scholarly journals The importance of personal values and hospitableness in small foodservice businesses’ social responsibility

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-329
Author(s):  
Barbara Tomasella ◽  
Alisha Ali
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Relationship

This article investigates the relationship between personal values, hospitableness and social responsibility in small, independent foodservice businesses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 owner-managers of these businesses located in Sheffield, United Kingdom. The results established that hospitableness is expressed through the way in which these small businesses engage in social responsibility. In lifestyle and family businesses, personal values, such as altruism, friendliness and a passion for food, influence the hospitableness and social responsibility of the small foodservice business. In the long term, social responsibility actions expressing hospitableness add value to the business itself. This research contributes to the hospitality literature by empirically demonstrating how hospitableness can be expressed through small business social responsibility, which can provide, in the long term, a competitive advantage for small, independent foodservice businesses.

scholarly journals Determinants of small business performance in a selected region in South Africa: the role of entrepreneurial orientation and competitive advantage

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
S.S. Mtshali ◽  
◽  
WT Chinyamurindi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Failure Rate ◽  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Managerial Implication ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Small businesses in South Africa are an important engine for economic growth. However, the failure rate amongst such businesses remains high. Purpose of study: There is an increasing need for research that explores how small business performs especially on the African continent noted to have a high failure rate of enterprises. The aim of the study was two-fold. Firstly, to ascertain the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business performance. Secondly, the study sought to ascertain the mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study adopted a positivist approach utilising the quantitative methodology to survey a sample of 177 small business owners/managers. Results/Findings: The findings show the existence of a positive and significant relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business performance. Further, the findings also show that competitive advantage mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business performance. Recommendations: Based on these findings, interventions are proposed that relate to how business performance can be improved within an African small business context. Managerial implication: In addressing the failure rate challenge faced by small businesses, the study encourages continued quests and interventions that promote competitive advantage and entrepreneurial capability development.

scholarly journals The marginal morality (die Grenzen der Moral) as an ethical challenge and as the knowledge on how to gain competitive advantage

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Przemysław Rotengruber
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The One ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Final Calculation

The aim of this article is to scrutinize the relationship between the moral attitude of an entrepreneur and his or her possibility to gain competitive advantage. This declaration leads to the following question: does the everyday practice confirm or deny the economic usefulness of the postulate of corporate social responsibility? On the one hand, moral desertion is obviously profitable (also in the economic sense). Partners of the deserter, in most cases, are not able to avoid (unexpected and expansive) consequences of his or her new attitude towards them. On the other hand, this strategy—in long-term perspective—seems to be doubtfully profitable. The former victims orientate themselves to their new circumstances and become ready to face the attack. Therefore, the corporate social responsibility, in the final calculation, should be taken as the only way to protect active participants of the market against the temptation to neglect their obligation towards people, who can punish or reward them (as stakeholders and whistleblowers).

The Role of SBA Loans in Small Business Survival after Disaster Events

2021 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2110282
Author(s):  
Maria Watson
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Small Business Administration ◽  
Confounding Factors ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Business Survival ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Local businesses are important for recovering communities, yet program analyses of the effectiveness of Federal disaster loans—particularly for businesses—are limited and contradictory. This study looks at the role U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loans played in the long-term survival of small businesses in Galveston County, Texas after the 2008 Hurricane Ike. This research uses quasi-experimental design, matching methods, and conditional logistic regression to tease out the effect of the loan from potential confounding factors. The results show that businesses that received a disaster loan were significantly more likely to survive than their controls, and businesses that moved were also more likely to survive.

