The Financial Impact of Energy Prices on Small Business

1985 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Hyder Lakhani ◽  
Bruce D. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Small Business Administration ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Empirical Estimates ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Fuel Costs

Hyder Lakhani and Bruce D. Phillips are respectively vice-president, EEE Research, Fairfax, Virginia, USA, and senior economist, Office of Advocacy, United States Small Business Administration, Washington DC. This paper is based on research contract No. SBA-7177-AER-83 to EEE Research from the Office of Advocacy of the SBA. The authors are grateful to Thomas Gray and Raymond Marchikitus of the SBA for their valuable comments. The views and errors are those of the authors and not of the SBA. The objective of this paper is to analyse the economic impact of fuel costs and non-fuel costs on profits and sales of small business firms in ten Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the US. The review of the literature (in Section 1) concludes that existing studies use industry aggregates from Census of Manufacturing data which exclude 80 percent of small firms so that the impact on small firms cannot be determined. Also, the studies fail to analyse the impact of fuel costs on profits and sales and arrive at contradictory conclusions. The authors develop an econometric model of the impact of energy costs on profits and sales in Section 2. The data on small business firms are developed from a survey report completed for the SBA (Section 3). Empirical estimates reveal that a one percentage point increase in fuel costs tends to reduce profits in the range of 0.009 to 0.07 percent and sales in the range of 0.01 to 0.06 percent. Increases in payroll and operating costs are correlated with increases in profits and sales because of labour- intensiveness of the small firms in the sample (Section 4). Policy implications of this paper are that small firms have not fully adjusted to the 1979 increase in fuel prices, or cannot adjust any further. Further, small firms must increasingly substitute non- fuel for fuel inputs or if that is not possible, then purchases of the least energy- intensive plant and equipment should be made, including energy conservation devices.

Business Inspiration: Small Business Leadership in Recovery?

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 473-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Rae ◽  
Liz Price ◽  
Gary Bosworth ◽  
Paul Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Business Leadership ◽  
Innovation Development ◽  
Business Survival ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
The Impact

Business Inspiration was a short, action-centred leadership and innovation development programme designed for owners and managers of smaller firms to address business survival and repositioning needs arising from the UK's economic downturn. The article examines the design and delivery of Business Inspiration and the impact of the programme on participants' learning experiences. It also assesses whether there are transferable lessons to be learned for the development of small firms in general. The article contributes new insights to the debate and the literature on owner–manager development in small firms. The authors propose that there is continuing need and demand for such learning. They examine the requirements for public-sector investment and for specific approaches and skill sets in designing, marketing and delivering effective programmes of this type.

Accounting and Marketing—Key Small Business Problems

1983 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Wichmann
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
The United States ◽  
Business Administration ◽  
Small Business Administration ◽  
Business Failure ◽  
Business Managers

The Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates that small businesses represent 97 percent of all businesses in the United States [5, p. 1]. The SBA defines a small business as “one that is not dominate in its field.” While the ma and pa shops fall within this definition, much larger firms are considered small under SBA criteria. The owner-managers of these small firms face unique problems—success or failure is keyed to solving these problems. Each year in the United States, some 500,000 new businesses start and 400,000 businesses discontinue operations [1, p. 47]. These discontinuances are not all due to business failure (a bankrupt firm). Some small firms are merged with larger companies, while the spark of life leaves other small firms because the owner retires without a son or daughter to take over the reins of leadership. The purpose of this article is to aid small business managers by (1) reviewing the process of beginning a business, (2) identifying some of the attributes that characterize a successful or unsuccessful small business, and (3) discussing small firms’ problems common to the frontier states of Alaska and Wyoming.

The impact of post-trade transparency on price efficiency and price discovery

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1062-1075
Author(s):  
Chiou-Fa Lin ◽  
Cheng-Huei Chiao ◽  
Bin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Private Information ◽  
Stock Prices ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Price Discovery ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Price Efficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of post-trade transparency on price efficiency and price discovery. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an exogeneous change in market transparency in the Taiwan Stock Exchange that mandates the disclosure of unexecuted orders of the five best bid and ask prices after each trade, and conduct an event study analysis. Findings After the change, price efficiency enhances for both large and small firms, although the impact on stock prices is greater when the firm is larger. The authors also find that post-change trading reveals more private information for large firms but more public information for small firms. The findings support the view that transparency has a positive impact on market quality. Originality/value The paper adds to a large body of literature investigating the relationship between transparency and market behavior, especially the ongoing debate about whether trading transparency positively affects price dynamics. The findings also have important policy implications for the regulators.

