Brian Gibson

Planning Behavior Variables in Small Firms

Much of the empirical data that identifies the incidence of planning in small firms and the variables associated with that planning is based on small samples subject to geographic and industry constraints. The intent of this article is to partially overcome those limitations by testing relationships using results from a large Australian‐wide, multiple‐period sample. For each of three years, the frequency with which firms maintained documented business plans was determined and tested for associations with a range of traditional “business structure” demographic variables and a group of “management structure” variables. Results support expectations that size, volume, training, intention to change operations, and the major decision‐maker’s education are positively associated with business planning. Results also indicate that a significant number of firms change planning behavior states over time.

BEING UNCERTAIN: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY

The manner in which the key managers of entrepreneurial firms perceive the environment of the firm has important implications for decisions regarding organizational structure, processes and performance. Entrepreneurial behavior has traditionally been characterized as one type of strategic response to uncertain environments. This research takes a unique position in exploring how the entrepreneurial orientation of the firms key manager may in fact influence managerial perceptions of the environment. Utilizing survey data drawn from more than 800 key managers in three countries this study proposes and tests a model of perceived uncertainty. The results suggest that the greater the entrepreneurial orientation of the key manager the more likely he or she is to characterize the environment of the firm as uncertain. Although this relationship holds true in general the results also suggest that there are strong differences in the relationship across countries and industries and that certain firm characteristics have a potential impact on managerial perceptions.

Indigenous Economic Development: A Tale of Two Wineries

Indigenous peoples1 to the “new global economy”: their participation in the wine-making industry. We first outline the objectives and assess the feasibility of Indigenous economic development. We then discuss two case studies of Indigenous peoples “First Nations” people in Canada; and a Maori collective oftribal nations comprising the members of the Wakatu Incorporation in Nelson, Ngati Rarua Atiawa Iwi Trust in the Nelson/Marlborough area and the Wi Peri Trust based south of Gisborne in New Zealand. Both groups have developed wine-related businesses as key aspects of their economic development strategy. Indeed, they created the world’s first and second Indigenous-owned wineries: the Tohu Winery in New Zealand and Nk’Mip Cellars in Canada. The case studies briefly document the creation of these wineries, then describe their contribution to the economic development of the communities involved. Finally, from these case studies, we offer concluding comments about the possibilities for Indigenous economic development in general.

From What We Know to How We Use it: Five Principles for Turning Entrepreneurship Research into Practitioner Action Guidelines

Abstract This paper introduces a “third stream” of publication, that will appear in the Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship(JSBE), the journal of the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship/Conseil Canadien des PME et de l’entrepreneuriat (CCSBE/CCPME), and in Small Enterprise Research (SER), the journal of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand (SEAANZ). In this stream-founding paper it is argued that entrepreneurship researchers, currently, do not place sufficient emphasis on making their research findings relevant to entrepreneurs and their advisors, educators and those working in government on policy and programs. The paper then presents five general principles for turning entrepreneurship research findings into practical action guidelines for practitioners. The piece ends with a description of a new section to appear in both JSBEand SERbeginning with this issue.

Are Serial Entrepreneurs Different? An Examination of Australian Microfirms

Abstract Serial entrepreneurs are business owner-operators who commence, operate and dispose of a number of business ventures. Whilst most entrepreneurial activity is related to one specific venture, serial entrepreneurs progressively “work through” a variety of different enterprises over time. Although the existence of such continuous or habitual entrepreneurs has been occasionally noted, little is presently known about the nature of such enterprising individuals and their firms. This paper draws on responses by 199 micro-small firms in New South Wales, Australia, to construct a more detailed picture of serial entrepreneurs. It examines the background and characteristics of these owner-operators, some aspects of their current operations, and whether the businesses of these serial entrepreneurs are more likely to grow than other entrepreneurial ventures. The results indicate that serial entrepreneurs tend to be male, relatively well educated, aged between 30–49, and Australian-born. Many (just under half) come from a family with a prior background in business ownership. A third of them concurrently operate another business, and the majority have a strong growth orientation. Testing of data between serial and other entrepreneurs revealed some statistically significant differences between the two cohorts. Compared to other entrepreneurs, serial entrepreneurs are more likely to concurrently operate another business; less likely to operate their current venture as a home-based enterprise; and more likely to want to expand their business in future. Serial entrepreneurs, when compared to other entrepreneurs, also tend to be slightly older, are more likely to be male, and are more inclined to buy a business as a going concern.

