Families, Human Capital, and Small Business: Evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners Survey

Academic engagement with small business and entrepreneurship was facilitated by the availability of European Union (EU) funding, which also stimulated the emergence of a small business and entrepreneurship (SBE) ‘community of practice’. Gradually, the SBE community developed into a ‘landscape of practice’ as small business research moved towards maturity. Furthermore, the SBE landscape of practice has coalesced around three core concepts: entrepreneurial learning, social networks and social capital. EU funding was the catalyst for many SBE academics in the UK to engage with practitioners involved with starting and managing their own businesses. The UK’s exit from the EU will inevitably mean that universities will no longer have access to EU Structural Funds. This has major implications for the UK SBE community’s engagement with practice as well as for entrepreneurs and business owners who have benefitted from a range of programmes designed to improve the performance of smaller firms.

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Conversations and Gestures of Small Business Owners with their Suppliers: Exploring Social Content in a Pure Business Relation

Procedia Economics and Finance ◽

10.1016/s2212-5671(14)00239-1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 753-766

Author(s):

Venkatesha Murthy R ◽

Bino Paul Gd

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Business Owners ◽

Small Business Owners ◽

Social Content ◽

Business Relation

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Measuring Success in Family Businesses: The Concept of Configurational Fit

Family Business Review ◽

10.1111/j.1741-6248.2006.00061.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 115-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Christoph Hienerth ◽

Alexander Kessler

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Business Owners ◽

Border Region ◽

Small Business Owners ◽

Comparable Data ◽

Measurement Instruments ◽

Success Measurement ◽

Success Evaluation ◽

As Effects

The problems associated with measuring success in small businesses are primarily caused by a lack of comparable data due to the ambiguity of “success” and by subjective biases. Success evaluation is dominated by the estimates of business owners, who tend to overestimate overall success and internal strengths. However, reliable success measurement instruments would be useful for small business owners/managers as well as small business policymakers. The main purposes of this article are to compare various measures of success, to explore the differences in their outcomes, and to analyze whether a model of success measurement using configurational fit can be used to overcome subjective biases. The study is based on a recent survey of 103 small family-owned businesses in the eastern Austrian border region. Our analysis of the data confirmed the existence of the measurement problems mentioned above. Although some individual indicators show significant biases as well as effects due to company age, size, and industry, the aggregated indicator based on the concept of configurational fit seems to be an appropriate means of overcoming most of these drawbacks.

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Developing organizations: a system of enquiry, action and learning

Development in Learning Organizations An International Journal ◽

10.1108/dlo-03-2016-0023 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 12-14

Author(s):

Wayne Graham

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Small Business ◽

Organizational Development ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Action Learning ◽

Organizational Outcomes ◽

Business Owners ◽

Content Type ◽

Business Practitioners ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the applicability of an action learning model to improve organizational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This paper extends previous work by applying the system of enquiry, action and learning (SEAL) model using an action research methodology to a small business operating in the health services industry. Findings The SEAL model is a useful approach to introduce small business practitioners to the principles of organizational development (OD). Research limitations/implications The application is limited to one small business, and subsequent studies could apply the model to more organizations that operate in industries other than health services. Practical implications Business owners from this study and previous studies have found the model to be useful in the improvement of organizational outcomes. Originality/value The SEAL model is a simplified model that introduces principles of OD and has provided value to the business owners of this study.

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