quesion of how far gender difference exists in small business ownership and managment has not been rigorously addressed, mainly because most studies have been exploratory and insfficiently sophisticated in terms of of methodology. the research aimed to explore the issue of gender idiffrence in small buisness ownership and managment in a much more systematic and rigorous way, through a quantitative survey of 300 female and 300 male business properietors from three sectors: textiles and clothing, business services, and hotels and catering. the survey ws supllmented with thiry qualitative interviews of sposuse of properietors of both sexes. This paper introdcue prelliminary finding from the research which show that the impact of gender is considratable but often complex. of special note are complication of co-ownership with men and the impact of copetitive sectoral forces taht could shape managment practice.
Management Advisory Services and the Financial Performance of Clients
Authors: Kent Pamela
Published: October 2007

DR. PAMELA KENT IS SENIOR LECTURER IN commerce at the University of Queensland, Australia. This paper presents research that tests empirically the previously unsubstantiated assumption made in literature of a positive relationship between the use of management advisory services by managers and financial performance of small clients. Hypotheses were tested using relatively homogenous businesses in a controlled environment. Need for achievement and locus of control of managers were also tested because these variables were not controlled in the research design. It was found that financial performance was positively significantly related to using management advisory services from external advisers when profit and sales growth were used as indicators of financial performance. The need for achievement of managers also added significantly to the profit growth and sales growth regression models. A comparison of the sources of advice indicated that accountants tended to concentrate on financial advice while non-accountant advisers stressed selling and marketing techniques such as shop displays, advertising, promotions, and knowledge of products sold.
The Second 'Equity Gap': Exit Problems for Seed and Early Stage Venture Capitalists and Their Investee Companies
Authors: Murray Gordon
Published: October 2007

DR. GORDON MURRAY IS WITH THE WARWICK Business School, University of Warwick, England. The availability of venture capital funds for early stage investment (such as seed capital and start-up equity finance) remains limited in the United Kingdom. This paper investigates one element of the relationship between early stage venture capital investors and their larger, development capital counterparts. It is hypothesised that there could be a complementarity of activity between investors in early and later stage activities. Particularly, the later stage, venture (development) capitalists could provide a material source of follow-on funding for investee companies within the portfolios of the financially constrained, early stage funds. A population of fifteen UK venture capital organisations specialising in seed capital, start-up and early stage financing were identified. Twelve of these investors were interviewed using a telephone survey. The findings indicated that both parties rarely shared deal flow activity. While development capitalists were the preferred source of follow-on finance for their investee companies, the early stage respondents did not believe that development capitalists were, or would be in the future, an important means of either refinancing or exiting from their portfolio companies. The lack of provision of follow-on finance from the established venture capital industry suggests that the young, growing and potentially successful firm funded by an early stage investor faces a second equity gap. This gap occurs when the growing firm seeks additional finance for commercial expansion once the available resources from its early stage investor are exhausted.
The Impact of Unemployment on New Firm Formation in Finland
Authors: Tervo Hannu , Niittykangas Hannu
Published: October 2007

HANNU TERVO AND HANNU NIITYKANGAS ARE BOTH employed at the Centre for Economic Research in Central Finland, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. There is an a priori case that unemployment can either increase or decrease new firm formation. This paper analyses how unemployment has affected entrepreneurship in Finland where, after a sustained period of increase, new firm formation began to fall during the recession. The empirical analysis is based on the application of various statistical methods on regional data on unemployment, new firm formation and other factors. Two hypotheses based on the 'push-pull' model are derived. The decision to start a new firm is treated as a form of human capital investment problem. At regional level, high unemployment is shown to promote firm formation. These relationships are strenghtened if the effect of other factors is eliminated. Especially in the case of those regions where both the opportunities for entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial qualifications of the population are good, a rise in unemployment will promote new firm formation.
Rebuilding Small Business Confidence by Identifying and Closing Service Gaps in the Bank/SME Client Relationship
Authors: Chaston Ian
Published: October 2007

