Does size matter? Gender‐based equal opportunity in UK small and medium enterprises

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Woodhams ◽  
Ben Lupton
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
S. M. Towhidur Rahman ◽  
Md. Khasrul Alam ◽  
Shanta Kar

Half of the population is women who need to be incorporated in nation’s workforce for the sustainable economic development. In the context of Bangladesh, the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be considered as a vital instrument for poverty alleviation and can ensure the rapid industrialization. This study attempts to explore the forces that encouraged women entrepreneurs to start their SMEs. The study was made on the entrepreneurs of Khulna, a metropolitan city of the country. The data was collected through a survey on five major dimension those are assumed to have influence on entrepreneurial decision namely socio-demographic, motivational, financial, regulatory and business environmental dimensions. Respondents’ opinions from the survey were analyzed through simple descriptive statistics such as percentage and mean to draw findings. From the study it was found that women entrepreneurs in Khulna were mostly encouraged to start SMEs for motivational or pull factors such as gaining self-independence, providing financial support to family, improving quality of life and passing leisure time etc. Among the others factors found to be influential were inspiration from friends and relatives, availability of markets, profits potential etc. The study also revealed that as like other developing countries, women entrepreneurs of Khulna suffer from lack of financial support, complexity of regulatory systems, gender based discrimination, lack of adequate training facility and environmental support. Government and private initiative is important in this regard to overcome the hurdles and encouraging more and more participation of women in SME sector.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Kumar ◽  
Neha Singh

PurposeThis paper aims to encapsulate the gendered support and hindering factors along with the role of the state experienced by Delhi-based women entrepreneurs in setting up/operating their enterprises amidst the challenges posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study used mixed methods to explore the challenges faced and recovery mechanisms adopted by women entrepreneurs with special reference to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 50 Delhi-based young women entrepreneurs (42 actual entrepreneurs + 8 prospective/struggling entrepreneurs) selected using snowball/purposive sampling were studied through both a semi-structured questionnaire and personal interviews. National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) were consulted for the government’s policy documents and data. The SPSS package was used for quantitative data analysis.FindingsLow-budget/very small-scale women entrepreneurs face common as well as gender-based challenges in the context of the market, finance, social capital, family support and awareness in addition to accessing the state’s resources/policies in both their startups and crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Although gender sensitization, entrepreneurial family background, and equal access to technology and the Internet has enabled women entrepreneurs to initiate, adapt, and scale their enterprises, male domination within the family, society, market, and state apparatuses is omnipresent and has served as a bottleneck for women-owned startups while hindering the recovery of their enterprises amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to exploring the challenges and prospects of Delhi-based women entrepreneurs at the beginning of their enterprises and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the study had access to data and facts announced by the Indian government. No data were available on the implementation of policies and programs, and therefore specific policy analysis was not attempted. However, the reachability and accessibility of government resources and policies were employed.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the complexity of patriarchy, which hampers women entrepreneurs in all family, society, market and state domains. Therefore, policy enactment and implementation and further research on women entrepreneurship are suggested to focus more deeply on the gender dimension.Originality/valueThe data used in this work comprised inputs from government sources as well as insights from fieldwork that have not been used by any other publication.


Author(s):  
Andreas Kakouris ◽  
Eleni Sfakianaki

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the motives for obtaining an ISO 9000-certified quality management system in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and whether such motives differ between large companies and SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a qualitative approach, using multiple case studies. The primary research consisted of interviews with top and middle managers in four organizations and was complemented with direct observation and documental analysis. Findings The research findings confirmed the existing literature. The most common motivations for certification came from external pressure such as customer demand and ability to participate in public tender. It therefore validates that the classification of motives adopted for large companies is also appropriate for SMEs. The research also brought to light one implication of ISO certification that has escaped mention in the literature, namely, the distinction between primary and secondary motives. That is, companies driven by externally-driven motives to pursue ISO 9000 certification appreciated other benefits once they realized the full potential of the standard, leading to additional motivations. Practical implications The study was restricted to a single region of Greece and a single sector, food and beverage industry. This study may provide key insight for managers to understand and appropriately evaluate motives for ISO 9000 certification and to save them from misinterpretation and hasty conclusions. Originality/value Because the data gathered were longitudinal, this study offered a deep understanding of the true motives for ISO 9000 certification.


