Small business owners and health

Small Business Economics - The present article identifies a societal and scholarly neglect for the field of small business ownership and health. We address health capital and its spillover effects...     

Characteristics of Asian and white female business owners

Abstract The study was designed to compare the demographic profile, business characteristics and entrepreneurial profile of Asian and white women owning small businesses in the clothing sector in Manchester. Data were collected through personal interviews administered to a population of 60 women (30 Asian and 30 white). Results revealed that the Asian and white entrepreneurs differed significantly in their level of education, type of family and family size. The business characteristics assessed by the entrepreneurs themselves were similar. The majority of Asian entrepreneurs had prior experience of business ownership. In addition, these respondents mentioned a desire to earn more money as the primary reason for starting their venture, whereas the white entrepreneurs were motivated by the feeling of independence that they obtained through ownership. Only a few respondents had received any business-related training during the start-up phase. Personal savings and family contributions were most commonly cited as major capital sources used to start the business. The biggest problem for Asian respondents concerned the management of business, whereas for white women it was attracting customers. Our results raise broader concerns regarding the formulation and implementation of special policy measures designed to assist female business owners in the small-business sector.     

Socio-economic evolution of women business owners in Quebec (1987)

Two years after a five-year longitudinal study was undertaken in 1986, distinct characteristics of the female entrepreneur in Quebec are starting to emerge. This paper draws a general portrait of the female entrepreneur and examines certain features that have not been extensively studied in the past: age, family status, size and type of business, partnerships, motivation, obstacles, financing, and income evolution.Pierre Collerette is a graduate in human relations psychology. Currently a professor at the University of Quebec (Hull), he has been a director of their Small Business Center. His interests are mainly in the fields of organisational change and leadership. He has been doing entrepreneurship research since 1986.Paul G. Aubry is a business professor at the University of Quebec (Hull) and director of their Small Business Center which he created in 1983. Specialising in Marketing, he has been closely associated to entrepreneurship research since 1983.     

The consequences of social responsibility for small business owners in small towns

This paper focuses on three under‐researched subjects in the corporate social responsibility literature: small businesses, small towns, and consequences of social responsibility for the business owner personally. Small businesses are the vast majority of businesses and make a significant contribution to national economic vitality. Their value to the survival of small towns, where they are often the only businesses, is even more important. Research indicates that the social performance of big and small businesses alike is dependent upon the values and disposition of the top decision maker. Therefore, insight into the owner's motivations for contributing to community betterment and the consequences of that behavior for the business and the owner will add to this literature. Equally important, this knowledge can inform policies aimed at increasing good citizenship for all sizes of businesses regardless of location.     

Spirituality and ethical treatment of customers and employees by devout Thai women small business owners

The role of spirituality in management is of growing interest, not least because it is closely related to business ethics, and, thus, how businesses treat customers and employees. The topic, however, still needs some conceptual development, as well as empirical research, especially outside Western, Christian contexts. This qualitative research examines spirituality among women small business owners in Thailand. These women follow Kuan Im bodhisattva, a Buddhist role model teaching compassion and morality. In Jackson's terminology, this is an example of an Eastern, practice-oriented approach to ethics rather than (in his view) the somewhat theoretical wisdom-oriented approach common in the West. The nature of their spirituality and their treatment of customers and employees maps strongly to a servant leadership style. Servant leadership has occasionally been proposed as the style most closely associated with spirituality. In this context, it seems to be thoroughly intertwined, and highly concerned with ethical treatment of others.     

上海传统服务业正走第三条路

现在的上海，一方面有店铺的商业面积在日长夜大，据市经委、市商业研究中心《上海市零售商业网点面积调研报告》显示，到2005年上海的商业面积达3200万平方米，人均1．75平方米，到2007年将上升到4000万平方米，人均2平方米；另一方面无店铺销售作为新的业态．进入新的成长期．表现得十分活跃．如今在全国有网民1．3亿，2000万人上网购物，成交额达年100亿元．较高比例向上海人集聚。集成两方面的优势，沪上的餐饮、     

Creative industries, new business formation, and regional economic growth

In this article we explore the impact of a series of factors, including creativity, intellectual property rights activities, new business formation, and the provision of amenities, on economic growth for 103 Italian provinces over the period spanning 2001 to 2006. Provincial growth rates are measured in terms of employment growth and value-added growth. The findings reveal that an increase in the number of firms active in the creative industries and net entry have a positive effect on regional employment growth. The share of legal immigrants is also found to positively impact employment growth. A high number of university faculties is found to lead to less employment growth, whereas trademarks, patents, cultural amenities, and industrial districts have no significant effect. Value-added growth is for a large part determined by employment growth, but no additional productivity-enhancing effects of the factors discussed are found.     

