Javed Hussain

SME financing in the UK and in China: a comparative perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to outline the preliminary results of an empirical investigation into access to finance and related issues, as experienced by SME owner/managers in the UK and in China.Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed a telephone survey involving a sample of SME owner/managers operating in the UK and in China. A detailed, semi‐structured questionnaire was administered to a selected sample of 32 matched SMEs. The survey requested quantitative and qualitative information on sources of finance, both preferred and actually used by owner/managers, during three stages in their firms business cycle: at start up, after two years and over the next five years.Findings – Evidence suggests that there are similarities as well as differences between SME financing in the UK and in China. In terms of initial (start‐up) funding, a large proportion of respondents relied exclusively on financial support from their immediate family. After two years in business, respondents exhibite...

Financing preferences of ethnic minority owner/managers in the UK

– The purpose of this research is to show that while mainstream finance for small businesses has been researched, hard to reach segments of the UK owner/manager population have eluded empirically rigorous investigation. The authors investigate the financing preferences of owner/managers in small ethnic minority businesses in the UK and examine their access to both formal and informal finance as well as the use of personal funding networks. The emergent results are compared with the findings from a matched “control sample” of white small business owner/managers., – Identical, in‐depth, face‐to‐face interviews were used with a sample of ethnic minority small business owner/managers and a matched control sample of white respondents in the West Midlands region of the UK., – Family and close associate networks were very important for the support of both ethnic minority and white owner/managers. All the respondents required loans from banks and other financial institutions, both at the start‐up stage and in subsequent years. For the ethnic minority owner/managers, the initial importance of financial institutions declined over the years. In contrast, in the control sample, institutional borrowing needs increased considerably. Ethnic minority owner/managers showed a preference for less intrusive and more “user friendly” financing options that allow them to remain in full control of their businesses., – Caution is advised in the use and generalisation of results emerging from qualitative research that involves small samples of respondents chosen from a restricted area of the UK., – The research shows the importance of “user‐friendly” financing options for owner/managers.

Owner-managers' perceptions of barriers to innovation: empirical evidence from Turkish SMEs

Purpose – The paper aims to examine the barriers to innovation, as perceived and experienced by owner‐managers of Turkish small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an empirical investigation of 224 SMEs operating in Turkey. Emergent results were analysed using a logit regression model to explore barriers to innovation as perceived and experienced by these owner‐managers.Findings – The results reveal that a lack of government research and development policy represents a formal barrier to SME innovation in Turkey. The existence of a sizeable and thriving underground economy in this country acts as an informal barrier that impacts negatively upon investment in, and increases the cost of innovation in SMEs. In addition, a lack of appropriate sources of finance and skill shortages emerged as significant variables to affect the innovation decisions of SME owner‐managers in Turkey.Research limitations/implications – The research sample of 224 businesses, chosen...

Barriers to finance experienced by female owner/managers of marginal farms in India

Purpose – This paper aims to examine barriers to finance experienced by female owner/managers of marginal farms in the Punjab region of India.Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on the preliminary results of a survey conducted with 48 marginal farmers and 15 bank managers in Punjab, India.Findings – Emergent results show that the relationship of female owner/mangers with their banks was affected by gender prejudices inherent in the male dominated banking sector in India. Loan rejection rates for female owner/managers were significantly greater than those of their male counterparts. The incidence of bank managers requiring collateral/referral letters was considerably higher for female owner/managers than for equivalent male applicants.Research limitations/implications – The research sample explored in this study is small and drawn exclusively from the Punjab region of India and it might not be representative of the wider population of farmers in India.Practical implications – To enhance the ...

Vocational education and training in small ethnic minority businesses in the UK

Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate the provision of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Small Ethnic Minority Businesses (SEMBs) operating in the West Midlands region of the UK.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach is employed, involving in‐depth, face‐to‐face interviews with 66 owner/managers of small ethnic minority businesses located in the West Midlands region of the UK. The research sample included 26 graduate entrepreneurs and 40 non‐graduate respondents.Findings – Most of the SEMB owner/managers in this study exhibited a positive attitude towards VET. A large proportion of the respondents, however, admitted not to have provided any training during the previous 18 months of trading. Training provision appears to be affected by both “directly” and “indirectly” relevant factors. The majority of the SEMB owner/managers in the research sample do not have specific human resource strategies, audits, plans or related budgets, and training was offered largely on a reactive rathe...

