Socially Responsible Processes of Small Family Business Owners: Exploratory Evidence from the National Family Business Survey

The purpose of this exploratory study is to ascertain the impact of family, business, and community factors on the socially responsible processes of small family businesses, and investigate the influence of financial success and attitudes toward community on these processes. The research is grounded in the Sustainable Family Business Theory, which has been enhanced to include the interactive and collaborative action, both economically and socially, of family businesses and their communities. Data are from the National Family Business Survey, 2000 panel. The processes studied include interpersonal transactions in the form of community leadership and holding an elected or appointed office, and resource transactions in the form of providing financial or technical assistance in community development, and providing donations to local programs. Models assessed the probability and intensity of assistance provided by family businesses. The findings indicate that the social and economic climate of the community may contribute to the performance of responsible actions by businesses because human, social and financial capital resources from both the family and the business can be used to solve problems in the community. The most robust result was that individuals with very positive attitudes about their local communities were more likely to serve in leadership positions and make financial and technical contributions to the community. Business owners in economically vulnerable communities were willing to assume more responsibility to fill leadership positions in the community and make substantial contributions of financial and technical assistance than those in less vulnerable communities. Policymakers must recognize the many contributions of family businesses and forge rural developmentpolicies that not only help sustain existing businesses and fuel the engine of economic growth, but encourage human capital development, and, in turn, enhance the contributions of the family and the business to their community.     

Assessing the employment effectiveness of small business financing schemes: Some evidence from Israel

This paper presents an empirical assessment of the employment effects of two assistance schemes aimed at improving the accessibility of small businesses to capital. The first scheme is a revolving loan fund operating in two small towns. The second is a capital grant scheme aimed at promoting industrial activity in rural areas. Empirical data relating to the period 1986–89 is analysed for both schemes.The employment effectiveness of the loan fund is analysed via the estimation of cost-per-job indices and the estimation of the deadweight effect, i.e., employment that would have been created even in the absence of the financing scheme. For the grant scheme, the methodology implemented involves the use of regression techniques in order to isolate the effect of the financial assistance on employment generation. The results point to the cost-effectiveness of this form of assistance. From a public policy point of view, the need for targeting these type of schemes (both spatially and sectorally), is stressed.     

农作物与其保单捆绑抵押模式探究——以浙江省农村地区为例

运用问卷调查法对浙江省部分农村地区的农户所进行的调查研究发现,现有的金融供给远远不能满足该地区农村经济发展的需求;农户的外部融资需求很少能从金融机构得到满足;缺乏担保和抵押物;民间借贷行为较普遍;农户融资规模较小、期限短;当地农业保险体系较完善。浙江省可实行农作物与保单"捆绑式"抵押的新型贷款模式,并加快整合相关资源,建立有关部门的联动机制,以充分发挥正规金融机构的供给主导作用,满足农户资金需求,支持农村经济的健康发展。     

城乡统筹发展视角下的农村金融探究

目前,我国农村金融发展相对滞后,城乡金融二元结构比较突出。发挥金融对统筹城乡发展的支撑作用,需要从加快农村经济发展、培育市场主体、创新金融产品和服务、完善担保机构和保险体系等多个方面共同推进,同时应注重金融立法、财税扶持、发展农村经济合作组织等配套措施的完善。     

连片特困地区农村妇女生计发展的要素测度及政策支持研究

农村妇女生计发展所面临的阻力对于精准扶贫政策的深入推进提出了更高层次的要求。基于全国12个连片特困地区2282名农村妇女的实地调查数据,描述了农村妇女生计发展的政策需求意愿,并运用二元Logistic模型分析了有关影响因素。研究发现,当前农村妇女所需要的政策支持按所占比例大小依次为:小额贷款项目、提供创业与就业信息、提供实用技术培训,而影响政策需求的因素主要有自然资本、人力资本、物质资本、金融资本和社会资本。对此,相关政策优化需要将性别意识纳入扶贫决策主流,并加强对农村妇女生计发展的技术培训和资金扶持,同时要给予农村女性老人的特殊帮扶。     

Motivations and Obstacles for Small Business Entrepreneurship in Russia: Fifteen Years in Transition

A longitudinal survey of small business entrepreneurs was conducted in Russia in two stages: in 1994 and in 2008. This study examined entrepreneurial climate and developments in Russia's small businesses with a focus on motivations and obstacles in starting up and operating businesses. It also aimed at analyzing entrepreneurs’ needs for training, consulting, and other types of assistance in a comparative context. Russia's climate for small and medium enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurship has improved, although it is still a work in progress. The 2008 survey indicated younger age, greater share of female entrepreneurs, and remaining small size of the firms. Though the level of SME entrepreneurial activities in Russia is still lower than in major developed economies, the gap is diminishing. Thise study found no significant differences between 1994 and 2008 in terms of entrepreneurial motivations and obstacles; several shifts and trends in motivations and obstacles were identified in their relative importance in SME dynamics.     