Businessman or host? Individual differences between entrepreneurs and small business owners in the hospitality industry

Prior research has identified individual characteristics that distinguish business owners from non-business owners. The researchers tested their contention that not every successful business owner can be characterized by such typical ‘entrepreneurial’ characteristics. Multiple analysis of variance on a unique data set of 194 business owners in the hospitality industry revealed that several individual characteristics discriminated between entrepreneurs and small business owners. Entrepreneurs possessed higher levels of independence, tolerance of ambiguity, risk-taking propensity, innovativeness, and leadership qualities, but not of market orientation and self-efficacy. It is concluded that ‘entrepreneurial’ characteristics identified in the literature may be useful predicting a specific type of business ownership. However, other criteria need to be developed in order to describe other groups of business owners operating in the service industries.     

Tracking family businesses and their owners over time: panel attrition,manager departure and business demise

Analyses of business owners from whom data were gathered in 1997 and 2000 are used to predict two family business phenomena: the continued involvement by the owner-manager in the business and the continuation of the business. The most important factor in continuity is the respondent's assessment of the business as a success; successful businesses continue or are sold or gifted when the owner-manager leaves the business. Ceasing to be involved in a business should not be viewed as a business or a managerial failure. Some changes may be failures, but others should be viewed as ordinary business or family developments.     

Employment change in the small business sector: Evidence from five manufacturing industries

This paper examines the scale and nature of employment flows into and out of the small business sector (SBS) in five United Kingdom manufacturing industries over the period 1979–85. It first provides a taxonomic framework for analysing these flows. It then draws on specially prepared analyses from the Annual Census of Production (ACOP) for the UK to show that the SBS in each industry has experienced very substantial turbulence: although the SBS (across all five industries) lost only four per cent of 1979 employment over the period, movement in and out each represented about half of 1979 employment. Most gains and losses were in the very small size bands. The paper also briefly explores the relationship between births and deaths and industrial characteristics across the five industries. The study raises questions about the causes and costs of high turbulence in the SBS. It also demonstrates the potential value of the ACOP data base for longitudinal studies of business in the UK.

---

     

A proclivity for entrepreneurship: A comparison of entrepreneurs,small business owners,and corporate managers

Despite intensive inquiry, relatively little is known about the entrepreneur, the central figure in entrepreneurship. The question of how an individual who operates his or her own business differs from a corporate manager remains unanswered. In addressing this question, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of psychological constructs to predict a proclivity for entrepreneurship. The research model includes three classic themes in the literature: achievement motivation, risk-taking propensity, and preference for innovation.A survey of 767 small business owner-managers and corporate managers was assembled from a 20-state region, primarily the southeastern United States. The participants completed a questionnaire composed of the Achievement Scale of the Personality Research Form, the Risk-Taking and Innovation Scales of the Jackson Personality Inventory and questions pertaining to numerous individual and organizational variables. Respondents were first divided into two groups, managers and small business owner-managers. Subsequently, due to the often cited variations in entrepreneurs, the owner-managers were further categorized as either an entrepreneur or small business owner, using the widely cited Carland et al. (1984) theoretical definitions. Entrepreneurs are defined by their goals of profit and growth for their ventures and by their use of strategic planning. Alternatively, small business owners focus on providing family income and view the venture as an extension of their personalities. In this study, both groups of owner-managers were simultaneously compared with managers using hierarchical set multinomial LOGIT regression.The results indicated that the psychological constructs are associated with small business ownership, but with some important caveats. As hypothesized, those labeled entrepreneurs were higher in achievement motivation, risk-taking propensity, and preference for innovation than were both the corporate managers and the small business owners. This profile of the entrepreneur as a driven, creative risk-taker is consistent with much of the classic literature concerning the entrepreneur. Nonetheless, not all of the owner-managers fit this profile. When compared with managers, the small business owners demonstrated only a significantly higher risk-taking propensity. In terms of the constructs studied, the small business owners were more comparable to managers than to entrepreneurs.In addition to theoretical and methodological implications, the results presented here have important implications for small business owner-managers of both types. A major issue is the connection between the owner’s psychological profile and the characteristics of the venture, including performance. It would appear that psychological antecedents are associated with owner goals for the venture. Some owners will be more growth oriented than will others, and performance should be assessed in light of the owner’s aspirations for the venture. Moreover, owners should be aware of their own personality sets, including risk preferences, which may be more or less suited to different venture circumstances, including those with relatively high levels of risk.Planning in small businesses appears to enhance venture performance. Research has demonstrated the connections between psychological factors and planning behaviors in small businesses. Those labeled entrepreneurs in this study have goals of profit and growth, and tend to engage in more planning. An awareness of these psychological preferences and concomitant attention to planning behaviors have the potential to improve the performance of the venture, irrespective of owner aspirations.Venture teaming is becoming more popular among entrepreneurs. Balanced venture teams appear to improve the chances of entrepreneurial success (Timmons 1990), but a common source of conflict among venture team members is inconsistent or ambiguous motives for the new venture. Awareness of venture partners’ psychological predispositions in areas such as risk-taking could be used to identify and reconcile areas of potential conflict, and enhance the planning process in the small firm. In sum, an individual’s awareness of his or her psychological profile provides a number of advantages, not only to existing entrepreneurs, but also to aspiring entrepreneurs who should assess their perceived entrepreneurial opportunities against the backdrop of their psychological proclivity for entrepreneurship.     

