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.     

Women business owners in traditional and non-traditional industries

Small businesses continue to grow in importance to the national economy. According to the Small Business Administration, America's 22 million small businesses generate more than half of the nation's Gross Domestic Product and are the principal source of new jobs. The National Foundation for Women Business Owners reported that between 1987 and 1994, the number of women-owned businesses grew by 78% and women-owned firms accounted for 36% of all firms. Although the growth in the number of women-owned businesses is encouraging, the size of such businesses remains small in terms of both revenues and number of employees, especially in comparison to male-owned businesses. One explanation for this disparity is that female business ownership is concentrated primarily in the retail and service industries where businesses are relatively smaller in terms of employment and revenue as opposed to high technology, construction, and manufacturing.One of the most fruitful streams of research in women's occupational choice has been based on social learning theory. Specifically, self-efficacy has been found to relate to both type and number of occupations considered by college men and women, and with regard to traditional and non-traditional occupations. Entrepreneurship researchers have also used social learning theory to study entrepreneurial intentions. This study builds on that background of women's career development and entrepreneurial intentions to examine differences between traditional and non-traditional women business owners. We examine 170 women business owners in various traditional and non-traditional businesses in Utah and Illinois. Questionnaires were the primary method of collecting data, in addition to 11 in-depth interviews from a sample of the survey respondents. Using a careers perspective, based on social learning theory, we hypothesized that women in these two different categories of industries would differ on levels of self-efficacy toward entrepreneurship or venture efficacy, their career expectations and their perceived social support. A second analysis was also done that explored the relationship between the same independent variables and success or performance of the business. The results offer support for using this integrative model to understand differences between women in traditional and non-traditional industries. The first analysis revealed that significant differences exist between the two groups on several of the independent variables. Traditional business owners had higher venture efficacy for opportunity recognition, higher career expectations of life balance and security and they reported that the financial support received from others was more important to them than those in non-traditional businesses. On the other hand, the non-traditional owners had higher venture efficacy for planning and higher career expectations for money or wealth than the traditional group.The second analysis explored whether success, as measured by sales, was affected by differences in venture efficacies, career expectations, or perceived support received by women in traditional businesses as compared to those in non-traditional ones. This analysis revealed that traditional women business owners might have different factors that contribute to their success than non-traditional owners. Specifically, for the traditional owners, venture efficacies for opportunity recognition and economic management as well as the career expectation of autonomy and money (or wealth) were positively related to sales. For the same group efficacy toward planning and the need for security were negatively related to sales. For the non-traditional women, venture efficacy toward planning and the career expectation of autonomy were positively related to sales while the expectation of money or wealth was negatively related. Also for the same group, the perceived importance of the emotional and financial support was negatively related to sales.In the past, most of the entrepreneurial research has used predominantly male samples of entrepreneurs. Those that include women entrepreneurs generally are comparative, between men and women. This study's comparison of two groups of women entrepreneurs offers a unique contribution to the field.Future research is recommended to further understand how venture efficacy and career expectations affect the decision to start a new business in a particular industry. It would be particularly beneficial to study venture efficacy and career expectations of prospective women entrepreneurs prior to the start of the business. Similarly, greater attention should be given to understanding how venture efficacy develops in different individuals.     

Small business is big business

The number of small business start‐ups in the UK continues to increase. This article discusses the stages of business and marketing development that a small business can expect to encounter. Success in business depends upon a number of factors, these are described and discussed under the headings of individual qualities and key components.     

Small business economics

The paper presents an overview of small-business economics. Small businesses are shown to comprise a substantial and expanding segment of the U.S. economy. The role of small businesses in the economy is considered from the standpoint of various economic theories of the size distribution of firms. Firm-size related empirical regularities are reviewed and their implications for economic theory is discussed. Several small-business policy issues are discussed, including the role of small businesses in labor, macroeconomic, and regulatory policies, along with a review of research on small-business economics that might help guide these policies.We wish to thank Zoltan J. Acs and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments.     

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.     

浅谈小企业市场营销策略

本文论述了小企业市场营销策略.     

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.     

Small business dynamics in Europe

This paper examines how the firm-size distribution has shifted over the last two decades across a broad spectrum of European countries. The evidence suggests that a shift away from large firms and towards small business has taken place, particularly is the southern regions and in the high technology indutries.     

谈对小企业会计核算改进策略的探讨

对小企业财务报告进行适当简化,对其确认、计量标准区别对待,不仅有助于提高小企业会计信息的质量,减少会计操作成本,节约社会资源,也符合小企业经营运作的特点.     