DR. IAN CHASTON IS WITH THE Management Research Centre, Plymouth University, England. A critical factor in the success of the SME sector is the relationship which exists between ownermanagers and their banks. One unfortunate outcome of the recession in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s was a significant decline in the SME sector's trust and confidence in the UK banking community. To reverse this situation requires actions to alter owner-manager perceptions about service quality. To determine the nature of service quality in the banker-SME client relationship, a survey was undertaken using a modified version of the Parasuraman SERVQUAL model. The results indicated the existence of major Type 1, 4 and 5 Gaps and narrower Type 2 and 3 Gaps in the customer service process. Major causes of these service gaps include bank determined service delivery goals which fail to mirror the customer service need priorities and inappropriate internal/ external communication activities. The study confirms, however, that UK banks are seeking to rebuild customer confidence in the SME sector and are already changing internal cultures (e.g. emphasis on service; rewarding staff for service achievements) and implementing actions (e.g. allocation of resources; creation of appropriate operating systems; using automation to improve service consistency) to achieve this aim. Bankers responding to the survey consider the SME sector represents a vital source of both wealth and job creation. Unless, however, senior managers in UK banks can be persuaded to accelerate actions to close identified service gaps, then ownermanager lack of confidence in the financial community will continue to be a barrier to economic recovery. A process model is presented describing how a bank can identify and then implement actions to rebuild small business customer confidence through closure of quality gaps during the provision of services.
Joint Ventures: No Longer a Mysterious World for SMEs from Developed and Developing Countries
Authors: Donckels Rik , Lambrecht Johan
Published: October 2007

PROFESSOR RIK DONCKELS IS director of the Small Business Research Institute, Catholic University, Brussels, Belgium, andJohan Lambrecht is a scientific researcher at the same institute. In this paper, joint ventures in developing countries between small-and medium-sized enterprises from industrialised countries and Third World countries figure prominently. The authors provide both empirical material and a theoretical framework with regard to this issue. First, the profile of the entrepreneurs having or planning ajoint venture in a developing country is drawn. In addition, it is shown why ajoint venture is the most suitable form for entrepreneurs and SMEs from the developed world and the developing countries. The authors conclude with the conditions for the successful genesis of a joint venture in a developing country.
Employment Growth in New Independent Owner-Managed Firms in Great Britain
Authors: Westhead Paul , Birley Sue
Published: October 2007

DR. PAUL WESTHEAD IS WITH THE Centre for Small and Medium- sized Enterprises, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, United Kingdom, and Professor Sue Birley is with The Management School, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, United Kingdom. This study explores employment change in 408 independent, owner-managed new firms in Great Britain which had received their first order between 1986 and 1990. In order to unravel the factors associated with standardised employment change in new independent firms exploratory bivariate correlation analysis was used. Eighty-eight variables were identified from the literature and they relate to the 'internal' characteristics of the principal owner-manager and the business as well as a range of variables which capture various aspects of the 'external' environment. Bivariate correlation analysis results are presented for separate sub-samples of 'manufacturing' and 'service' firms. Moreover, in order to identify the combination of factors associated with employment change in surveyed new firms the data were further subjected to multiple correlation and regression analysis.
The Management of Family Firms: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Cromie Stanley , Stephenson Ben , Monteith David
Published: October 2007

Stephenson and David Monteith are with the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Northern Ireland. A significant proportion of small firms in the United Kingdom and the United States are family businesses where one family exercises financial and/or managerial control. Differences occur between those ventures where ownership and/or control is vested in a founder and his family and those where non-owning managers are the dominant force. This paper reports on an empirical investigation carried out by the authors into more than 3,000 firms in Britain and Ireland. They examined whether demographic differences in areas such as age, size, legal status and industrial classification arose between family and non-family firms and whether distinctive ownership arrangements and management structures were found in the two groups. At the outset they suspected that family firms would be less professionally managed in terms of their strategic and day-to-day decision making, designation of roles and relationships and evaluation of their personnel than nonfamily businesses.
Value-Adding Competitive Strategies: A Comparison of Clothing SMEs Case Studies in France and Great Britain
Authors: Fletcher Denise , Hardill Irene
Published: October 2007