The Indonesian tourism industry under crisis: a Bourdieuan perspective on social boundaries among small-scale business owners

Abstract

This study investigates how small-scale business owners in the Indonesian tourism industry seek to overcome the consequences of multiple crises, over a 10-year period. Taking a Bourdieuan perspective, the authors emphasize the context-dependency and quality differences of various forms of capital, and explain how these differences are manifested in boundary work aimed at overcoming major adversity. It is argued that social, economic and cultural capital contributes differently to small-scale business owners’ resilience, either spanning or setting developmental boundaries. This furthers understanding of how small-scale business owners cope with social boundaries and generate innovative opportunities for the development in the aftermath of crises.     

电子商务的发展对传统商务的冲击

90年代以后电子商务的发展非常迅速,随着国际互联网和电子商务的相关技术不断成熟,电子商务以更为惊人的速度发展.美国ForresterResearch公司的调查显示,电子商务将成为全球发展最快的商务模式.蓬勃发展的全球性电子商务模式对传统商务模式产生了巨大的冲击.现本文就什么是电子商务,和电子商务对传统商务的冲击进行简述.     

国际汽车厂商在华动态

尽管2004年中国车市出现了增速回调，但从2004年下半年以来，各主要跨国公司对中国汽车市场的重视程度不仅没有减弱，反而增强了。主要表现在各个跨国公司部制定了比较宏伟的长远发展目标，拟定合资、合作计划及产品的生产布局等方面。     

The impact of education histories on the decision to become self-employed: a study of young,aspiring, minority business owners

Although it is well documented that minorities are underrepresented among the self-employed, no study to date has examined how limited educational opportunity might be responsible. Using data from the High School and Beyond Fourth Follow-Up survey and controlling for detailed educational histories, this study finds that most variables associated with academic success actually reduce the likelihood one will aspire to own their own business at an early age. Positive developers of self-employment aspirations include financial resources and having a parent who is already self-employed. Asians and males are also more likely to anticipate owning their own business.     

困境中挣扎的集装箱船船东

与散货船、油船相比，集装箱船航运市场与世界经济、国际经济贸易的相关度最高。自2008年5月以来，受世界经济危机影响，国际集装箱船航运市场持续下行，航运费率呈现总体下跌态势。2009年10月，集装箱船期租指数已经跌至33．3点，与2008年初113．5点的最高点相比．跌幅高达70．7％。     

Community differences in business births and business growths

The published literature relating to the location of a business tends to support two different kinds of theories: (1) that business locations are selected to minimize costs; or (2) that decision-makers select locations because of personal preferences. This study attempts to find explanations as to why certain communities have grown faster than others, and to provide a model for the location decision of a start-up business.We find a negative correlation of two entrepreneurship measures to environmental factors that are usually considered to be desirable, i.e., health care and the environment, climate and terrain, recreation, and low crime. We find a weak correlation between community attitudes and the entrepreneurship measures. We also find a positive correlation of entrepreneurship with a high number of college graduates; a negative correlation when a high proportion of the population is over age 65.Population mobility and low unemployment are also positively correlated with the measures, but those factors seem at least as likely to be results as to be causes of business births and business growth.We believe that start-ups are vital for any community that wishes to grow, therefore the location decision of start-up businesses seems important. We propose a model of the location decision of a start-up, a model that emphasizes the individuality of the decision maker and the specific success requirements of the business. The driving force behind a start-up can be a decision-maker's desire for personal gain, a problem that begs a solution, or a solution that is looking for a problem. In some cases, the reason for starting a business will dictate its location. In other cases, success requirements of the business will dominate. We believe that researchers can gain a true understanding of the location decision only by considering both the preference of the decision-maker and the requirements of the specific business.