Optimising employee ability in small firms : employing people with a disability

Abstract The axiom that workers with a disability are less productive is not tenable. It is exposed by the results reported here as a myth. In this paper we outline from a practitioner perspective the benefits to be gained by employing people often regarded as poor employees because of a disability. The paper initially presents a range of normative suggestions in support of the proposition that employees with disabilities are not detrimental to a small firm and indeed offer more positive benefits than negative outcomes. We then confirm the validity of the suggestion – that people with disabilities may make better workers – by outlining research findings that support that proposition. These suggestions may impact on employment policies; researchers are encouraged to challenge the assumptions we make and provide more concrete evidence to support or refute our suggestions. Enhanced employment of workers with a disability can and will create a more diversified, harmonious and productive workforce where sustainable business, sustainable ecology and sustainable human relations are indivisible components of the same necessity.

Guest Editorial: Entrepreneurship Education at University: the Plus-Zone Challenge

Abstract The paper discusses the contrast between what is being done and what ought to be done about entrepreneurship education at university level. Research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor program demonstrates that entrepreneurship education is an issue of worldwide economic and social significance. It has major policy implications for every nation. The paper briefly discusses the network of entrepreneurship education and experiential learning of which the university is only one component - and not necessarily the most important. The strategic and organizational context of the movement towards more entrepreneurial universities is distinguished from the purely content issue of curriculum designed for aspiring entrepreneurial practitioners. An overview of actual curricula, worldwide, is contrasted with the normative entrepreneurship education framework posited by McMullan and Long (1987). Following consideration of the problems involved in measuring the success of entrepreneurship education programs, a broad, generic template for integrated program development is presented and compared with the approach usually employed in most MBA programs at university business schools. The hierarchical, functionalist approach, symbolized by a pyramid, is contrasted with a more fluid, organic and boundary-crossing approach, symbolized by a wheel. Its central hub is a ‘plus zone’ where lies the deepest challenge for development of entrepreneurship education in a university context.

Exploring governance issues in family firms

Abstract Governance is a major area of study that has attracted an increasing level of attention within the privately held small business and family firm domains. This paper uses research frameworks from several financial and management disciplines to enable the identification and analysis of difficulties arising from making simplistic assertions based on large firm considerations about the benefits and prescriptions for good governance activities in family firms. These difficulties exist primarily because governance in most family firms is driven by a different set of structures and processes from those that apply to large firms. While the theoretical perspectives of the large firm governance literature may hold in family firms, the prescriptions need to be viewed with a different outcome in mind. This paper takes a summative approach as a precursor to establishing empirical approaches to evaluation. The analysis indicates the variety of contextual variations that must be considered in determing an appropriate framework of structures and processes.

Clusters of financial structure in Australian small firms

Abstract This paper uses data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Longitudinal Database to explore the equity and debt structure of small firms in Australia. Initially the paper provides descriptive detail of financial structure that is then used in a cluster analysis process to identify a range of possibly “typical” financial structures. Results are then presented of analysis that seeks to identify associations with a range of financial variables posited to influence such structures. Included are profit (measured in absolute and relative terms), sales growth, asset structure, and sales (as an indicator of size). Results suggest that there are distinct clusters based around key funding sources and that cluster membership is moderately associated with profit and sales based variables and strongly associated with asset structure.

Indigenous Economic Development

This chapter constitutes one of a number of studies of the reaction of Indigenous peoples1 to the “new global economy”: their participation in the wine-making industry. We first outline the objectives and assess the feasibility of Indigenous economic development. We then discuss two case studies of Indigenous peoples—the Metis and Inuit, an Aboriginal “First Nations” people in Canada; and a Maori collective of tribal nations comprising the members of the Wakatu Incorporation in Nelson, Ngati Rarua Atiawa Iwi Trust in the Nelson/Marlborough area and the Wi Peri Trust based south of Gisborne in New Zealand. Both groups have developed wine-related businesses as key aspects of their economic development strategy. Indeed, they created the world’s first and second Indigenous-owned wineries: the Tohu Winery in New Zealand and Nk’Mip Cellars in Canada. Here, we briefly document the creation of these wineries, then describe their contribution to the economic development of the communities involved. Finally, from these case studies, we offer concluding comments about the possibilities for Indigenous economic development in general.