DENISE FLETCHER IS SENIOR LECTURER IN the Business School at Nottingham Trent University, England, and Irene Hardill is reader in economics in the Department of Economics and Public Administration at the same university. The paper studies entrepreneurial attitudes and strategies in clothing SMEs in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom and Le Choletais in France. It attempts to identify and evaluate how SMEs achieve competitive performance according to the firm's general aims and objectives, vision and strategic awareness. The survey reveals that sub-contracting arrangements are different, resembling partnerships more in France. The French companies attach more importance to new technology, improving management skills, and access to market information. The overwhelming difference between the French and British companies is the virtual non-use of formal, local institutional networks by the British companies.
Entrepreneurial Typology: The Case of Ownermanagers in China
Authors: Siu Wai-sum
Published: October 2007

WAI-SUM SIU IS A LECTURER IN THE department of marketing at Hong Kong Baptist College, Kowloon, Kong Kong. Research studies into entrepreneurial typology have proliferated but fundamental problems still exist. This paper reviews problems encountered in entrepreneurial categorisation and suggests a research strategy to overcome those barriers. Owner managers in China are selected as an illustration for the usefulness of this proposed research strategy. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 private entrepreneurs in China, a typology of Chinese entrepreneurs is identified. They are 'senior citizen', 'workaholic', 'swinger', 'idealistic', and 'high flyer'. The evidence of this paper reveals that a combination of qualitative data processing skills and quantitative datas analytical methods is a viable route of identifying entrepreneurial typology and is useful in entrepreneurial research.
The Process of Exporting in OwNner-controlled Firms
Authors: Chetty Sylvie K. , Hamilton R. T.
Published: October 2007

SYLVIE CHErrY IS SENIOR LECTURER IN kmarketing at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and R. T. Hamilton is Professor of Management at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. The main purpose of this paper was to identify how similar firms become exporters and, once embarked, why some perform better than others. It is based on the findings of a multi-case study investigation of exporters and non-exporters within two major New Zealand manufacturing industries. The discussion is set in the context of the academic literature on exporting and the findings should be of interest to ownermanagers in smaller firms considering exporting and to those framing policy to support exporting.
Technical Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Experience
Authors: Jones-Evans Dylan
Published: October 2007

DR. DYLAN JONES-EVANS IS European Union postdoctoral research fellow at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College, Dublin, Ireland. The increasing contribution of technology- based small firms to both employment and innovation within high-technology industries has led to considerable interest in their growth and development, especially in the identification of factors which may influenceithe future management and strategy of these ventures. Evidence from qualitative interviews with thirty-eight technical entrepreneurs suggests that three main factors affect the strategy of the small technology-based firm, namely the age of the venture, the novelty of the technology used within the venture, and the previous management and technical competence of the entrepreneur. In terms of the future strategy of their businesses, approximately half of the entrepreneurs questioned were reluctant to grow their businesses beyond a certain size, preferring instead to remain small. Although age and size of the firm had minimal influence on growth orientation, the majority of technical entrepreneurs possessing a high degree of technical competence and those using radical technologies in their ventures demonstrated a major reluctance to grow their businesses beyond a certain size. This result, if confirmed by a larger, more comprehensive study, may have considerable implications with regard to policy towards small technology-based firms.
Critical Events and Process Gaps in the Danish Technological Institute SME Structured Networking Model
Authors: Chaston Ian
Published: October 2007

DR. IAN CHASTON IS DIRECTOR OF THE Management Research Centre, University of Plymouth, Devon, England. Researchers have proposed that networking represents an alternative organisational structure which assists Western firm survival in an increasingly competitive world. In the late 1980s, the Danish Technological Institute received funding to determine if structured networking might offer a concept for promoting survival and growth among SME sector firms. Most existing networking models assume a large firm will act as the hub or 'broker' orchestrating collaboration between member organisations. To overcome the frequent absence of a large firm hub in the SME sector, the institute evolved a five-phase model in which n independent individual external to the potential network assumes the role of broker and is responsible for guiding the interfirm co-operation process. Recognition of the impact of the concept has caused governments elsewhere in the world to seek assistance from the institute to introduce small firm structured networking as an economic regeneration tool into their respective countries. Early observations of the initiative in the United Kingdom determined that six critical events exist within the process management model. Plymouth Business School, in collaboration with the institute's UK subsidiary, Business Net, undertook a study to gain further understanding of these events with the aim of identifying if the management methodology contained any process gaps. Two potential gaps were identified: namely, the ability of the brokers to determine (i) market opportunities in relation to capability of participant firms, and (ii) owner/manager perceptions of the benefits to be gained from entering into formal co-operative relationships. Two new tools, a Directional Network Policy Matrix and a Network Opportunity Assessment Matrix are described. A preliminary qualitative evaluation of these new techniques indicates they have significant potential for enhancing the role of the broker in ensuring effective management of the institute's five-phase network formation model.
Fulfilling IT Needs in Small Businesses; A Recursive Learning Model
Authors: Fuller Ted
Published: October 2007

