The influence of family ownership on SME performance: evidence from public firms in Taiwan

The relationship between family ownership and firm performance has gained increased attention in the business strategy and financial economics literature. Most existing studies use large companies as the research sample; studies that explicitly investigate the influence of family ownership on the performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain sparse. This study raises this issue explicitly by investigating the influence of founding-family ownership on the return on assets and Tobin’s q of 341 public SMEs in Taiwan, during the period of 2002–2006. It emerges from the data that family ownership is prevalent and substantial in Taiwan, representing half of the public SMEs and accounting for more than 11 percent of their outstanding equity. It was found that the influence of family ownership on SME performance is positive and significant. Overall, the results suggest that family ownership is an effective organizational structure for SMEs in Taiwan.     

Disaggregating entrepreneurial orientation: the non-linear impact of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking on SME performance

Previous studies have generally established a positive relationship between aggregated measures of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance. However, there are theoretical reasons suggesting that three dimensions of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) may possess differential relationships with performance in smaller firms. This study utilizes a sample consisting of 1,668 small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in nine countries across 13 different industries to provide a finer-grained analysis of the EO-performance relationship. Specifically, we theorize and test a non-monotonic influence of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on SME performance. Innovativeness and proactiveness displayed predominantly positive U-shaped relationships with SME performance. Risk-taking, however, displayed a predominantly negative U-shaped relationship with SME performance. Further, individualism was found to positively moderate the relationships between innovativeness-performance and proactiveness-performance. Taken together, these results suggest that differential relationships exist between three dimensions of EO and SME performance, with important theoretical implications for future EO research.     

How personal and organizational drivers impact on SME international performance: The mediating role of organizational innovation

This article develops and tests a conceptual model to identify the impact of internal drivers (personal and organizational) on the international performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm and its capability extensions, it is argued that the effect of drivers is mediated by organizational innovation. To test the proposed theoretical model, we collected data from 120 exporting SMEs in Portugal. Results show that the indirect mediating effect of innovation is particularly relevant with regard to the organizational driver-performance link. Insights contribute to research on the importance of innovation for capability and resource deployment during internationalization.     

SME development,economic growth,and government intervention in a developing country: The Indonesian story

There is an ongoing debate in the literature on the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in less developed countries (LDCs) on two issues: the survival of SMEs in the course of economic development and the importance of government promotion programs for SME development. This research paper aims to examine those issues empirically with Indonesian data. For this purpose, it develops and tests a set of hypotheses. It shows that both real gross domestic product per capita and government development expenditure (especially that used to finance SME development promotion programs) have positive impacts on SME growth. With this finding, the research argues that SMEs in LDCs can survive, and even grow in the long-run, for three main reasons: (a) they create a niche market for themselves, (b) they act as a “last resort” for the poor, and (c) they will grow along with large enterprises (LEs) because of their increasingly important production linkages with LEs in the form of subcontracting.

SME foreign market entry mode choice and foreign venture performance: The moderating effect of international experience and product adaptation

Firms’ foreign market entry mode choice attracts considerable research attention. However, the performance implications of this choice remain inconclusive, particularly in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The present paper draws on the resource-based view (RBV) and develops a theoretical model specifically tailored to the context of SMEs in order to study the relationship between entry mode choice and foreign venture performance. Testing hypotheses on 133 German SMEs, we show that international experience as a resource and product adaptation as a capability improve the performance of non-equity entry modes by mitigating liabilities of smallness inherent to SMEs. We furthermore find empirical support for the joint moderating effect of international experience and product adaptation on the focal relation. Our findings contribute to the SME foreign market entry mode literature and have implications for practitioners and future research.     

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.     

The impact of brand authenticity on brand trust and SME growth: A CEO perspective

This article investigates the linkages between brand authenticity, brand trust, and SME growth from a CEO perspective. Brand authenticity is operationalized as consisting of three factors: brand consistency, brand customer orientation, and brand congruency. The hypotheses derived in this paper will be tested with new measures and data from 285 German SMEs using structural equation modeling. The results confirm that brand consistency and congruency foster brand trust, which in turn drives SME growth.     