Financial Education in Small Ethnic Minority Businesses in the UK.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out to evaluate the financial education needs of ethnic minority SMEs in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom.Design/methodology/approach – A postal survey was used to investigate the financial needs of owner/managers in 64 ethnic minority SMEs and a control sample of 23 non‐ethnic SMEs.Findings – The results show that owner/managers of micro‐businesses have lower educational achievements as well as higher financial education needs than their counterparts in small and medium‐sized firms. In contrast, owner/managers in small and medium‐sized businesses have relatively higher educational achievements and a better appreciation of the role of financial education. Similar trends were observed in non‐ethnic SMEs in the control sample.Originality/value – This article makes an empirically rigorous contribution to a relatively under researched aspect of SME research. The authors recommend that government agencies collaborate with leaders of ethnic minority co...

Optimal microfinance loan size and poverty reduction amongst female entrepreneurs in Pakistan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of microfinance loans on poverty reduction amongst women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The authors set out to establish whether there exists an optimal loan size to attain the objectives of women entrepreneurs and poverty reduction in this country. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory study is based upon an empirical investigation of 123 semi structured interviews as well as in-depth, semi structured interviews with a sub sample of ten women entrepreneurs who secured microfinance loans for their new or established enterprises. Findings – Emergent results show that access to finance is important for female entrepreneurs and helps them realise their potential as entrepreneurs. An optimal, poverty reduction, microfinance size has been identified. A range of entrepreneurial characteristics were found to be critical to the success of women led enterprises in general and to poverty reduction amongst their families in particular. Research limitations/implications – This research focuses upon a relatively small sample of female entrepreneurs operating in the Pakistani economy. Although the results could be relevant to women entrepreneurs in other developing countries, caution should be exercised when attempting to generalise these finding to other contexts. Originality/value – Emergent results make a contribution to research on women entrepreneurship in general and optimal microfinance loan size in particular.

Entrepreneurship education and training needs of family businesses operating in the agricultural sector of India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurship education and training (EET) needs of small family businesses operating in the agricultural sector of the Indian economy.Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a survey of 122 agricultural family firms in the Indian state of Punjab. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistical methods to establish causal relationships between key variables and EET needs in these family firms.Findings – Results show that owner/managers of small family businesses have low levels of EET and hence higher needs. Lack of sufficient funds and low awareness about the availability of training are the most significant challenges for these family firms in accessing financial education and training. Factors such as level of education and training of the owner/manager were found to be major determinants of family firms’ take up of EET.Originality/value – This research paper makes an empirically rigorous c...

The role of guanxi networks in the performance of women-led firms in China

Purpose – This exploratory study aims to examine how knowledge acquired via guanxi (networks and connections) is enabling women in China to overcome a number of significant barriers and challenges in order to start and grow successful businesses. Design/methodology/approach – The authors undertook two in-depth interviews to qualitatively investigate the use of guanxi as a means of overcoming various barriers faced by Chinese women in establishing and growing their businesses. Findings – The findings suggest that family background (and, in particular, support from parents and spouses), experience, training, education and finance are key success factors influencing the performance of women-led firms in China. The experiences of the two entrepreneurs in the study demonstrate the importance of mentors in helping to develop a womans business acumen and providing the right contacts to help overcome potential barriers to developing a successful business. Research limitations/implications – While this study prov...

An Investigation of Market Orientation (MO) and Tourism Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ (SMEs) Performance in Developing Countries: A Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT This paper aims to build a structured literature review of the field of market orientation and its impact on tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance in developing countries. This literature review will present a comprehensive survey of market orientation (MO) published articles to facilitate good understanding of MO. It serves as an archive and aims to help the scholars and practitioners to explore, analyse, and develop a clear understanding about the different research points and methodologies implemented in previous studies related to MO and its impact on tourism SMEs’ performance. The paper systematically reviews and categorizes the published literature implementing a three-stage methodology, and thereafter analyzes and reviews this literature methodologically. The review covered many areas and identified some factors that drive/hinder market-oriented activities within tourism SMEs. Furthermore, suggestions have been made to understand more thoroughly how market orientation influences tourism SMEs performance in developing economies. A research gap in the area of market orientation and tourism SMEs performance in developing countries was identified. The study provides great benefits for owner-managers, government policy makers, scholars, and educators by clarifying the concept of market orientation and its relationship with performance in the context of tourism SMEs.