TED FULLER IS DIRECTOR OF THE Knowledge Systems Research Centre at Durham University Business School, United Kingdom. This paper addresses the need for a clearer understanding of the problems associated with the adoption of computers by small firms. From the catalogue of empirical research evidence already available, the key issues in the adoption of information technology by SMEs are identified. A model of the overall process of designing, developing, supplying, adopting and absorbing small business information technology is developed to identify inefficiencies in the fulfilment of small business needs. Underlying the dynamics of this model is a theory of software as contributor to enterprise development and learning. Specific abilities required by those involved in the software supply chain, i.e. software developers, IT consultants and vendors, business advisors, owner managers and small business employees are identified from a consideration of the dynamics of the model. It is suggested that enterprise development facilitators, such as trainers, consultants and counsellors, could contribute more more significantly to the design and use of software as a vehicle for enterprise development. It is argued that the effectiveness of the dynamics of this model in practice is a crucial policy issue in respect of the competitive aplication of IT by SMEs.
Managing Succession in Family-Owned Businesses
Authors: Fox Mark , Nilakant V. , Hamilton R. T
Published: October 2007

Mark Fox is a doctrol student in the department of Managment, Univeristy of Canterbury, christchurch. New Zeland. V. Nilkant and R.T Hamilton are senior lecture and professor respectively in the same department. this paper is directed at those involved with family-owned business, families and busines which will inevitably face the stress of an inter generational transfer. The research lietrature is brought together to reveal the system of relationship through which such sucession must be mananged. suggestions fro improved managmement are offered and the paper concludes with a suggestion for the design of future research.
The Performance and Competitive Advantage of Small Firms: A Management Perspective
Authors: Jennings Peter , Beaver Graham
Published: October 2007

PETERJENNINGS, NOW WITH SOUTHAMPTON Institute, England, was at the time of writing with Sheffield Hallam University, England, and Graham Beaver is with Nottingham Trent University, England. Successful small firms practice strategic management either consciously and visibly or unconsciously and invisibly. Failure and success are interpreted as measures of good or indifferent management and are usually defined rational criteria which ignore stakeholder aspirations. Many owner managers pursue personal objectives which inhibit the probability of success if measured using these rational criteria. The majority of existing studies of small business performance tend to focus on either the symptoms arising from problems within the firm or upon the reason cited for failure. Comparatively little analysis of the ingredients that promote and sustain competitive advantage has been undertaken. Notwithstanding the fact that generic skills and abilities are required, the management process in small firms is unique and cannot be considered to be the same as professional management in larger organisations practised on a reduced scale. The multiplicity of roles expected of the owner-manager as the principal stakeholder often causes dissonance which enhances the probability of poor decision-making and inappropriate action. The authors consider that the root cause of either small business failure of poor performance is almost invariably a lack of management attention to strategic issues.
Competitor Knowledge among Small firms: A Pilot Examination of Fast Growing Northern Ireland Companies
Authors: Hewitt-Dundas Nola , McFerran Brendan , Roper Stephen
Published: October 2007

