It pays to be green: The managerial incentive structure and environmentally sound strategies

The traditional view in management circles about the relationship between the environment and business can best be summed up as pollution pays, pollution prevention doesn't. Notwithstanding the recent proliferation of literature on the benefits of green management, many managers continue to see environmentally sound strategies as detrimental to the principal goals of profitability, maintaining markets, controlling costs and efficient production.Such conclusions about the environmental drag on business are based on mistaken assumptions about the incentives businesses encounter. Stricter government regulation of the environment in developed nations changed the equation. There are also many opportunities for managers to profit from environmentally sound strategies that are independent of public pressures. Together, these two types of incentives serve to turn the traditional vision about the incompatibility between good business and the environment on its head: it is becoming increasingly apparent that, indeed, pollution prevention pays while pollution doesn't.     

An Exploration of Entrepreneurial Activity among Asian Small Businesses in Britain

This paper investigates various aspects of Asian entrepreneurship based on a survey of small Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi businesses in Britain. It analyses the motives for business entry, the choice of initial business, the factors that influence business success and the validity of treating Asian businesses as a homogeneous group. It cannot support the hypothesis that Asians were pushed into self-employment in order to avoid unemployment. The nature of entrepreneurial entry, predominantly through small retail businesses, depends largely on the access to informal, rather than formal, sources of capital and information or advice as well as on the entrant's previous experience. Business success appears to be closely related both to the share of personal capital invested at start-up and to the entrepreneur's educational qualifications. The evidence suggests that the motives for business entry differ among the three Asian communities studied although that does not seem to have a lasting effect on their business success. The predisposition of many well educated Asian migrants towards establishing businesses with their own capital in an unfamiliar environment illustrates their entrepreneurial spirit. The paper points to the potential role of banks and government agencies in encouraging the creation of many more such small businesses in Britain.     

The Dependence of Family Businesses on a Single Decision‐Maker*

Anecdotal evidence suggests that family businesses are very dependent on a single individual (the owner‐manager). However, the degree of dependence previously has not been studied formally. Further, an explanation for why some family businesses are highly dependent on the owner‐manager and others are not has not been explored. Utilizing a national survey of Canadian family‐owned businesses, this paper therefore addresses two central issues: (1) the degree of dependence of family‐owned businesses on a single individual; and (2) the factors associated with this reliance. Self‐report responses from family business owners provided evidence of a high level of dependence on the owner‐manager. In 75 percent of all family businesses, respondents believed that the company was either dependent or very dependent on them. The response to this subjective question is consistent with responses to our three more objective measures. First, 65 percent of owner‐managers responded that they made all the major decisions in at least three of five functional business areas. Second, these businesses had few key managers—in 57 percent of all businesses, there were only two or fewer key managers in addition to the owner. Third, in 62 percent of all family businesses, neither had a successor been chosen nor had a process been put in place for choosing a successor. These results strongly suggest that family businesses are highly dependent on a single individual. Six factors had significant power in explaining the degree of dependence. Two factors related to the owner‐manager—dependence decreased in the age of the owner‐manager and in proximity of the owner‐manager to retirement. Four factors related to the family business: dependence decreased in the value of the firm, the number of shareholders, and the age of the business and was greater where the owner‐manager's family had voting control. Surprisingly, neither the existence of a board of directors with outside membership nor an advisory board with outside membership helped explain the level of dependence.     

家族企业控制权继任分析模型研究

针对家族企业的传承是一个复杂的多阶段演进过程,文章在借鉴国外有关家族企业控制权继任模型的基础上,结合我国特有的文化、市场背景的实际情况,构建了家族企业控制权继任分析模型,并对家族企业控制权继任传递影响因素进行了分析,希望对中国家族企业解决代际传承问题有所借鉴。     

Failure Rates for Female‐Controlled Businesses: Are They Any Different?

