William Keogh

Service Quality Performance Measurement in Public/Private Sectors'

Provides an overview of UK public and private sector organisations’ use of performance information relating to service quality. While they have made some headway in improving the range of performance information they have available, and in their use of such information, significant problems remain. These problems include those of: conceptual mis‐development; limitations in recognising the needs of different stakeholders for such information; data shortage difficulties; and both technical and analytical under‐development of practice. Assesses the outlook for development of greater understanding of service quality measurement and makes a number of suggestions for dealing with these problems.

Strategies for growth and the barriers faced by new technology‐based SMEs

The relevance and importance of the high technology small firm sector to economies has been discussed by a number of authors and new technology‐based firms (NTBFs) have been viewed as having a very important role to play in job creation and as the seedbed of emerging industries. This paper illustrates the findings from a study involving 20 NTBFs based in the Aberdeen area of Scotland where small firms account for a large proportion of exports from the area. The methodology employed involved in‐depth interviews with owners, directors or senior managers. The sample was comprised of engineering companies, software developers, analytical services, instrumentation specialists and a biotech company. the strategic process was explored within each organisation and the difficulties that these NTBFs have in formulating strategies were identified. Questions were asked about relationships with stakeholders and the impacts of support mechanisms for the organisation in practice. Barriers to growth and development were identified and a model of the most important strategic issues was proposed which NTBFs could relate to. Key policy issues which the NTBFs consider important for their strategic growth included innovation, internationalisation, human resources and collaboration. Policy implications at the organisational, local and national levels are highlighted.

Understanding processes and adding value within innovative small firms

The growing importance of the uses of information and maximizing knowledge utilization are illustrated in this paper within the framework of a sample of twenty new technology-based small firms. These firms were recognized as being innovative by their peers and customers. The interrelationship between their business processes, the value which is added to products or services at different stages in their operation and the importance of increasing their knowledge bases through the development of key staff members are issues which are explored in the paper. In order for these small organizations to compete in dynamic markets they must not only develop the human resource where tacit knowledge resides, they must also retain and nurture this knowledge base. Copyright

Partnerships and networks: lessons from facilitating entrepreneurship

The delivery of assistance to SMEs, provided by enterprise councils at the local level, can vary between those bodies which are innovative and those which are pedestrian in their approach. Although it is generally accepted that most small firms in the UK sell to local markets, SMEs based within the Aberdeen area of Scotland play an important role in exporting and employment. The potential for birth and growth of firms exists in a number of targeted key sectors which aid the economic development of the Aberdeen area. However, assistance is required to bring people together in order to encourage networking, and this paper seeks to explore the process of facilitating an enterprise culture by examining the collaboration and partnership roles played by a LEC and a university in initiatives which foster enterprise. The relationship of the researchers and practitioners is similar to the model outlined by Oakey and Mukhtar where research and practice are used to inform each other, over time, to identify policy needs. The initiatives examined in this paper are the Entrepreneurs’ Club where established entrepreneurs mix with others at the new venture stage, and the Chrysalis Elite programme which links graduates with existing owner managers, creating a work‐based project involving groups of students. These links extend to the wider business community and organisations, including local entrepreneurs (who provide prizes and guidance), 3i and the Local Investors Network Company (LINC), who offer advice and opportunities. The main outcomes for policy in this paper are that collaboration between a LEC and a university can be very effective in assisting individuals or groups to meet the challenge of building entrepreneurial networks and that effective support can be provided for students to gain experience from the business community.

Science and technology based SMEs: learning from the market place

This paper presents the findings from an Objective 4 research project funded through the European Social Fund. A total of 60 innovative technology based SMEs in the Aberdeen area agreed to take part in structured interviews which addressed a broad range of strategic issues. Information was gathered on the knowledge exchange practices utilised by these companies for example seminars, co‐operative working arrangements and in‐house training. Many other sources of learning such as project reviews, practical experience and brainstorming meetings were also discussed. Although the 60 companies taking part in this research have many processes in place which can aid organisational learning, it is unclear how conscious they are of the value of these processes. The sample companies are moving through a learning cycle, akin to that developed by Kolb, by reviewing and acting on learning experiences. However there are considerable differences in the time invested in this process. Few firms are translating their learning experiences into documented format to ensure that knowledge is available to all.

Five years of collaboration in the UK upstream oil and gas industry

Many collaborative relationships (partnering and alliancing) between customers and contractors in the UK upstream oil and gas industry were formed in the five years up to 1998. The content of 63 practitioner papers from six specialist commercial conferences on partnering and alliancing (three from 1993\94 and three from 1997\98) has been analysed to investigate whether the industrys thinking has changed over the period. Overall, the most frequently occurring concepts are those which appear in the general literature on collaborative relationships. There was not a marked difference between the concepts used in the early conferences and those used in the later ones. The early papers did show a slightly heavier emphasis on concepts that could be said to be theoretical, whereas the later papers had slightly more emphasis on concepts that could be attributed to experience. Copyright

Managerial skills development in R&D based NTBFs: Assisting managers to manage

This paper seeks to illustrate and explore strategic issues from the perspective of the research team in designing, delivering and monitoring an education programme for new technology based firms (NTBFs) which has been run successfully for the last two years by the Robert Gordon University. Findings from recent research, involving innovative NTBFs, have shown that these organisations may be struggling in a number of areas such as maintaining communication with their main customers and staff recruitment which relates to serious skill shortages. The model proposed in this paper of an effective management skills programme for NTBFs is one way forward in assisting owner/managers in developing and utilising their scarce resources effectively.