NOLA HEWITT-DUNDAS, BRENDAN McFerran and Stephen Roper are with the Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It has been demonstrated that those companies which take into account the performance of competitors in the development of their business strategy are considerably more likely to succeed than those which do not account for their competitors' performance. However, if a company is developing a strategic plan and therein accounting for the performance of competitors it is essential that the extent of competitor knowledge is accurate otherwise the company will have a distorted perception of its own relative position within the market and thus formulate a strategy with misguided and often unobtainable objectives. This paper presents the key findings of a project to evaluate the accuracy of information which firms held regarding their competitors and the likely contribution of this information to strategic development. The results of the project demonstrated that only between 50 and 60 per cent of the firms were capable of providing measures of size and efficiency. Of the estimates that were made only 45 per cenit were of reasonable accuracy, suggesting that the sample firms were able to make reasonably accurate assessments of around one-fifth of all competitors' data items. As these firms had performed better than most United Kingdom small firms over the 1991-93 period this would suggest that the comparisons reported within the project were likely to have over-estimated the competitor knowledge of the general population of small firms. If this finding was confirmed by a larger study it would imply that a significant information gap exists in the market knowledge of small firms and therefore is an issue which should be addressed by development agencies.
Small Firms' Training and Competitiveness. Building Upon the Small business as a Learning Organisation
Authors: Gibb Allan A.
Published: October 2007

PROFESSOR ALLAN GIBB IS CHAIRMAN OF the Small Business Centre at Durham University Business School, England. This paper begins with a review of the present concerns to link training with competitiveness in the United Kingdom and Europe. It notes that many of the issues raised in this respect are over 20 years old. It suggests therefore a new way to approach the problems, namely by considering the learning needs that will reduce the transaction costs of the small firm operating its stakeholder environment. After defining the concept of learning it makes the distinction between contextual learning (via experience) and the associated tacit (subjective) knowledge that is gained by this, and objective and abstract knowledge frequently purveyed by teachers. It then explores the issue of the SME as a 'learning company' and argues that the key to its learning is via the transactional and other relationship that it has with its immediate network environment. The concept of learning circles and learning partnerships is introduced as a basis for exploring in some detail the issue of 'who' needs to learn. It is argued that the learning needs of those who effectively dictate the level of the playing field for achieving small business success are very high. The nature and importance of this learning need is then explored for key groups. It is argued that the benefits to society of this holistic approach to learning is a reduction in the 'discontinuities' between the SME and its environment and therefore a lowering of transaction costs.
The Coincidence of Technology and Market Objectives in the Internationalisation of New Technology-Based Firms
Authors: Fontes Margarida , Coombs Rod
Published: October 2007

MARGARIDA FONTES IS A RESEARCHER li/Eat the Instituto Nacional de LYL Enghenaria e Tecnologia Industrial in Lisbon, Portugal, and Rod Coombs is Professor of Technology Management at the Manchester School of Management, United Kingdom. This paper addresses the process of internationalisation of new technology based firms (NTBFs), focusing on the case of firms from small, less advanced economies. NTBFs operating in this type of environment are frequently confronted with problems at the level of supply and demand of technology. Therefore, the need to obtain the technological knowledge and the markets they cannot find locally is the major drive behind their internationalisation efforts. On the basis of empirical research on a group of Portuguese NTBFs, the paper discusses the conditions that led firms to internationalise their activities along the technology and market dimensions and analyses the strategies they adopted. It is concluded that NTBFs have been more effective with respect to technology than to market internationalisation, although both objectives are closely linked in firms' strategies and the results achieved at one level are used to assist the other. The ability to establish a network of supportive relationships that compensates for their insufficiencies with respect to resources and competences, emerges as instrumental to the success of the efforts of NTBFs.
Performance Related Pay: A Case Study of a Small Business
Authors: Fuller-Love Nerys , Scapens R. W.
Published: October 2007

