J. Terence Zinger

Organizing for development in the small business

Abstract Small business development is analysed in terms of transition phases that link phases of comparative stability. Enterprises founded as owner-operated businesses may evolve into a functionally organized entity; if so, they move through two distinct transition phases. These transitional phases lie between the owner-operated and an owner-managed organization, and between the owner-managed and a more complex organization guided by functional managers. Each of the five phases is marked by particular characteristics, and calls for a phase-specific blend of entrepreneurial and management activities. The framework recognizes that not all small enterprises pass through all five phases; there are firms that start in a more evolved phase, and there are many that remain within a particular phase, either by design or by virtue of barriers to further development.

STAGES OF SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARISON OF CANADIAN FEMALE AND MALE ENTREPRENEURS

The explosive growth in the rate of new business formation by women has spurred renewed research interest in the area of female entrepreneurship and its related economic impact. Yet, there has been a dearth of research into the influence of gender on new venture formation and development. This study draws on data from the annual survey of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor to examine the differences between female and male entrepreneurs in the early stages of small enterprise development. The data was aggregated for the period 2002 through 2004, and consisted of 444 Canadian entrepreneurs: 164 females and 280 males.Gender differences are explored within the context of a variety of personal as well as business-related variables. Women entrepreneurs had a much greater propensity to have established a consumer or business services enterprise, and reported significantly lower income levels. In addition, they were less likely than their male counterparts to work full time at their business, to utilize new technology or to anticipate new business opportunities in the near term.In terms of the enterprises stage of development, it was found that 62 percent of the enterprises operated by females were ‘nascent’ small firms, while 38 percent were ‘new;’ the respective proportions for males were 55 percent and 45 percent. The analysis revealed that the difference between genders on business-related variables strengthens as the firm evolves through the stages of development from nascent to new; however, there was mixed support for the corollary hypothesis that differences in personal characteristics and attitudes diminish during this progression: even for ventures that have reached the ‘new’ phase, personal variables continue to act as important discriminators between genders.The paper provides a discussion of the implications of these empirical findings, as well as some directions for future research.

Death Anxiety Scale Means and Standard Deviations for Ontario Undergraduates and Funeral Directors

Templers Death Anxiety Scale is a 15-item true-false inventory designed to assess death anxiety in individuals. This procedure, developed and tested in the United States, has here been applied to a Canadian sample of 340 respondents: 42 community college computer science students, 93 university students, 56 community college funeral service students, and 149 licensed funeral service directors in Ontario. In doing so, the stability of previous USA findings and the reliability and generalizability of the instrument have also been investigated. The instrument was distributed to all respondents by mail. A major finding was that funeral directors appear to have lower death anxiety than college students. Implications of this research along educational lines are discussed.

The Benefits of Business Planning in Early Stage Small Enterprises

Abstract This article reports on the results of an empirical study into the nature and role of business planning within the new venture. In order to explore the benefits of business planning and compare the experiences of surviving versus failed businesses, the researchers analyzed 327 micro-enterprises that had been launched during the 1997–1999 period. There was no direct association between early stage planning and survival/failure during the company’s first three years. While the learning and efficiency benefits of the business plan were quite high, these benefits were not found to be directly associated with survival or failure. The business plan’s impact, both in terms of helping the entrepreneur learn more about managing his/her business and enabling him/her to organize the business more efficiently was significantly higherwhen the plan (i) incorporated a market research component or (ii) had been prepared with the intent of being used to guide decision-making.

Start-up Survival and Management Capability: A Longitudinal Study of Micro-enterprises

Abstract This study reports on the results of a longitudinal study into management capability and its relationship with new venture survival/failure. In order to compare the experiences of surviving versus failed businesses, the researchers tracked 115 “surviving” microenterprises that had been launched during the 1997–99 period, as well as another 69 that had failed during this period. The findings supported the role of management capability, especially in marketing, in enhancing the survivability of these new micro-enterprises. Also, survivors demonstrated initial overconfidence in their management capabilities. Implications of the study are discussed and directions for future research proposed.

AN INVESTIGATION OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION, JOB SATISFACTION, AND JOB COMMITMENT FOR ONTARIO FUNERAL DIRECTORS

This study was the first of its kind to investigate the job satisfaction, job commitment, and self-actualization of funeral directors. A Canadian sample of 149 funeral directors responded to a 293-item mail questionnaire covering such areas as biographical data, self-esteem, death anxiety, career preference for the funeral directing profession, perceived productivity within the profession, job satisfaction, self-actualization satiation, and job commitment. Analyses indicated that funeral directors appear to have low levels of career preference for this occupation, perceived low productivity of members, and moderate job satisfaction and job commitment. The major reason cited for remaining in the funeral-directing profession was their perceived personal growth and social need returns relative to their personal and financial investments.

THE SMALL ENTERPRISE-BANK LENDER RELATIONSHIP: FURTHER EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

This paper explores selected aspects of the small enterprise-bank lender relationship. Using a sample of small businesses based in Northern Ontario, Canada, it is found that loan approval rates are high and very few borrowers can be classified as being disappointed with their present bank financing arrangements, The results suggest that business size, as measured by the number of full time employees, is positively associated with the level of satisfaction with bank financing arrangements, thus providing partial support for previous studies that have reported that problems between small business borrowers and their banks are more evident for the smallest ventures. In addition, this level of satisfaction is also related to the incidence of visits by the lender to the small firms place of business. Further, it is found that the sample firms are not accessing non-bank financial institutions to the same degree as their counterparts in other regions of the country. The general implications of these results are discussed and opportunities for further research are identified.