From corporate social responsibility activities to financial performance: role of innovation and competitive advantage

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahnoor Zahid ◽  
Hina Naeem ◽  
Iqra Aftab ◽  
Sajawal Ali Mughal
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the effect of corporate social responsibility activities (CSRA) of the firm on its financial performance (FP) and analyze the mediating role of innovation and competitive advantage (CA) in the relationship between CSRA and FP in the manufacturing sector of an emerging country, i.e. Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Data has been collected through an electronic structured questionnaire from 300 middle-level and top-level managers by surveying different manufacturing firms of Gujranwala, Pakistan. The study’s hypotheses have been checked by analyzing the reliability and validity of data and applying confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling through statistical package for the social sciences and analysis of moment structures. Findings Outcomes of this study supported the hypothesized model. It has been found that the CSRA plays a significant positive role in determining the FP of the firm. Furthermore, the CA and innovation have been proved as significant mediators between CSRA and FP. Originality/value The first time examining the intermediation of innovation and CA in the relationship between CSRA and FP is the primary input of this study to the literature. Practically, this study’s findings will help strategy makers of manufacturing firms in emerging countries develop better strategies for implementing CSRA, enhancing innovation, seeking CA and improving FP.

Power, dependence and frustration

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Stone
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Business Owner ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Power ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Advisor Roles ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Advisory Role

Purpose – This study aims to explore the existence and strength of power through focussing on the manner in which accountants exercise power in their advisory relationship with small business. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews provided insights into accountants’ power-related perceptions, experiences and use of power in the advisory relationship. A questionnaire accessed evidence from small business owner-managers (SBOMs). Power theoretical perspectives informed the analysis of the findings. Findings – Accountants’ expert and information power is a consequence of SBOMs’ dependence on their accountants’ expertise and knowledge. Accountants construct advisor roles and exercise power in a manner indicating that they attempt to manage rather than exploit power imbalances to the detriment of dependent SBOMs. However, outbreaks of frustration and conflict in the relationship illustrate the difficulties in managing the dysfunctional consequences of power imbalances. Research limitations/implications – While the findings are restricted to the Australian accountant–small business advisory relationship, they offer a basis for research into the effect of power on the relationship in other national contexts. Research which includes the views of managers of failed small businesses would also extend this work. Practical implications – The study’s focus on accountants’ experiences can assist practitioners endeavouring to develop advisory relationships with small business and designers of professional development programmes seeking to optimise the value of the advisory relationship. Originality/value – The paper extends the study of power to the under-researched yet important accountant–small business advisory area. Its findings are of interest to accountants and accounting policymakers who envisage a broadening of accountants’ small business advisory role.

STRATEGIC AWARENESS AND THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION

1997 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 193-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW ATHERTON ◽  
PAUL HANNON
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Customer Needs ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship

Inherent to enterprising behaviour is the exercise of strategic awareness, a process of understanding and learning from the environment in which the entrepreneur and the small business operate. This paper notes that a growing recognition of high levels of change and uncertainty in the environment infers a need to increase small business understanding of what is changing and why. Strategic awareness is an individual and organisational capability, tailored to contextual needs and contingencies, that describes processes for identifying, understanding, interpreting and acting on events and influences. It also contributes to the process of innovation. Research in the UK, and later in Western Australia, identified a customer needs-focused and outwardly-directed approach to innovation that relies on understanding the external environment. This paper concludes by stressing the relationship between strategic awareness and innovation, and suggests that the nature of these processes demands a rethink in how we support and research small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Use balanced scorecard for measuring competitive advantage of infrastructure assets of state-owned ports in Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurdjannah Hamid
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the balanced scorecard (BSC) for measuring the competitive advantage of infrastructure assets of state-owned port in Indonesia: Pelindo IV, Makassar, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This investigation adopts an explanatory and exploratory qualitative case study method to analyze the effectiveness of the BSC over the strategy management processes. For data collection, the researchers used semi-structured interviews, direct observation and document collection. Data collection was made for a six-month period, which allowed deep knowledge to be gained of the culture and management methods used in Pelindo IV Makassar Branch. Other data collected refer to the company’s documentation and reporting of online media publications. Detailed interview data were the main data sources, allowing the authors to obtain a detailed and holistic understanding of the experience, opinions, and attitudes of the interviewees. Interviews focus on asset management to determine the relationship between various factors. This study adopts an ideal BSC principle (four perspectives) in order to develop a strategic map for infrastructure assets of Pelindo IV. Findings The results showed that the management performance of Pelindo IV in the financial sector over the next five years was expected to increase by 3.5 times with the business profit reaching an amount of Rp.1.64 trillium in 2017. In the next five years, the target of the customer’s perspective set was zero complaints and zero claim with waiting time meeting the ideal standard, which is a maximum of one-hour service, and the number of containers were expected to witness an average growth of 30 percent per year; the growth ship traffic visit history showed that the flow of goods increased by 4 percent and the number of passengers was targeted to grow up to 30 percent. A historical growth rate of 6 percent was also expected both for the human resources and personnel scout. Originality/value In this paper, the Sobel test was used to test the significance of a mediation effect and balanced scorecard was used for measuring competitive advantage of infrastructure assets of state-owned ports in Indonesia. Previously, no research has been undertaken to examine the relationship between the location of the study and competitive advantage of infrastructure assets in the context of PELINDO IV, Makassar branch, Indonesia.