NERYS FULLER-LOVE IS DIRECTOR OF THE Centre of Business Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, and Professor R. W. Scapens is director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting and Finance at the University of Manchester, England. This paper aims to investigate the impact of the implementation of performance related pay on a small company. Performance rewards schemes have been used for centuries to reward improved productivity through increased payments or benefits. Although there is evidence to show that these schemes do increase productivity there are also doubts as to their effectiveness. Small firms have several stages of growing pains on the way to success or failure. What are the characteristics of successful small firms? Willingness to improve management through training and by bringing in professional managers from outside have been found to be a positive factor in their success. This is principally because the stages of growth in a small firm involve different management skills. For example, how does a small firm move from direct supervision of a few workers to indirect management when the number of employees increases? This paper attempts to link together these two themes, that of performance reward schemes and the management and control of a small business. It illustrates how a small manufacturing company implemented a bonus scheme in order to improve productivity and ease the transition from an informal management system to more structured formal systems. The reason for introducing the bonus payments, how they were implemented and evaluated are examined in this case study. Some of the factors investigated include the impact on the organisation, the effect of change, the resistance to change.
Trade Credit, Cash-flow and SMEs in the UK, Germany and France
Authors: Chittenden Francis , Bragg Richard
Published: October 2007

DR. FRANCIS CHITTENDEN IS SENIOR FELLOW in Business Development and Director of Business Development Programmes at Manchester Business School and Richard Bragg is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Business, University of Manchester, England. This paper is based on the analysis of the detailed accounts of 1200 small firms in the United Kingdom and 250 business (each) in Germany and France. Following the recent policy debate, at both the national and European level, the main objective of the work was to assess the impact of late payment of suppliers' invoices on the operating cash flow of small businesses in order to achieve two major objectives first, given the existence of a 'finance gap' which acts as a barrier to the growth of many small firms, to quantify the scale of the impact of potential reductions in credit terms on business cash flows; second, to determine the proportions of small companies which would benefit or suffer from faster payments made by their customers and to their suppliers. The paper concludes that for most of the small firms examined, in all three countries, reductions in the trade credit cycle would result in improved cash flows, in the short-term, and lower requirements for future investment in working capital if sales increase, in the medium-term.
Reluctant Entrepreneurs and their Clients The Case of Selfemployed Freelance Workers in the British Book Publishing Industry
Authors: Stanworth Celia , Stanworth John
Published: October 2007

JOHN STANWORTH IS DIRECTOR OF THE Future of Work Research Group at the London Management Centre, University of Westminster, England; Celia Stanworth is a researcher with the Future of Work Research Group and also a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations at Greenwich University Business School, England. The twin processes of large firm job loss and small firm job creation have traditionally been seen as essentially compartmentalised processes that is, jobs shed by large firms are seen as gone forever, while the jobs created by their small firm counterparts are seen in the opposite sense as completely new economic creations. However, the research reported here, drawn from the publishing industry in Britain, illustrates a more symbiotic relationship. It observes employers' changes in labour-use strategies, resulting in former in-house employees becoming externally located (homebased) and changing their employment status to 'freelance' selfemployed.
Indigenous Rural Firms: Farm Enterprises in the UK
Authors: Carter Sara , Rosa Peter
Published: October 2007

DR. SARA CARTER IS SENIOR RESEARCHiI fellow in the Department of Marketing at the University of Str athclyde, Scotland, and Dr. Peter Rosa is senior lectturer in the Department of Entrepr-eneurship at the University of Stirling, Scotland. This paper argues that despite anincreasingly sophisticated smnall btusiness literature analysing rulral en-ite -prises, farms have been largelb excluded from this investigation. As a r-esult there has been a substantial accuninnulation of knowledge about newerc for-inis of ruiral enterprise while the indigenous rural firms remain unclhai-ted. Th-is papeiseeks to redress this by presenitinig an exploratory analysis of the B-itish far-mii sector using the conventional srmall business paradigm. Ylhe results demonstrate the broad similarities between farm and non-farm r-ural enterprises and also the residuial strentgth of small-scale agricultural 1)r oduction. It is argued that farm enterprises remain an important but hitherto overlooked element of the small brusinless sector. Becatise mnost f;arms are fIamilv-owxned conceirus xNvIkic hax e lae Igetl survived transition throu-igh generatiios. further analysis of the secztor can proxitit substanitial insight inito aspec ts of entreprenietrrial behaviotir at tIre cen r e of the small btusiness clebate.
The Determinants of Franchisee Performance: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Fenwick Graham D. , Strombom Marnie
Published: October 2007