公共财政视角下的区域内义务教育均衡发展研究

本文从公共品理论范畴定位义务教育,从财政角度将义务教育纳入公共服务均等化建设目标,构造适应公共服务要求的义务教育均衡机制.     

Determinants of holistic passenger experience in public transportation: Scale development and validation

Transportation literature is shifting its focus from passengers’ perception of transit quality to understanding passenger experience from a holistic perspective. Few studies have investigated passenger experience factors from a holistic perspective; however, they are explored independently. A holistic approach can help the transport service providers to understand the complete journey of the passenger. This study proposes the concept of holistic passenger experience (HPX) and identifies the determinants of HPX in the context of public transportation with specific reference to Indian Railways. The study develops a comprehensive scale that measures the influence of these determinants on HPX to address this gap. Following a systematic scale development process, this study identified and validated (content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity) a seven factor structure scale that determines HPX. Of these seven factors, four factors (vehicle maintenance, comfort & security, off board service, and travel information) constitute the core services offered by the transport service provider. Interestingly these four factors can be effectively managed by the service provider. The other three factors (social environment, supporting services, and accessibility) cannot be entirely managed by the transport service provider effectively, as these factors fall beyond the scope of the service provider.Nomological validity results are explained by constructing a matrix (holistic passenger experience Matrix) which reveals that most of the constructs that are can be managed by the transport service provider can be mapped to the cognitive component of customer experience, whereas most of the factors which go beyond the scope of the transport service provider could be mapped to the emotional component of customer experience. The findings can assist the transport sector executives to identify the key determinants to deliver superior passenger experiences throughout the journey.     

The impact of economic globalisation on unemployment: The Malaysian experience

Malaysia plans to emerge as one of the high-income economies by 2020 through the Economic Transformation Programme. A key component of this programme is to adopt more trade liberalisation policies that can generate a variety of economic activities, particularly more jobs. Although the integration with the world market bears the promise of prosperity for the developing and transitional economies, such integration may also adversely affect such economies. Preceding studies regarding labour market and international trade policies are still inconclusive and raise questions that require further examination; particularly in terms of whether exposure to the external sector can create or destroy jobs. The present study evaluates how Malaysia labour market has responded to the economic globalisation of the country. The study focuses on the long-run impact of economic globalisation on unemployment within the period between 1980 and 2014. The study uses autoregressive distributive lags method to examine the pattern of the relationship. The results show that economic globalisation have significant and positive impact on reducing unemployment in Malaysia in the long run. These findings indicate that policy-makers in Malaysia should facilitate the economy globalisation to maintain the current low level of unemployment rate.     

Going public: The impact of insiders' holdings on the price of initial public offerings

Many entrepreneurs dream of seeing their company's securities trading in the public marketplace. Although going public has many benefits for a firm's founders and insiders, the process is often confusing and intimidating. One of the questions that investment bankers are asked frequently by insiders is, “What determines the price of a stock in the initial public offering?” This article presents empirical evidence that the stock price in an initial public offering (IPO) is directly related to the percentage of the firm's equity retained by the insiders. In other words, the offering price is relatively high when it appears that the insiders are not “bailing out” when the firm goes public.This research investigates equity ownership structure as a determinant of the pricing of IPOs. The hypothesis to be tested is: IPOs with higher (lower) insider holdings at the time of the offering are priced higher (lower) as a result of lower (higher) required rates of return. Support for the hypothesis is based on agency theory, which postulates that additional risk is created when there is a perceived separation of ownership and control.There are several implications of this research. First, a greater appreciation of the sophistication of the IPO market with regard to the actions of the insiders should be gained. Second, the reader's knowledge of the activity and relative pricing of IPOs during the 1978–1985 time period should be enhanced. Third, insiders should realize that actions regarding their relative equity holdings at the time of the offering have an impact on the price of the offering. Finally, the reader should recognize that even in “hot markets” the actions of insiders at the time of an initial public offering regarding the sale of equity are monitored by the market.     

