Business Advisers' Assessments of SMEs

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Mole ◽  
John Hassall
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Management Capability ◽  
Small Business Management ◽  
Rules Of Thumb ◽  
Growth Firms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Control ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

This paper reports research on business advisers' advice to small firms in the context of the UK attempt to target small business advice, through personal business advisers (PBAs), to growth firms. The study employed qualitative methods to elicit heuristics (‘rules of thumb’) that reflect business advisers' experience. The study corroborated the interview findings with a self-administered questionnaire to 175 personal business advisers employed in UK Business Links. The research reveals heuristics that advisers Use in an attempt to assess the management capability within the small firm. Advisers' responses emphasized control within the business, signalled by, for example, visible tidiness. The paper develops a systems model of small business management incorporating owner-manager objectives, strategies (including growth) and control (including profitability). Finally, the paper considers the implications for government policies aimed towards support for growth-oriented small firms.

scholarly journals Effects of public procurement of R&D on the innovation process: evidence from the UK small business research initiative

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostas Selviaridis
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Market Failure ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Initiative ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The study aims to investigate how pre-commercial procurement (PCP) influences the activities, capabilities and behaviours of actors participating in the innovation process. Unlike much of PCP research underpinned by a market failure theoretical framework that evaluates the additionality of innovation inputs and outputs, this paper focusses on the role and capacity of PCP in addressing systemic failures impeding the process of innovation. Design/methodology/approach PCP effects on the innovation process were studied through a qualitative study of the UK small business research initiative (SBRI) programme. Data collection comprised 33 semi-structured interviews with key informants within 30 organisations and analysis of 80-plus secondary data sources. Interviewees included executives of technology-based small businesses, managers within public buying organisations and innovation policymakers and experts. Findings The UK SBRI improves connectivity and instigates research and development (R&D) related interactions and cooperation. Through securing government R&D contracts, small firms access relevant innovation ecosystems, build up their knowledge and capabilities and explore possible routes to market. Public organisations use the SBRI to connect to innovative small firms and access their sets of expertise and novel ideas. They also learn to appreciate the strategic role of procurement. Nonetheless, SBRI-funded small business face commercialisation and innovation adoption challenges because of institutional constraints pertaining to rules, regulations and public-sector norms of conduct. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to existing PCP research by demonstrating innovation process-related effects of PCP policies. It also complements literature on small business-friendly public procurement measures by highlighting the ways through which PCP, rather than commercial procurement procedures, can support the development of small businesses other than just facilitating their access to government (R&D) contracts. Social implications The study identifies several challenge areas that policymakers should address to improve the implementation of the UK SBRI programme. Originality/value The study demonstrates the effects of PCP on the activities, capabilities and behaviours of small businesses and public buying organisations involved in the innovation process.

Small Business and the Environment in the UK and the Netherlands: Toward Stakeholder Cooperation

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 945-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Spence ◽  
Ronald Jeurissen ◽  
Robert Rutherfoord
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Ethical Issue ◽  
Small Firm ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Stakeholder Cooperation ◽  
Business And The Environment

Abstract:In this paper, the approaches of a sample of small firms to environmental issues in the UK and the Netherlands are compared. The study makes a contribution by addressing the lack of research on small firms and the environment, as well as offering insights into the influence that cultural, institutional, and political frameworks can have on small firm owner-managers’ attitudes to external issues. The environment is considered here as an ethical issue, drawing on work on the environmental responsibility of business by both Bowie (1990) and Hoffman (1991). It is argued that the approaches to the environment identified in this study by Dutch and UK small firm owner-managers do not fit in with the positions of either Bowie or Hoffman. The concept of stakeholder cooperation is proposed as a more realistic alternative.

EFFECTS OF FORMAL PLANNING AND CONTROL ON GROWTH: A CASE STUDY APPROACH

1995 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 161-195
Author(s):  
CLAUDIO A. ROMANO ◽  
JANEK RATNATUNGA
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Control Process ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
And Control

While planning and control and their impact on small firm growth are implicit in many academic discussions, much of our understanding of these phenomena are based on speculation and opinion. Thus, they seem neglected areas of small business research. This paper seeks to improve the understanding of formal planning and control systems and their relationship to the growth of small business in Australian manufacturing. First, a framework is developed which incorporates the main contextual variables which independently and simultaneously have been shown to have a major relationship with growth. Second, the study provides empirically-based qualitative evidence to further the understanding of causality in the growth of small business by focusing on how formal planning and control systems are embedded within the external or internal contextual variables of small business and the characteristics of their management. Evidence is also provided as to the conditions and circumstances under which formal planning and control are likely to be most effective in controlling the effects of contextual variables, and to the differences between high growth and low growth firms in the use of formal planning and control. The findings of this study are important for two principal reasons. First, it has provided the opportunity to conduct exploratory research into how a small business is managed within the context in which the processes are applied. Second, it has provided the opportunity to identify factors which encourage or discourage small firms to plan, thus providing a better understanding of the planning and control process adopted by small firms.

IT readiness in small firms

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Spinelli ◽  
Romano Dyerson ◽  
G. Harindranath
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Capability ◽  
And Cluster Analysis ◽  
It Application

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to explore conceptually and empirically the application of the concept of IT readiness to small firms. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken was a questionnaire administered to small manufacturing business owners in the Liguria region of Italy. Data were analysed using factor and cluster analysis. Findings – IT readiness concept appears valid with the emergence of three constructs: strategic vision; project management capability; and IT application infrastructure. The date analysis yielded four distinctive and varying profiles of small business owners. Research limitations/implications – This quantitative study exploring a cross section of small firms suggests antecedents to change have been ignored relative to IT adoption decisions. Practical implications – Provision of policy and support services requires a much more nuanced approach to small businesses. Originality/value – There are very few studies of IT readiness in the literature, making the paper original in its intent. The construction of the IT readiness concept appears robust when subjected to empirical testing and yields a number of specific small business profiles with respect to IT.

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.

Perceived Causes of Success in Small Business

1986 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Ibrahim ◽  
J. R. Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Managerial Skills ◽  
Key Success Factors ◽  
Small Business Management

This empirical research is a pilot study which endeavours to identify a set of variables associated with successful small businesses. Seventy-four (74) small firms operating in Montreal responded to a lengthy questionnaire and an intensive interview. From this data three variables were initially identified. A replication study of seventy small firms located in Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York, was carried out in order to observe whether the identified variables were duplicated beyond a certain geographical location. Using factor analysis on the data, the authors were able to delineate entrepreneurial behavior and managerial skills as key success factors in small business management. This finding underscores the role of entrepreneurship education in developing both the behavioral and the managerial skills in the owner/manager.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document