Perceptions of Small Businesses Toward Professional Marketing Research Services

In spite of small businesses comprising about 97 per- cent of the business firms in the United States and perhaps being less qualified to carry out research projects themselves, professional marketing research organizations tend to concentrate their efforts on solicitin business from large firms. The present study surveyed 320 small usinesses in one SMSA to determme their level of confidence in various sup liers of marketing research services, their future re- search needs, the degree of confidence they have in their own research capability, and their preference for outside assistance. Results from the study provide information that should be useful to marketing re- search organizations wishing to penetrate this extensive small busi- ness market.     

The Endogenous African Business: Why and How It Is Different,Why It Is Emerging Now and Why It Matters

ABSTRACT

Africa is currently undergoing a transition that is unprecedented in its history. For the first time, the demand of urban populations pulls business development, thus creating economies with higher levels of specialization than before. This essay highlights the phenomenon of the endogenous African businesses that are arising in this process. These businesses tap into the natural resources and the social, economic, and cultural systems that build upon them. These resources and systems make the African business environment different from business environments in other parts of the world. Furthermore, the endogenous businesses have access to knowledge on how to manage modern businesses in the formal sector of the economy. In combination with African resources and systems, such knowledge enables them to create and sustain and competitive advantage in modern dynamic marketplaces. Endogenous African businesses are important because they have the potential to fuel economic growth, to revitalize rural areas, to contribute to food security and healthy diets, and to provide role models of which Africans can be proud. Hence, these businesses deserve our attention in the next two decades of scholarly research and education on African business.     

基于资源基础论的我国中小企业成长战略研究

企业竞争优势一直是企业战略研究的核心问题,资源基础论从企业内部资源能力角度研究企业的竞争优势。中小企业在我国国民经济中越来越重要,但在市场竞争中却常常处于不利地位。在分析资源论的基础上,从资源的角度提出我国创业型企业实施战略管理的对策,以促进我国创业型中小企业健康快速发展,保持竞争优势。     

建设农村重点镇区域性综合商业服务业中心的探讨——洞庭湖区沅江市草尾镇的调查启示

“十二五”期间在完善“万村千乡”工程基础上应实施农村重点小城镇区域性、综合性啇业服务业中心建设工程。洞庭湖区沅江市草尾镇的商业发展情况表明完善农村市场体系,必须首先把一批农村重点小城镇建设成区域性综合商业服务业中心,并以它为节点带动整个农村流通体系的发展。加快建设农村重点城镇综合性区域商业服务业中心应纳入政府议事日程,并在财税、金融、土地政策及人力资本政策上予以支持。     

Community Social Responsibility and Its Consequences for Family Business Performance*

Family‐centered businesses may have unique perspectives of socially responsible behavior due to family involvement and ties to the community. This research explored the antecedents and consequences of community social responsibility (CSR) for family firms operating in small and rural markets. Using a national sample from the 2000 wave of the National Family Business Survey (NFBS), researchers profiled family business operators' (n = 221) to determine if their CSR orientation contributed to family business performance. Enlightened self interest and social capital perspectives provide a framework for elaborating the role of CSR in sustaining family businesses in changing small communities. Results indicate that three dimensions, commitment to the community, community support, and sense of community, account for 43 percent of the variation in family business operators' CSR. Size of the business was significantly related to family firms' ability to give and receive community support. Further, commitment to the community was found to significantly explain perceived family business performance while community support explained financial performance. Findings suggest that socially responsible business behaviors can indeed contribute to the sustainability of family businesses in small rural communities.     