The effect of small business leaders' organisational mindfulness and social learning on opportunistic behaviour to survive the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luluk Lusiantoro ◽  
Bernardinus Maria Purwanto ◽  
Rokhima Rostiani
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Opportunistic Behaviour ◽  
Small Business Leaders ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis research aims to test the relationships between organisational mindfulness, social learning and opportunistic behaviour of small business leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with six small business leaders from various sectors to explore and better grasp the unprecedented phenomenon. An online survey on small business owners and managers in Indonesia was then employed as the main study, resulting in 291 valid responses for further analysis. The data were analysed using regression on SmartPLS 3.0 software.FindingsThis research finds that organisational mindfulness and social learning have positive and significant associations with the ability of small business leaders to discover and exploit opportunities. The path analysis suggests that organisational mindfulness plays a pivotal role as it also partially mediates the relationship between social learning and opportunistic behaviour.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to test the relationships between organisational mindfulness, social learning and opportunistic behaviour, particularly in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. This work also contributes by emphasising the critical linkages between internal and external capabilities triggered by small business leaders to survive the pandemic.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Courtney Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Justice Movements ◽  
The Impact

This introduction describes how encouraging a diversity of small businesses can help support a Native Nation’s long-term economic stability, but goes further to demonstrate this uniquely through the eyes of the small-business owners themselves along with an in-depth examination of their local, national, and international contexts. In doing so, it describes how this book also addresses the ways in which Native Nations, by supporting small business resilience, are responding in politically and socioeconomically meaningful ways to settler-colonial economic subjugations. This introduction further describes how the book unpacks the layers of small-business complications specific to Native Nations and American Indian business owners while speaking to larger theoretical questions regarding the impact of small businesses in a global indigenous context. Debates regarding economic sovereignty versus economic power, measures of autonomy, land status, economic identity, fluctuating relationships with settler-colonial society, and the growth of neoliberalism (along with its accompanying “structural adjustment” policies) meet with specific practices, such as the implementation of guaranteed annual incomes, cultural revitalization actions, environmental justice movements, and the potentially precarious choices of economic development—issues that are exacerbated during times of economic precarity, such as the Great Recession.

Critical and Inhibiting Success Factors in Interorganizational Networks

2020 ◽  
pp. 63-86
Author(s):  
Viviana Durão ◽  
António Carrizo Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Interorganizational Networks ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Strategic Partnerships ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Network ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter, based on a single case study, has as its main objective to analyze a real example of creating an inter-organizational network and to perceive what was done for the selection and creation of the strategic partnerships and inter-organizational network and what factors or conditions can inhibit these partnerships from having long-term success and throughout its life cycle. For this, a qualitative study based on action research and semi-structured interviews was conducted. Results show although many companies settle in inter-organizational networks to gain competitive advantage, cases of failure are still quite high. In this case, upstream partnerships have not been based on long-term trust and commitment, which has jeopardized the continuity of the network, although there is an express desire to re-establish contacts. The partnership established downstream did not show the same commitment to continue the partnership with a total termination of the relationship.

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