Small business in German manufacturing

The study provides empirical evidence about the determints of the size distribution and the importance of small business in German manufacturing industries. The adopted empirical model distinguishes short-rum from longrun effects and estimates the rate of adjustment when a departure from long-run equilibrium occurs. The results show a significant impact of industry-specific factors on the presence of small plants and the size distribution of plants. Foremost, technological factors, like scale economies, limit the prosperity of small business. In addition, industries with a high intensity of investments in advertising and R&D, and large domestic and foreign output volumes are dominated by large business. The dynamic analysis revealed that departures from long-run equilibrium are only of a very short duration.I would like to express my gratitude to Stefan Csutor and Sabine Hetebrüg for their assistance in collecting the data. I am also grateful to Zoltan Acs, David Audretsch, Ricardo Revelli, and the participants of the Small Business Economics Conference, November 17–18, 1988 in Berlin for their very valuable comments.     

Small business,innovation, and entrepreneurship

The purpose of this special issue is to examine small businesses, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and show that, although these three concepts have their own specific literature and can be dealt with independently, they are closely related. From Schumpeter to the present, a stream of literature unites the concept of entrepreneurship with its ability to make new combinations of factors and corresponding innovations in processes and products; similarly, in a broad stream of literature, the most characteristic dimension of entrepreneurship is closely linked to small businesses. Small and large companies have different advantages and drawbacks with innovation, but small businesses provide the most conducive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation that are not necessarily sustained by the know-how and resources characteristic of large-scale production, but require commitment and close cooperation between company members. In this introduction, we show how the three topics converge in four articles dealing with micro-start-ups and innovation, institutional determinants of entrepreneurship, and determining factors in entrepreneurs’ individual characteristics.     

Small business survival and sample selection bias

Analyses of small business and the factors affecting their survival are fairly common in the research literature. The level of research interest may stem from the fact that in the US, only about half of all new small businesses survive after 4 years (Headd 2003). However, research attempting to understand the phenomenon that employs data using only information from and about surviving firms may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the factors that influence firm survival and failure. In this paper, we provide evidence that omitted information about the firms that disappear from the research data over time leads to biased coefficient estimates. Comparing the Heckman two-step estimation approach of switching regression models to a semi-parametric Cox hazard model, the Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model, we conclude that the Cox ATF approach is the most appropriate model for firm survival analysis.     

Small business loan securitization and interstate risk sharing

Do credit risk transfers in general, and loan sales and securitizations in particular, by financial institutions enhance credit availability and financial stability? Or do they allow assets of poor credit quality to spread to unprotected investors, and thus create financial crises and destroy values? In this paper, we contribute to the continuing debate by examining the effect of small business loan securitizations on interstate personal income insurance. Using data of U.S. banks for the period 1995–2008, we find that small business loans securitizations contribute to the smoothening of state personal income volatility, and that this contribution is stronger in states where small businesses play a more important role in the local economy.     

Small business strategy and the industry life cycle

This article proposes that individual small firms, just like large firms, use different approaches to make strategy. Three processes relevant to small firms are identified: simplistic, participative and adaptive. The article examines how these processes are related to performance, depending on industry life cycle stage. Empirical analysis indicates that all three approaches are related to small firm performance, but that the importance and impact of these relationships will change according to the industry life cycle stage. Markedly, and contrary to evidence from studies in large firms, small firms in mature industries are most likely to benefit from using adaptive strategy-making processes.     

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.     

Small business and the economics of flexible manufacturing

The impact that flexible manufacturing has had on the structure of international trade is examined. By introducing an analysis of the economics of flexible manufacturing, it is concluded that flexible technology is more conducive to small rather than large firms. This shift in the size distribution of firms is the result of a new emerging techno-economic paradigm.     

Small business formation by unemployed and employed workers

This paper uses data from the Current Population Surveys for 1968–1987 and from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men to examine the relationship among unemployment and small business formation and dissolution for white men and women. We find that self-employed workers are more likely to have experienced unemployment than are wage workers because their higher entry rate into self-employment offsets their higher exit rate out of self-employment. Unemployed men and women who enter self-employment experience a larger drop in their earnings than the unemployed who return to wage work.The authors are Vice President, National Economic Research Associates and Associate Professor, Fordham University, respectively. This research was supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration under contract no. SBA-2102-AER-87. We retain responsibility for the views expressed below.     

中小建材企业经营管理控制探讨

建材企业由于历史的原因、行业的特点中小企业较多,中小企业的管理人员受经营规模、财务、人力经验等因素的控制,强调一人多岗、减员增效,往往很难达到大型企业的人员分工,岗位设置和不相容职务分离等方面的周密安排.     

Small business and job creation: A comment

Davis, Haltiwanger and Schuh (1996) claim to dissect the myth and reassess the facts on the job creation prowess of small businesses. We disagree with the authors. In this comment we discuss their five chief findings and conclusions and in particular, the use of a regression-to-the-mean correction.