DR. GRAHAM FENWICK IS A RESEARCH associate in the Department of Management, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Marnie Strombom graduated from Canterbury and is now a business associate with EDS (New Zealand) Ltd. This paper seeks to understand the importance of ownermanager background characteristics and outlet location as determinants of franchisee performance within a wellestablished New Zealand retail sports goods franchise. In particular, it addresses debate over whether franchisees should be regarded as entrepreneurs or more as employees of the franchisee, as well as the effect of entrepreneurial behaviour on franchisee performance. The findings point to important lessons for franchisors in selecting franchisees and locations for outlets. Background characteristics are not good indicators of performance by franchisees. Franchisees showing strong entrepreneurial tendencies and those with prior experience in managerial roles that were similar in terms of required knowledge, skills and abilities, and in terms of managerial duties and tasks performed, tend to perform poorly. Managerial competence is not necessarily a useful indicator of future performance. Thus, applicants with little or no managerial background may be better suited to franchising and cause less conflict. Finally, location is a very important influence on outlet performance and must be considered on at least two scales, size of the market and location in a mall.
Relationships and the Internationalisation of Finnish Small and Medium-Sized Companies
Authors: Holmlund Maria , Kock Sdren
Published: October 2007

MARIA HOL M LUND AND DR. SOREN Ko(IK ar-e botlh with the Department of Mai-keting and Corporate GCeography at the Swedish School of Economnics and BlTsiness Administration in Finland. Ijitet-iiationalisation activities cir-eate mllalnv oppo)rtiinities f'or SMEs but they also entail a i ange of difficulties. In this study the presenit business network is in f'ocuLs for tiniderstanding and describing tlhe iiiei niationialisation process of SMEs. The theoiretical framework is based on- the netxx ork approach as well as on earlieico(01 esponiding studies. Empirical findlings fr om a inail sur-vey conducted show that the initial export markets are those sittuated in couniitries nearby but that these acilso ten-d to remain important expoI-t m-iarkets. The firms were also sLubstantially affected by internationial comlpetition as they exported niot onlxl dlirectlvT bhut also acted as suppliers to buyeis operating on the global market. Agenits or own salesmen were the mn-iost imiiportauit entry modes on the initerl-national market. High quality pr)o(dlcts, a flexible organisation anid coml1petent personnel were mentioned s impolitant competitive tools. The impol-tanice of the social network was stressed as was the management, as well as per-sonal contacts and interests. Cooper ative arrangements with other domestic firms were also regarded as ways of' strengthening international colmpetitiveness and receiving infoir-nation.
The Export Propensity of the Very Small Enterprise (VSE)
Authors: Philp Norman E.
Published: October 2007

DR. NORMAN PHIL P) IS HEAD OF THE SC i00Lo of B1tsiness and associate professorof initeinational business at Charles Stii-t Univei-sitv-Murray Campus, in Albury, Aiustralia. This paper is based oni data collected in a research project funded by the Rutral Industries Research anid D)evelopment C,orporationi, Australia. The lai-get ploject examiined the overall e xpoi t behaviour of food and beverage processiing manufacturers located in the ut v-al (nion-mietropolitan) regions of Atusti-alia's two most populous states, New South WAales and Victoria. The size of firimi lihas often been hypothesised aIs beinig negatively related to its propensitx to engage actively in export activity. The aboxe r-esearclh project, based on a multivariate analysis of the effects of the numerous and frequently studied firmspecific and mnanagerially-related explanatorx variables, did not confirm thlis hx potlhesis. A significant proportion of vcry smnall food processing firms (havin-10o 1O o0 fexwer emnployees and genelnallx less than A$1 million trl ovei) ver e fotind to be actively engagedl in e(xpco t activity. This paperconcentrates on these xlerv small, family-type enterl)ises (VSEs). It seeks to deter-milne xwhiclh of the firm-specific and iuii ii Ageriall -rrelated vTariables most stroinglx determirine the propensity foi VSEs to export and to differentiate theim Iil omll tble ir noni-exporting, VSE coutllterparts. Then, using the same set of explanatory variables, it asks whether andl on X01bat basis we cani differentiate thle VSE exporteis from their lar-ger-sizedl expo)rting cotunterparts.