R Cheng

Aligning teaching and practice: a study of SME marketing

Purpose – This study aims to explore the role of marketing in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and to consider how amendments can be made to the UK higher education (HE) teaching curriculum to inform marketing teaching and learning around a small business context.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, exploratory approach using semi‐structured in‐depth interviews amongst ten owners of SMEs in the East Midlands region of the UK was used.Findings – Marketing in SMEs is centred on customer engagement, networking and word of mouth communication. HE academic institutions should take account of these findings and work towards introducing SME‐specific marketing material in its teaching and learning curricula.Research limitations/implications – This study uses a small number of SME companies in one region and therefore the generalisability of the findings may be limited. Further research could extend the number of SME companies and to other regions of the UK.Practical implications – The findings ha...

Marketing in SMEs: a “4Ps” self-branding model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which traditional marketing theory and practice can be applied in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consider how owner-managers perceive their own role in marketing within a small business setting. Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative exploratory approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews amongst owner-managers of SMEs in the UK. Findings – SME marketing is effective in that it embraces some relevant concepts of traditional marketing, tailors activities to match its customers and adds its own unique attribute of self-branding as bestowed by the SME owner-manager. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to the UK and to a small sample of SMEs and as such the findings are not necessarily generalisable. Originality/value – A “4Ps” model for SME self-branding is proposed, which encompasses the attributes of personal branding, (co)production, perseverance and practice.

Experience of entrepreneurial training for female farmers to stimulate entrepreneurship in Uganda

– The purpose of this study is to evaluate the success of a scheme, supported by the Ugandan Agribusiness Initiative Trust, to fund gender and entrepreneurship training for women farmers in the north of Uganda (Gulu District and Lira District). Moreover, this paper reflects upon our experience of delivering training for women farmers and highlights key observations related to women’s entrepreneurship in Uganda. , – A practitioner-based reflection which shares the experiences of the process of developing and delivering gender and entrepreneurship training for women in Uganda. , – Through the experience of running gender and entrepreneurship training for women farmers in Uganda, a series of barriers to female rural entrepreneurs are highlighted: lack of access to credit, gender inequality, poor infrastructure, lack of access to knowledge and education, negative attitudes towards women and few initiatives to facilitate economic and business success. , – This paper provides reflection of the experience gained from the delivery of training and interaction with women farmers and entrepreneurs in Uganda.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Slow-Fashion Industry

This chapter maps and analyses the supply chain of four micro-organisations operating in the slow-fashion industry utilising the Seven-R framework. It focuses on the challenges these companies are facing, as well as aspects these organisations are handling well within their supply chain. The chapter briefly outlines current events, issues, and challenges faced in the slow-fashion industry before presenting a comprehensive literature review of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). This chapter utilises a case study approach and analyses its findings by following and extending the Seven-R Framework. The concluding remarks highlight key implications of this chapter and emphasise on potential areas of further study.

Communicating sustainability: the case of slow-fashion micro-organizations

This chapter analyses how micro-organizations operating in the UK’s slow-fashion industry communicate online with their target audiences and promote sustainability utilising the RACE Framework. It focuses on the challenges these companies are facing, as well as aspects these organizations are handling well within their online communication. Furthermore, it outlines current events, issues, and challenges faced in the slow-fashion industry before presenting a brief literature review on online communication. A case study approach provides the basis for analysis by following and extending the RACE Framework. The concluding remarks highlight key implications and highlights potential areas of further study.

Gender and Business Ethics of Enterprise Students and Nascent Entrepreneurs Engaged in Entrepreneurship Education

It has generally been argued that women have higher moral standards or display greater concern about the effects of their actions on others when responding to ethical dilemmas. However, the findings of empiricists have hardly been conclusive. We contend that it is important to investigate the ethical attitudes towards business practice of those who are at the early phase of the entrepreneurship path such as enterprise students (n = 128) and nascent entrepreneurs (n = 204). The findings revealed sex differences in the ethical attitudes of enterprise students, but not of nascent entrepreneurs. In addition, the business ethics of male nascent entrepreneurs were significantly higher than those of male enterprise students. We argue that sex-role socialisation reduces differences among individuals performing similar activities, and use moral development theory to explain that ethical values evolve over time.

Educating graduates for marketing in SMEs: an update for the traditional marketing curriculum

Purpose – Despite rising graduate unemployment in the UK, there are insufficient numbers of graduates employed in small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs). The literature suggests that a teaching emphasis on large organisational business models in higher education institutions, particularly in the teaching of marketing theory, renders the SME sector unattractive to graduate employment and conversely, it is perceived that graduates lack additional “soft skills” vital for SME development and growth. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of how SMEs define marketing and to compare student perspective on marketing within a SME context. This paper also examines the need to improve the conventional marketing curriculum with additional teaching solutions that consider the reality of UK SME ownership and student employment prospects. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was adopted using in-depth interviews amongst ten SME owners and 20 undergraduate marketing students of a...

Does Ethicality Wane With Adulthood? A Study of the Ethical Values of Entrepreneurship Students and Nascent Entrepreneurs

The authors examined the following questions: Does gender influence the ethicality of enterprise students to a greater extent than it does nascent entrepreneurs? If this is the case, then is it due to factors associated with adulthood such as age, work experience, marital status, and parental status? Sex-role socialization theory and moral development theory are used to support the development of hypotheses. A total of 128 undergraduate business enterprise students and 204 nascent entrepreneurs participated in this study. Ordinary least squares regression was used to produce estimates to support hypothesis testing. The findings suggest implications for entrepreneurship education and future research in this area.