The relationship between employer endorsement of continuing education and training and work and study performance: a Hong Kong case study

Based on psychological contract theory and expectancy disconfirmation theory, we posit that if employers support their staff by endorsing their continuing education and training, these employees will in turn be more satisfied and will perform better not only in their studies but also in their jobs. We also propose that such an endorsement will have a positive disconfirmation effect on employees' job satisfaction and performance when their perceived organizational support is relatively low. Using 434 part‐time postgraduate students in Hong Kong, China, as our survey sample, we found support for our propositions.     

Eating out,nutrition, education and the consumer: a case study from Alabama

Increasingly, there is agreement that the hospitality industry, particularly the restaurant sector, can significantly impact people's eating behaviour. This impact includes the nutritional intake of meals many restaurants sell that may lead to problems such as the growing obesity epidemic. This preliminary study investigates consumers' attitudes towards their eating out experience as it relates to their reasons for eating out and the importance that nutrition may place in their experience when eating out. Findings suggest differences in consumer attitudes towards these issues based on their gender, educational achievement level and type of restaurant they frequent. Nutritional awareness and education strategies do not appear to be reaching groups that are more exposed and/or more prone to unhealthier food consumption. Overall, consumers do not seem interested in education or involvement in healthier consumption.     

The impact of weather on consumer behavior and retail performance: Evidence from a convenience store chain in China

Despite extensive use of weather data to adjust replenishment and inventory strategies in the retail industry, these companies do clearly know the effect of weather on consumer behavior and retail performance. How does weather affect consumers' purchasing behavior and thus retail performance? We study empirically these questions by analyzing more than 6 million transactions made by more than 1.62 million unique consumers at 146 convenience stores in a convenience store chain in China. We choose sun, rain, temperature, and air quality index as the main weather variables. We use the average number of items per order and the average price of each item in each order as indicators of consumer behavior, and use store daily sales as an indicator of retail performance. We found that under rainy weather, people will buy more products with higher item prices in one order. When temperature rises, people will buy fewer products with a lower item price in one order. In addition, sunny weather and rainy weather have a positive impact on daily sales than cloudy weather. Air quality has a negative impact on daily sales, while temperature has a positive impact on sales. Finally, we study the impact of weather on different product categories. We find that the results depend on the product category characteristics.     

The impact of offshored and outsourced call service centers on customer appraisals

Firms are increasingly relying upon offshored and/or outsourced call centers to provide post-sales assistance to their customers. Although the motivation to engage in these practices is efficiency gains, the possibility exists that offshored and outsourced call centers may have a detrimental impact on customer appraisals. The aim of this research is to posit the conceptual reasons as to why differences may arise in customer evaluations from these practices. To this end, we rely on the homophily principle and hybrid organization theory to provide conceptual grounding, and utilize a company dataset of customer post-call evaluations to offer an initial test of the hypotheses.