延安小微企业人力资源管理问题与对策研究

近年来,受区位和体制原因的影响,延安小微企业在迅速发展的同时,其人力资源管理和研究相对滞后。总体上,延安小微企业人力资源管理观念落后,常采用家族式和集权式管理方式,导致了吸引和留住优秀人才困难,制约了小微企业的健康发展。提高延安小微企业人力资源管理水平,要通过建立规范化的人力资源管理体系、充分信任和授权于有能力的聘用人才,体现"以人为本"的人力资源管理理念,采取人性化的人才策略等措施,营造引才育才用才和留住人才的良好环境,更好地服务于陕北革命老区经济发展和社会繁荣。     

Financial bootstrapping in small businesses: Examining small business managers' resource acquisition behaviors

In recent years, small businesses have received much attention from policy makers and researchers, in that these businesses are considered important for economic growth and job creation. At the same time small businesses are assumed to face major problems in securing long-term external finance, which is regarded as restraining their development and growth. Small business managers are assumed to use institutional finance as a means of meeting the need for resources, and as a consequence the major part of the research on small business finance has focused on constraints in the supply of institutional (market) finance.As we see it, most small business managers handle the need for resources using means other than external finance by applying different kinds of financial bootstrapping methods. Financial bootstrapping refers to the use of methods for meeting the need for resources without relying on long-term external finance from debt holders and/or new owners. However, these other means of resource acquisition have, with few exceptions, not been focused on within earlier research on small business finance. Against this background, the purpose of this study is to describe small business managers' use of different financial bootstrapping methods, and, more importantly, to develop concepts that can help us better understand small business managers' financial bootstrapping behaviors.The research process was initiated with a number of unstructured interviews conducted with small business managers, accountants, consultants, bank officials, and researchers, in order to identify different financial bootstrapping possibilities. On the basis of the interviews and an earlier study on financial bootstrapping, resulting in the identification of 32 bootstrapping methods, a questionnaire was constructed and sent to 900 small business managers in Sweden. Given the limited knowledge within the area of financial bootstrapping, the study is based on explorative factor analysis and cluster analysis.From the cluster analysis six clusters of bootstrappers were identified, differing from each other with respect to the bootstrapping methods used and the characteristics of the business. On the basis of this information the different clusters were labeled: (1) delaying bootstrappers; (2) relationship-oriented bootstrappers; (3) subsidy-oriented bootstrappers; (4) minimizing bootstrappers; (5) non-bootstrappers; and (6) private owner-financed bootstrappers. The groups of financial bootstrappers show differences in their orientation toward resource acquisition, representing different aspects of an internal mode of resource acquisition, a social mode of resource acquisition, and a quasi-market mode of resource acquisition. We find that the delaying bootstrappers, private owner-financed bootstrappers, and minimizing bootstrappers all represent an internal mode of resource acquisition. The relationship-oriented bootstrappers follow a socially oriented mode of resource acquisition, whereas the subsidy-oriented bootstrappers apply quasi-market oriented resource acquisition.This study contributes to our empirical understanding by providing knowledge about the financial bootstrapping methods used in small businesses. Furthermore, by developing concepts this study contributes to the conceptual development of our knowledge about financial bootstrapping. The implication of this study is that financial bootstrapping is a phenomenon which deserves more attention in future research on small business finance. At the same time, financial bootstrapping behavior is probably a more general phenomenon, appearing in different contexts, such as R&D activities in large businesses, financing start-ups, etc. Finally, the study points out implications for small business managers, consultants, teachers, etc. Practitioners often tend to focus on market solutions to resource needs. This study shows, however, that this strong focus can be questioned. Resources needed in small businesses can in many situations be secured using financial bootstrapping methods, referring to internally oriented and socially oriented resource acquisition strategies.     

河北省童车产业集聚效应分析与竞争力提升——以河北平乡县为例

河北省市我国童车四大产区之一,其产量占国内市场47%;且产业集聚度较高,90%以上的产能集中在平乡县;产业链条相对完善,成本较低,效率较高。当前存在的主要问题是资金短缺,周转困难;产品附加值低,企业间竞相压价;文化理念落后,创新能力不足,龙头企业带动作用不明显。提升河北省通车产业持续竞争力,必须提高产品质量,实施品牌战略,加强企业间分工合作。     

Violence against women and new venture initiation with microcredit: Self-efficacy,fear of failure,and disaster experiences

Domestic violence is the most prevalent form of gender-based violence that threatens the wellbeing and dignity of women. In this paper, we examine whether and how exposure to physical or sexual assault by male partners influences women's decision to initiate a new business when they have access to financing. We collected primary data from rural Bangladesh in collaboration with a microfinance institution that provided small collateral-free loans to a group of married women. We conducted a baseline survey before loan disbursement and then conducted a follow-up survey 12 to 15 months later to collect information on loan usage. We find that women who experienced physical or sexual violence by their husband before receiving a loan are less likely to initiate a new business with their loan than those who did not experience such violence. Exposure to domestic violence obstructs the initiation of new businesses through reduced entrepreneurial self-efficacy and increased fear of business failure. The adverse impact of domestic violence is more detrimental for women who recently experienced another potentially traumatic event—an environmental disaster—than for those without such an experience.     

