Why do small businesses seek support for managing people? Implications for theory and policy from an analysis of UK small business survey data

This article explores the characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that seek external human resource (HR) support and the circumstances in which they do so, drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and recent growth theories. Original analysis of UK Longitudinal Small Business Survey data indicates that few SMEs seek HR support and that they are more likely to seek information than strategic advice. Resource deficiencies were not found to be a driver for seeking HR support, rather this was associated with business changes or challenges. Theoretically, we develop a model that identifies dynamic capabilities for HR support, integrated within an RBV framework. This is novel in integrating the concepts of ‘human process advantage’ and ‘human capital advantage’ from the strategic HR literature with dynamic capabilities theory. We draw out the implications of the findings and the model for future research and policy development.

Trends of Main Indicators of Business Demography

The article reveals some aspects of one of the latest trends in increasing the analytical capabilities of modern socio-economic statistics - the formation of business demography. The relevance of substantiating the statistical and methodological base for studying the processes of creation, stability and liquidation of economic entities is obvious due to the fact that such demographic characteristics of the life cycle of enterprises are increasingly becoming markers of the quality of the country’s economic development as a whole. The authors consider the main provisions of the methodology for the formation of business demography indicators in accordance with the Eurostat and OECD recommendations. Based on official Rosstat data, the dynamics of the rates of creation (birth rates) and liquidation (death rates) of organizations both in Russia as a whole and in federal districts and types of economic activity has been analyzed. Statistical analysis of business survey data indicates the inconsistency and variability of the business climate, the differentiation between regions and sectors of the economy in terms of business demography, as well as the manifestation of negative trends that have developed, according to the authors, in Russian entrepreneurship in recent three to four years. Thus, following substantive logic of the author’s conclusions: economic and statistical analysis based on a minimum set of indicators, including using methods of comparative interregional analysis, is very useful for making specific management decisions and choosing the priority of their implementation (depending on the characteristics of individual regions and the nature of the activities of economic entities), allowing to overcome a certain stagnation in the private enterprise sector.

Treatment of Multivariate Outliers in Incomplete Business Survey Data

The distribution of multivariate quantitative survey data usually is not normal. Skewed and semi-continuous distributions occur often. In addition, missing values and non-response is common. All together this mix of problems makes multivariate outlier detection difficult. Examples of surveys where these problems occur are most business surveys and some household surveys like the Survey for the Statistics of Income and Living Condition (SILC) of the European Union. Several methods for multivariate outlier detection are collected in the R-package modi. This paper gives an overview of modi and its functions for outlier detection and corresponding imputation. The use of the methods is explained with a business survey dataset. The discussion covers pre- and post-processing to deal with skewness and zero-inflation, advantages and disadvantages of the methods and the choice of the parameters.

The Determinants of Sticky Prices and Sticky Plans: Evidence from German Business Survey Data

So far, there is no consensus on the price adjustment determinants in the empirical literature. Analyzing a novel firm-level business survey data set, we provide new insights on the price setting behavior of German retailers during a low inflation period. Relating the probability of both price and pricing plan adjustment to time- and state-dependent variables, we find that state-dependence is important; the macroeconomic environment as well as the firm-specific condition significantly determines the timing of both actual price changes and pricing plan adjustments. Moreover, input cost changes are important determinants of price setting. Finally, price increases respond more strongly to cost shocks compared to price decreases.