The effect of education and experience on self-employment success

The impact of education on the business success of an entrepreneur has been the subject of much discussion and speculation in both the popular and academic press. The literature is full of folklore focusing on the high-school drop out who made it big in the business world armed with an education from the school of hard knocks. Until recently this was part of the myth surrounding entrepreneurship. The myth takes shape in three basic areas. The first looks at the entrepreneur's level of education relative to the general public. The second area addresses the effect of education on people becoming entrepreneurs on a macro level. Do people with higher levels of education start more businesses than people with less education, does it increase the probability of becoming an entrepreneur? The third area concerns the micro-economic effect on individual entrepreneurs. Does education help an entrepreneur succeed?Past research on education and entrepreneurship consists mostly of institutional studies at universities with established programs. These offer good support for the outcome of educational programs. However, these studies are poorly circulated and seldom published because of the limited sample sizes (McMullan (1988) summarized several such studies). In this study the literature is reviewed in three areas mentioned above and new information on the relationships between education, experience, and self-employment is provided.The empirical part of this study examines the effect of education and experience using U.S. census data. Self-employment is used as a surrogate for entrepreneurship and the analysis controlled for farmers and professionals (medical doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.) so that it would more closely fit our conception of an entrepreneur. Earnings potential was used as a measure of success. We recognize that success is a subjective experience based on one's expectations and actual outcomes; however, we believe that earnings provided a global indicator of success that is quantifiable relative to the sample used. Four specific hypotheses were generated and tested using the data.The first hypothesis (Self-employed have more years of formal education than those who do not work for themselves.) was confirmed with the years of education for the self-employed being 14.57 years for all workers, 14.71 years for males, and 14.13 years for female workers. Wage and salaried workers came in nearly one full year lower with: 13.58 years for all worked, 13.73 for male workers, and 13.40 for female workers.Hypothesis two (The number of years of formal education will increase the probability of becoming self-employed.) was supported with the probability of becoming self employed increasing by 0.8% for each year of education providing a significant relationship (t = 32.11 for all workers, t = 21.95 for males, and t = 20.76 for females, p < .0001 for all three).Hypothesis three (The relationship between years of formal education and success of the self-employed, as well as the general population will be positive and significant.) was supported using the “Beta” coefficients in a “Probit” regression model, indicating that self-employment and wage and salaried earnings increase significantly for each year of education. Self-employment earnings increased $1207.63 a year for each year of education ($1212.76 for males and $414.81 for females). Wage and salaried workers earnings increased $825.99a year for each year of education ($1023.33 for males and $369.37 for females).Hypothesis four (The relationship between experience and self-employment success will be positive and significant, but weaker than the impact of education.) was supported. All self-employed workers, both male and female, had over two years more experience than their wage and salaried counterparts. There is a strong positive relationship between self-employment and both experience and earnings with the exception of self-employed females whose experience did not significantly impact their earnings.In conclusion, a general education has a strong positive influence on entrepreneurship in terms of becoming self-employed and success. Experience has a similar relationship although not as strong. Future studies need to examine the impact of specific types of education, such as business school or entrepreneurship classes, on the entrepreneurial outcomes in the studies.     

Institutional difference,organizational experience,and foreign affiliate performance: Evidence from Polish firms

We draw from the institutional economics and organizational learning theories to clarify two international business debates. The first debate involves how institutional distance affects foreign affiliate performance: some propose a negative and others a positive direct effect. We clarify this debate by differentiating between negative and positive institutional difference. The second debate involves how experience modifies this relationship: some propose a negative and others a positive moderating effect. We clarify this debate by differentiating between similar and dissimilar experience, creating four moderating effects: Advantage of Challenge Anticipation, Advantage of Opportunity Anticipation, Disadvantage of Polymath Downgrading, and Disadvantage of Specialist Upgrading.     

Impact of responsive and proactive market orientation on SME performance: The moderating role of economic crisis perception

This study examines the relationship between market orientation (MO) and the performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) within the context of economic crisis. It distinguishes between two levels of MO: responsive market orientation (RMO) and proactive market orientation (PMO). Data were collected on a sample of 300 SME. Findings indicate that SMEs, confronted with an economic downturn, use a MO approach that is both proactive and responsive, and reveal the moderator effect of the SME manager's perception of an economic crisis on PMO/RMO–performance. Research and practical implications are discussed. © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SME Survival: The Impact of Internationalization,Technology Resources,and Alliances

This research examines the impact of internationalization on small and medium enterprise (SME) survival, and the direct and moderating effects of technology resources and research and development (R&D) alliances. Our survey examination of 1,612 Korean SMEs reveals that sales internationalization is associated with better survival prospects, suggesting that failure risk does not increase with cross‐border sales. In addition, though technology resources provide no direct survival benefits, R&D intensity acts as a moderator in the internationalization‐to‐survival relationship. R&D alliances, on the other hand, are directly linked with survival but do not show a moderating effect. This supports the liabilities of newness and smallness view that external relationships can help counter survival threats but suggests that the accumulation of technology resources may be more important when firms seek international expansion.