Gender and Ownership in UK Small Firms

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Rosa ◽  
Daphne Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
Business Ownership ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Small Business Management ◽  
Female Entrepreneur ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sectoral Variation

The emphasis on the individual “female entrepreneur” in much of the small business literature in the last decade disguises the fact that many women in business ownership are in partnership with others, usually with men. How “gender” impinges on the process of small business ownership has been little studied. The paper examines gender and ownership using evidence from a three-year study on the impact of gender on small business management, involving interviews with 602 male and female UK business owners, drawn from three industrial sectors. Difficulties were encountered in interpreting sex differences as “gender” trends, owing to significant sectoral variation. Nevertheless, some marked gender differences were identified. These referred to differential patterns of kinship with the respondent; the allocation and perception of specialist roles within the business; and the fact that female owners are less likely to be associated with more than two businesses. Overall sole traders were in the minority in both sexes, implying that most owners shared responsibility and management in some way with other owners. The paper concludes with methodological implications of co-ownership for the sampling and analysis of small business owner/managers from a gender perspective.

scholarly journals The Impact of Web-based Technology on Small Businesses

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Courtney S. Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small Business Administration ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Economic Vitality ◽  
The Impact

The problem discussed in this paper is the need to understand ways to implement web-based technology to reduce the cost and time in doing business. The specific focus of this paper is to understand what the risks, challenges, and methodology are for implementing web-based technology for reducing the operating costs for the small business and still protect the security of the business.  The key research questions included are: (a) What are the challenges of small business implementing web-based technology within their companies. (b) Which project methodology should be used to implement web-based technology projects in small business? (c) What are the risks and issues when implementing web-based technology in small business? According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA, 2011),seven out of 10 new employer firms survive at least 2 years, half at least 5 years, a third at least 10 years, and a quarter stay in business 15 years or more. Besser (2012) wrote that small businesses are the vast majority of businesses and make a significant contribution to national economic vitality.

The relationship between the manager and growth in small firms

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 586-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svante Andersson ◽  
Joakim Tell
Keyword(s):  
Small Firm ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Managerial Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Manager ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relationship between the manager and growth in small firms, through a review of earlier research.Design/methodology/approachA review of articles published during the last 25 years is carried out in order to answer the question: How does the top manager influence growth in small firms?FindingsThree key relationships are identified: between growth and, respectively, managerial traits and characteristics, managerial intentions, and managerial behavior or roles. The diverse findings in the literature are contradictory and give a paradoxical picture of the impact of the manager. A deeper analysis of the results from the review, supplemented with leadership theory, yields a better understanding of small‐firm growth with a special focus on the behavior of the manager.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper problematizes the complexity in managing small‐firm growth, and can be further empirically validated by using multiple methods including qualitative ones such as observational studies.Practical ImplicationsThe findings have a bearing on education and policy implications. If a behavior can be identified that promotes small firms' growth, education and policy implications can be developed in line with these results.Originality/valueIn small firms there seems to be a general consensus that managers do influence the performance of small firms, but so far there has not been a systematic review of earlier empirical research, that is done in this paper. From this review, a more complete picture of how managers influence growth in small firms is presented.

scholarly journals Patents and small business risk: longitudinal evidence from the global financial crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Barontini ◽  
Jonathan Taglialatela
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Business Risk ◽  
Firm Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Patent Applications ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to shed light on the relationship between patent applications and long-term risk for small firms across the global financial crisis of 2008. During a crisis, firm risk often skyrockets, and small and medium enterprises face significant dangers to their business continuity. However, managers have a set of strategies that could be implemented to increase a firm’s resilience, sustaining competitive advantages and improving access to financial resource. The authors focused on the investigating the impact of patenting activities on small business risk in a time of crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study based on a sample of Italian firms that applied for a patent in 2005. The changes in corporate credit ratings over a five-year period are related to different proxies of patent activity using multivariate regression analysis.FindingsFirms that filed for a patent were more resilient, compared to the control sample, during the financial crisis. Innovative activities resulting in patent application seem to deliver strategic resources useful to tackle the crisis rather than increase riskiness. The moderating effect of patents on risk sensitivity is stronger for small firms and when the number of patents or the patent intensity is larger.Originality/valueLimited evidence is available on how patent applications are related to risks for small firms during an economic crisis. The authors highlight that the innovative efforts resulting in patent applications can support small business resilience. The authors also point out that the implementation of patent information in small firms' credit score modeling is still an uncommon practice, while it is useful in estimating firm risk in a way more robust to exogenous credit shocks.

Big Government and Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration. By Jonathan L. Bean. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2001. Pp. xii, 224. $29.95.

2001 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 1157-1158
Author(s):  
Scott Wallsten
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Business Administration ◽  
Small Business Administration ◽  
University Of Kentucky ◽  
Political Environments ◽  
Different Types ◽  
History Of

Jonathan Bean's book chronicles the growth and development of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from its inception in 1953 through the present. In addition to placing the SBA's actions in the context of changing political environments, the book focuses on three separate issues, though it is not organized this way. The first two are different types of affirmative action: preferences and subsidies for “small” firms, and preferences for people who have been “economically disadvantaged.” Finally, it chronicles the history of scandal and corruption that has plagued the SBA.

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