Access to Micro Enterprise Financing in Nigeria

This study outlines a preliminary survey into access to finance, as experienced by micro enterprises (MEs) in Nigeria. It also aims to gain insight into the financing behaviour of ME enterprise owner/managers in Nigeria and factors that constrain access and create a lack of co-operation between firms and banks.

Antecedents and Consequences of Technology Orientation (TECHOR) for Small Firms

This chapter explores the firm-level technology orientation construct and highlights the importance of a small firm’s dynamic capabilities in knowledge learning and management. Technology orientation (TECHOR) is comprised of three sets of technology-oriented activities: the allocation of technology resources, the development of technology competence, and the ability to sense and respond to technology opportunities that influence technology adoption and utilization. As firms engage in more of these activities, they will have higher levels of technology orientation. Antecedents to TECHOR include external forces (technology policy and industry characteristics) and internal dynamics (role of management, interdepartmental connections, and organizational factors). Consequences include customer outcomes (technology learning, perceived quality, and loyalty), employee outcomes (technology learning, job satisfaction, and performance) and organizational outcomes (firm performance and competitive advantage). Small firms that can deliver the appropriate match between the required technology-oriented activities, technology adoption, and utilization are the ones that are likely to survive and thrive.

Sustainability for SMEs

In the past decade, or so, sustainability has become important for businesses. It is not just the preserve of the private sector anymore. Sustainability has been followed by organizations in all industrial sectors. This is not because it is a buzzword, but because it offers genuine competitive advantage to private organizations and green credentials to other. This is true especially to SMEs where, in the current economic climate, their survival relies on any advantage they get, no matter how small. In this chapter on sustainability, various definitions are offered. A discussion is undertaken on the consequences of not considering sustainability as part of strategy and/or operations in an SME. These are not just green, but extended to economic as well. It is proposed that sustainability be part of SME’s strategy, with details of potential benefits. A discussion on the performance indicators for the implementation is shown. It is considered that an agent would be most appropriate to lead the implementation as s/he would be ideal in considering the stake holders requirements. In the chapter, regular questions enable the readers to link the issues in the paper to their organization of work or an organization they are familiar with.

Ownership Structure and Voluntary Disclosure of Intellectual Capital

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between ownership structure and voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital (IC). Ownership structure examined is family-owned (FAMC), government-linked companies (GLC) and diffused ownership (OWNDIFF). Using content analysis, a longitudinal study was carried out from years 2006 to 2008 on 162 top companies listed in Bursa Malaysia. Results show that GLCs and OWNDIFFs voluntarily disclose information on IC. In contrast, FAMCs strictly adheres to their secrecy of not disclosing more details than those stipulated by law. This study differs from prior IC disclosure studies in that it discusses voluntary disclosure from agency as well as institutional theory in explaining the relationship between ownership structure and voluntary disclosure of IC. This study may be of interest to various stakeholders such as governmental and regulatory bodies, owners and institutional investors, analysts, as well as policymakers in meeting the growing demand for intangible information to be incorporated in annual reports. It will also facilitate further calls for them to speed up their efforts in producing guidelines for a more consistent IC reporting framework.

Enterprise as a Career Choice

Youth unemployment is growing throughout the world due to a collection of conditions including but not exclusively: economic restrictions, anachronistic teaching and learning methodologies, and inadequate career guidance structures and support. These factors are the usual suspects and offer all stakeholders an easy way out in terms of the challenges associated with business start-ups and business initiations. That the contemporary educational environment is not effectively geared to support the emerging entrepreneur and is severely constrained by the limits of teacher training and curriculum flexibility is well recognised. With the growing demand for graduates to embrace an entrepreneurial ethos, the impact of support structures on the development of students is becoming more central to the required discourse in higher education, more especially, in developing countries without effective welfare structures. Central to this debate is the role of student attitudes towards the entrepreneurial route as a viable and achievable alternative to the conventional career pathways. Demands to generate a return from their education, familial expectations, and the need to develop as an individual can act as a further encumbrance to the embrace and exploration of business start-up opportunities. This study has generated a dataset of the dominant student attitudes to enterprise as a career pathway and general perspectives on enterprise and entrepreneurial activities. Through a number of partners, a cross section of students were invited to take an online survey addressing questions pertaining to entrepreneurship.