Previous research has found that female-owned businesses generally underperform male-owned businesses on a variety of measures such as revenue, profit, growth, and discontinuance (failure) rates. It has been suggested that this finding might be the result of systematic differences between male- and female-owned businesses, particularly industry differences. This paper analyzes data from a representative sample of 8,375 small and medium-sized Australian enterprises that originally were surveyed in 1994–95, with follow-up surveys in each of the subsequent three years for a subsample of businesses. The aim was to determine whether female-owned businesses exhibit higher failure rates than male-owned businesses and, if so, whether this finding persists after controlling for industry differences. The results suggest that while female-owned businesses do have higher failure rates compared to male-owned businesses, the difference is not significant after controlling for the effects of industry.     

Search Engine Advertising Adoption and Utilization: An Empirical Investigation of Inflectional Factors

Search engine advertising (SEA) is a prominent source of revenue for search engine companies, and also a solution for businesses to promote their visibility on the web. However, there is little academic research available about the factors and the extent to which they may influence businesses’ decision to adopt SEA. Building on Theory of Planned Behavior, Technology Acceptance Model, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, this study develops a context-specific model for understanding the factors that influence the decision of businesses to use SEA. Using structural equation modeling and survey data collected from 142 businesses, this research finds that the intention of businesses to use SEA is directly influenced by four factors: (i) attitude toward SEA, (ii) subjective norms, (iii) perceived control over SEA, and (iv) perceived benefits of SEA in terms of increasing web traffic, increasing sales and creating awareness. Furthermore, the research we discover six additional factors that have an indirect influence: (i) trust in search engines, (ii) perceived risk of SEA, (iii) ability to manage keywords and bids, (iv) ability to analyze and monitor outcomes, (v) advertising expertise, and (vi) using external experts.     

Do Equally Owned Small Businesses Have Equal Access to Credit?

Previous research in small-business financing has generally ignored those businesses owned equally by males and females. The rationale has been that such businesses share the characteristics of both types of owners and would confound any gender-based differences. This paper presents an empirical study in which the credit access experiences of equally owned small businesses are compared to those of their female- and male-owned entrepreneurial counterparts. Various measures of credit constraints are introduced that suggest that equally owned businesses often do experience larger constraints than male-owned businesses and smaller constraints than female-owned businesses, when all credit applicants are considered. However, the results are more mixed in comparisons of successful applicants’ constraints. A different approach from that of existing research is then used to study exactly how equally owned small businesses’ experiences are unique, rather than merely whether they differ from those of their counterparts. The evidence indicates that different factors are determining the credit application outcomes of all three ownership groups. Where similar determinants are found, equally owned businesses are influenced in a manner more similar to male-owned small businesses. The results show that equally owned small businesses’ credit access experience is not equally balanced between those of their counterparts.      

Firm performance and size: Explanations from the small firm sectors

Conclusion This paper has presented the case that small firms deserve greater attention from economists who, in the past, have been interested primarily in larger firms.It is argued that it is unjustifiable to regard the small firm as simply a scaled-down version of a large firm. Instead, in several important areas of economics the small firm behaves in a way which is the opposite to that proposed by conventional theory, calibrated upon the large firm sector. For example it is shown that Gibrat's Law does not apply to the small firm sector. It is also argued that entry by new firms does not necessarily take place when profitability in that industry increases.Given that the small firm sector is becoming of increasing importance in the creation of wealth and employment in most developed countries the paper begins to sketch out the factors which influence the motivations and aspirations of the owners of these businesses and explores their implications for conventional economics.In particular it discusses the role of multiple ownership of small businesses by entrepreneurs. It argues that this little researched topic requires more investigation by theorists to investigate the factors influencing entrepreneurs decisions on the appropriate portfolio of businesses to be owned.This paper has benefitted from the many helpful comments received from Zoltan Acs, Hans-Jurgen Ewers and others attending the symposium. The views expressed, however, are those of the author alone.     