Author(s):  
Mudasetia Hamid ◽  
Evy Rosalina Widyayanti

Yogyakarta is a city and the capital of Yogyakarta Special Region in Java, Indonesia. It is renowned as a center of tourism, education and culture. Yogyakarta is one of the foremost cultural centers of Java. This region is located at the foot of the active merapi vulcano. Yogyakarta is often called the main gateway to the Central Java as where it is geographically located. It stretches from Mount Merapi to the Indian Ocean. This province is one of the most densely populated areas of Indonesia. Yogyakarta is popular tourist destination in indonesia after Bali. These have attracted large number of visitors from across Indonesia and abroad to the city. This status makes Yogyakarta is one of the most heterogeneus cities in Indonesia. In edition, Yogyakarta has attracted large number of people to reside in this city for business. One of these comers is small entrepreneurs with their market munchies enterprise (specially a traditional snack trader). This business is one of famous business in Yogyakarta, we will find rows of pavement vendors selling market munchies. The students and tourists are their main target customers. Market munchies enterprise is part of small and medium enterprises SMEs as livelihood activities. SMEs has an important role in economic growth of Indonesia. Therefore, it is very important to develop and strengthen the micro enterprise empowerment. Micro enterprise empowerment is one of strategy to reduce the poverty rate in Indonesia. Major challenger in implement this program are that micro entrepreneurs are conventional and have satisfied with their revenue. It is very important to develop a comprehensive and sustainable micro enterprise empowerment which consist of strengthen the quality of human resources, maximize the government’s roles, empower the enterprise capital and strengthen the partnership and autonomous. Micro enterprise autonomy will contribute to the economic and investment climate. This will lead to establish an accountable enterprise both for the micro enterprise and customers which at the end will strengthen the development of the micro enterprise in Yogyakarta.Keyword: micro entreprise, human resources, government roles, capital, partnership and autonomous.


Author(s):  
Khoirunnisa Cahya Firdarini

Accounting information has an important role to achieve business success, as well as for small businesses.This research examines the effect of business experience and accounting information system used toward business success with age of business as control variable. The population of this research are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in creative industries sector operated in Yogyakarta district. Based on purposive sampling method, total sample of this research is 200 SMEs. Statistical tool utilized to test the hypothesis in this study is path analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM). The test result shows that business experience and accounting information have positive and significant effect to the success of SMEs.


Liquidity ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-166
Author(s):  
Muchtar Riva’i

The law arrangement of franchise law was first explicitly regulated by the Government Regulation No. 16 of 1997 which is then updated by Government Regulation No. 42 of 2007 to be created in an agreement that at least contains clauses as stipulated by Article 5 of the Government Regulation. However, franchise arrangements also associated with a variety of other laws and regulations applicable in Indonesia. This article is going to state that the importance of partnerships with small and medium enterprises as an effort to encourage the involvement of the wider economic community.


2020 ◽  
pp. 98-114
Author(s):  
Evguenia V. Bessonova ◽  
Alexander G. Morozov ◽  
Natalia A. Turdyeva ◽  
Anna N. Tsvetkova

The paper considers necessary conditions for acceleration of labor productivity growth in Russia. Based on micro data, as well as aggregate data, the paper quantifies the contribution of small and medium firms to labor productivity growth. It shows that mere increase of the number of small and medium enterprises is not as important for positive effects of these programs, as qualitative improvements: development of favorable environment for growth, which is largely determined by business climate. Accelerating productivity growth involves redistribution of labor and capital from inefficient to efficient enterprises. In particular, it is necessary to create conditions, which allow a firm to grow after it enters the market instead of stagnating as a small firm with low efficiency. At the same time, it is necessary for ineffective firms, which exhausted their growth potential, to have an opportunity to exit the market easily leaving resources including labor to fast-growing companies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document