Perceptions of business ethics: Students vs. business people

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of business students and of business practitioners regarding ethics in business. A survey consisting of a series of brief ethical situations was completed by 537 senior business majors and 158 experienced business people. They responded to the situations, first, as they believed the typical business person would respond and, second, as they believed the ethical response would be.The results indicate that both students and business people perceived a significant gap between the ethical response to the given situations and the typical business person's response. Students were significantly more accepting than business people of questionable ethical responses, and they also had a more negative view of the ethics of business people than did the experienced business people.The male students were more accepting of questionable ethical responses and saw less difference between typical and ethical responses than did the female students. However, male and female business people appeared to think alike with regard to both typical and ethical responses.Some suggested implications included the idea that businesses need to increase their efforts to promote ethical conduct and to make ethics a well-known priority in all actions and policies. Barbara C. Cole teaches Business Education classes at Foothills Technical Institute in Searcy, Arkansas. Her research is in the areas of business ethics and cooperative learning. She has published in Journal of Education for Business.Dennie L. Smith is Professor of Education at the University of Memphis, formerly Memphis State University. His writing on creativity, teaching strategies, and simulation systems has appeared in numerous journals and books. He has been a consultant to businesses for over 15 years in the areas of organizational development and decision making.     

PUBLIC MEASURES AFFECTING SMALL BUSINESS IN AUSTRALIA

Certain institutional arrangements in Australia seem to operate to the disadvantage of small business particularly in the fields of finance, taxation and access to specialized services. But the Australian Trade Practices Act is based upon two value judgements–the acceptance of competitive capitalism as a socio-economic system and the need to curb the misuse of economic power. This second aim, in particular has benefitted small businesses through the restriction of arrangements in restraint of trade (Section 45), through regulating monopolization (Sec. 46), through forbidding exclusive dealing (Sec. 47), through banning resale price maintenance (Sec. 48), through regulating price discrimination (Sec. 49) and through regulating mergers (Sec. 50). The misuse of economic power may be related to the concept of ‘public benefit’ or ‘social efficiency’ as contrasted to ‘economic efficiency’ and it is on these grounds that arguments for assistance to small business can be most convincingly made.     

农行大力发展小额信贷促进新农村建设

目前,新农村建设的金融需求与现实的矛盾以及农行在支农方面的欠缺,充分表明农行的金融服务已不能满足农村经济发展和新农村建设的需要。农行应贯彻“面向‘三农’,整体改制,商业运作,择机上市”的“十六字方针”,积极发展银行供应链金融。创造性的开展小额信贷业务,创新农民信用体系,建立一套小额信贷登记系统,以实现农行现代企业制度的建立和新农村建设的互利双赢。     

Small Business–Nonprofit Collaboration: Locally Owned Businesses Want to Take Their Relationships With Community-Based NPOs to the Next Level

This two-part, mixed-methods study explored how and why small businesses engage in both philanthropic and transactional partnerships with community-based nonprofits (NPOs), and what business owners expect from their nonprofit partners. Findings from focus groups and a survey indicate that U.S. small businesses (a) are interested in a higher representation on nonprofit boards; (b) are more likely to support NPOs that focus on the local community’s needs; and (c) seek long-term, committed partnerships with NPOs to jointly address communal issues rather than one-time contributions or sponsorships. The study adds to the literature on nonprofit–business collaboration by applying the concepts of integrative (Austin, 2000) and communal (Cho & Kelly, 2014) relationships in the context of locally owned businesses and community-based NPOs rather than more commonly studied large corporations and national/international nonprofits. These findings also offer practical recommendations for the leadership of community nonprofits interested in enhancing their relationships with small businesses.     

U.K. SMEs’ awareness,use, and perceptions of selected government export assistance programs: An investigation into the effect of the internationalization process

This study reports on an empirical investigation into U.K. managers’ behavior toward and perceptions about selected export assistance programs. Specifically, it investigates whether differences exist between managers of U.K. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various stages of internationalization in relation to their awareness and frequency of use of the programs, together with their perceptions about the timeliness, reliability, and availability of the assistance schemes. It provides a contribution to the knowledge in the areas of export management and public policy because despite the fact that a body of literature exists on the topics of both export assistance and the internationalization process of firms, there is a need to bring these two research topics together in the form of a single U.K. study to establish whether current export assistance procedures are suitable for managers from firms in different stages of export development. The rationale for such a study is that if managers of U.K. SMEs in different stages of the internationalization process differ in both their behavior toward and perceptions about government assistance programs, U.K. policymakers may need to reconsider the way in which services are provided to avoid wasting scarce resources.