论新时期我国商业银行风险管理体系的构建

风险管理是商业银行经营活动中一个永恒的话题 ,商业银行如何有效防范与化解经营过程中所面临的各种风险 ,已成为影响银行竞争与发展的关键因素。作者从商业银行风险管理的信息系统和监管系统两方面 ,探讨了我国商业银行风险管理体系的构建 ,具有较强的现实意义。     

Customer Relationship Management: A Comparative Analysis of Family and Nonfamily Business Practices*

It has been reported that family businesses perceive excellent customer service as critical to the future of their businesses. However, little research into the customer relationship management (CRM) practices of family businesses has been performed. In this study, we examine CRM implementation among 82 family and 370 nonfamily firms. Family and nonfamily businesses report similar attitudes toward the importance of CRM, their knowledge of CRM, and their success when they do implement it. However, using a logit regression model, we find that the actual implementation strategies of family businesses are significantly different from those of nonfamily businesses. These results remain constant when controlling for size and industry sector.     

An Ethics Case in Point: MacLine - the commercial value of ethical management

'Small businesses do not have the depth to sustain mistakes and losses in the way that large businesses can. It is the view of the management of MacLine that an ethical approach to business is one of the key factors in ensuring the long term survival of the business.'Dr Yehuda Baruch is Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Organisational Research, London Business School, Sussex Place, Regent's Park, London NW1 4SA; and Mr Mark Lewis is Managing Director of MacLine. Teachers interested in having a package of teaching notes and transparencies relevant to this case may contact Dr Baruch at the above address.     

Issues in Growing a Family Business: A Strategic Human Resource Model

The conceptual literature on family businesses suggests that family businesses have difficulty managing their human resources, especially when it concerns a family member or the transition from the founder to the successor. The authors empirically examined the assumptions raised in the conceptual literature regarding whether family businesses were experiencing human resource problems in growing their business and what factors enabled or constrained the ability of their businesses to grow. The authors used in-depth interviewing to collect data in order to emphasize the depth of the issue. Using content analysis with subject matter experts coding the data, the authors sought to mine the richness of data. Finally, the authors analyzed the data using Elliot Jaques' Stratified Systems Theory as a model to examine the strategic human resource issues and to draw some tentative conclusions.     

Determinants of Small Business EDI Adoption: An Empirical Investigation

Given the importance of widespread adoption for the success of electronic data interchange (EDI) and the "much-slower-than-anticipated" growth of EDI adoption in small businesses, in this study we aimed to identify the key determinants of small business EDI adoption. Based on prior research on IT/EDI adoption in large/small organizations, a model that incorporates 7 factors that are hypothesized to have influence on the EDI adoption decision was developed and empirically tested against data collected from 627 small businesses, with 38% of them having already adopted the technology. The findings suggest that in the eyes of small businesses, EDI still is not considered as something that enables a business to gain major strategic benefits or competitive advantages. Although perceived costs are found to be major impediments to adoption, small businesses tend to have an "unbalanced" treatment between direct and indirect benefits, focusing more on those that are immediate and direct rather than on long-term, indirect benefits. Furthermore, prior EDI experience and perceived level of support from the vendor are also important determinants of EDI adoption in small businesses. Implications to Internet-based EDI systems are also discussed.     

Factors impacting on whether and how businesses respond to early warning signs of financial and economic turmoil: Jamaican firms in the global crisis

Much of the debate surrounding the recent global crisis is focused on respective governments’ policy responses to the financial and economic downturn. Much less attention has been placed on the manner in which private sector businesses responded to the crisis. This study analyses the results of a survey of 284 Jamaican businesses conducted in the first quarter of 2009. It identifies the responses to the crisis that were viewed as most likely at that stage, and uses logistic regression techniques to analyse the factors most likely to precipitate different types of responses. International transmission mechanisms, basic business characteristics, and managers’ experiences with and expectations of changing conditions in the finance, output and input markets were investigated as explanatory variables. The results presented are important, as the early response of businesses to economic and financial crisis often determines the extent of the ultimate outcome on the livelihoods of individuals in a country.     

如何规范企业会计核算

小企业流动性强,财会人员不固定,兼职财会人员多,更有甚者一人兼任几家或十几家企业的会计,会计基础核算不规范,明细核算不健全,执行业主意志的多,执行本行业会计制度的少,时常发生偷、逃、骗税行为,严重破坏了公平竞争的经济秩序,导致了国家税收的大量流失.追究其主要原因是因为我国小企业的会计核算不够规范.小企业的蓬勃发展对于整个国民经济都是有利的因素,但是小企业伴随着起灵活性的同时是其自身会计管理存在的一系列问题,因此加强对小企业的会计核算成为我们必须要面对的问题.     