Green Supply Chain Management

The strategic importance of supply chain management has been increasing during the past two decades. Companies utilise the supply chain in order to become more competitive as a whole. Recently, it has been observed that environmental and social pressures and standards have a direct and indirect impact on supply chain management and the competitiveness of corporations. Integrating environmental criteria into supply chain management has become an important strategic issue for many companies. This study explores the subject area of the greening of supply chain management. In particular, the supply chain environmental management (SCEM) programme is explored in the Korean context. The SCEM programme is based upon the relationship between buyers and suppliers. By utilising this relationship, general improvement in the environmental performance of suppliers can be achieved. A case study of Hyundai Motors Co. (HMC) empirically supports this. Green supply chain management led to new ways of collaboration with suppliers, in terms of developing environmental solutions and capacity buildings with key suppliers. The key implication for suppliers, in particular SMEs, is to develop suppliers’ capabilities and increasing supplier criticality in order to achieve win-win outcomes in environmental and financial performance.

Marketing in SMEs

There would appear to be varied approaches to the sales process practiced by SMEs in how they go about locating target customers, interfacing with prospects and new customers, presenting the benefits and features of their products and services, closing sales deals and building relationships, and an understanding of what the buyers needs are in the seller-buyer process. Recent research has revealed that while entrepreneurs and small business owners rely upon networking as an important source of sales, they lack marketing competencies, including personal selling skills and knowledge of what is involved in the sales process to close sales deals and build relationships. Small companies and start-ups with innovative products and services often find it difficult to persuade potential buyers of the merits of their offerings because, while the products and services may be excellent, they have not sufficiently well-developed selling skills necessary to persuade their target customers.

Strategies for Sustainable Succession Planning in Family Business

This study investigates the extent of influence of succession planning on Thai FOBs focusing on SMEs, and the attributes/characteristics of the successors to achieve a successful family business. SMEs were identified using Thai government classifications. A total of 449 usable questionnaires were obtained from Thai FOB owners/managers in Bangkok and vicinity. Most of the firms surveyed were small FOBs. The results show that there is a higher degree of success between FOBs that have succession plan and those that do not. The results also revealed five new factors concerning Thai family-owned businesses (SMEs) succession planning. The five factors are shown in this chapter.

SMEs, Institutions, and Performance

This chapter addresses at the outset the topic of SMEs and economic development from an institutions perspective. The authors argue that the transaction cost theory is not helpful towards understanding the role that institutions play for SME performance for several reasons. Instead, they argue for combining the resource-based theory with an institutions-based approach towards constructing a more practical and empirical oriented analytical framework. After the preliminary discussion and introduction to the different theories used, the authors then take a focus on the analytical framework used to study the relationship between the institution of competition, firm performance, and firm size distributions. This chapter studies the relationship between competition and firm size, whereas subsequent research could also involve the inclusion of other measures of institutions and firm performance.

Legitimacy Acquisition and Social Enterprises

Social enterprises typically are founded to fulfill social objectives that are underserved by the state and the private sector. Social enterprise sustainability often hinges on the continuing legitimation by multiple stakeholders who may have conflicting interests. Without such legitimacy, the enterprise will neither attract resources to sustain itself, nor will it be able to serve its constituents according to its original mission. Several authors on corporate social opportunity and social enterprise have recognized legitimacy as essential for the organization. However, few have examined how social enterprises establish socio-political, pragmatic, normative, and cognitive legitimacy. In this chapter, the authors explore the question of legitimacy acquisition by social enterprises founded and managed by social entrepreneurs. The chapter presents three cases of social enterprise in India, which serve in agriculture, healthcare, and housing. The case studies demonstrate that the process of legitimacy acquisition for a social enterprise parallels that of a profit-oriented entrepreneurial organization with some significant differences. Implications for legitimacy and sustainability of social enterprise are discussed.