入世二十年外资零售企业在中国的发展趋势变化：影响因素与经验证据

截至2021年底，中国加入世界贸易组织已满二十年，外资零售企业在中国市场上经历了“先升后降”的发展过程，并出现了退出市场的现象。文章以产业组织理论的基本框架为指导，分阶段对影响外资商业发展水平的因素进行检验。结果表明：中国庞大的潜在市场始终是影响外资商业进入的主要因素；外资零售企业在中国市场上存在一定的区域差异，且区域间的影响因素的作用效果不同；电子商务等零售业创新发展方式的普及对外资商业在中国零售市场上的经营产生了较大的负面影响，外资零售巨头在此轮产业调整中受到了冲击，并开始了经营方式的调整与店面的收缩。     

Information Technology Adoption in Small Business: Confirmation of a Proposed Framework

This paper investigates which drivers affect information technology (IT) adoption and which factors relate to a successful IT implementation in small businesses, where the adoption rate is traditionally low and the failure rate is high. The findings from this study suggest that customers are the main driving force of IT adoption. When it comes to IT implementation, our results suggest that managers/owner–managers must engage with five factors: organization, internal IT resources, external IT consultants, supplier relations, and customer relations. These findings give further insight into IT adoption in small businesses and highlight the importance of customer relations in the adoption process.     

Little big firms? Corporate social responsibility in small businesses that do not compete against big ones

This article examines the drivers and barriers for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Norwegian graduate uniform industry, which is a market devoid of large corporations, consisting entirely of two small businesses. It finds that these small businesses' CSR activities are not particularly well explained by the existing literature on CSR in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises, which assumes the presence of large competitors. This raises the question of whether small businesses that do not compete against large corporations may actually behave more like ‘little big firms’ when it comes to CSR. The article finds that the two businesses studied are mostly driven by external pressure to improve their social responsibility. Such pressure stems partly from news reports on their activities and partly from increasing competition leading to a situation where the small businesses operating in the market scrutinise each others' activities.     

Sleeping with the Enemy? Strategic Transformations in Business–NGO Relationships Through Stakeholder Dialogue

Campaigning activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have increased public awareness and concern regarding the alleged unethical and environmentally damaging practices of many major multinational companies. Companies have responded by developing corporate social responsibility strategies to demonstrate their commitment to both the societies within which they function and to the protection of the natural environment. This has often involved a move towards greater transparency in company practice and a desire to engage with stakeholders, often including many of the campaign organisations that have been at the forefront of the criticisms of their activity. This article examines the ways in which stakeholder dialogue has impacted upon the relationships between NGOs and businesses. In doing so, it contributes to the call for more ‘stakeholder-focused’ research in this field (Frooman in Acad Manag Rev 24(2): 191–205, 1999; Steurer in Bus Strategy Environ 15: 15–69 2006). By adopting a stakeholder lens, and focusing more heavily upon the impact on one particular stakeholder community (NGOs) and looking in depth at one form of engagement (stakeholder dialogue), this article examines how experiences of dialogue are strategically transforming interactions between businesses and NGOs. It shows how experiences of stakeholder dialogue have led to transformations in the drivers for engagement, transformations in the processes of engagement and transformations in the terms of engagement. Examining these areas of transformation, the article argues, reveals the interactions at play in framing and shaping the evolving relationships between business and its stakeholders.     

农民工返乡创业政策满意度影响因素分析

通过实证分析农民工返乡创业政策满意度的影响因素,发现作为中间变量的创业培训评价、创业园区评价、用地优惠评价、简化工商登记评价、信贷扶持评价、信息咨询评价、税收减免评价直接影响农民工返乡创业政策满意度,初始变量中除30-39岁年龄、家庭人均收入、兄弟姐妹数、地理位置、离乡镇远近及村居民收入水平直接影响返乡创业政策满意度外,40-49岁的年龄、婚姻、文化、家庭人口数等因素间接影响农民工对返乡创业政策的满意度。