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Purpose– In this paper, an institutional perspective is used to examine the different kinds of pressures on entrepreneurs manifest in a conflict environment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how they respond to the conflict and... more
Purpose– In this paper, an institutional perspective is used to examine the different kinds of pressures on entrepreneurs manifest in a conflict environment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how they respond to the conflict and establish legitimacy for their entrepreneurship in the challenging context of the north western areas of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approach– In this study, a qualitative approach is taken based on semi-structured interviews from 16 different firms in the Swat valley.Findings– The entrepreneurs undertake different strategies towards dealing with conflict and establishing legitimacy. These strategies are identified and examined in relation to the interactions between entrepreneurial behaviour and institutional pressures.Research limitations/implications– Qualitative research on a small sample inevitably presents a limitation on the generalisability of this work. Further research could employ quantitative methods to address this issue. One particula...
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain why most small firms remain small. A new conceptual framework – the condition of smallness – is proposed. Design/methodology/approach – A critical examination of the literature... more
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain why most small firms remain small. A new conceptual framework – the condition of smallness – is proposed. Design/methodology/approach – A critical examination of the literature about the nature of being a small firm is first conducted. Employing an inductive analysis of responses from a survey of 2,521 small business owners about employment regulation, the nature and effects of smallness is examined. Findings – It was found that owners' choice making combines with perceptions about their resources to produce a condition of smallness. The condition of smallness is conceptualised as the circularity perceptions, attitudes and consequent practices that reflect lack of knowledge, time and capability. It is argued that this condition of smallness inhibits growth to create a wicked problem that explains why most small firms don't grow. Research limitations/implications – This work is largely conceptual, albeit the argume...
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Studies investigating the challenges and barriers faced by ethnic minority entrepreneurs have often concentrated on areas where there is a large supportive ethnic minority community. Less work has been conducted on the experience of those... more
Studies investigating the challenges and barriers faced by ethnic minority entrepreneurs have often concentrated on areas where there is a large supportive ethnic minority community. Less work has been conducted on the experience of those entrepreneurs operating in cities where such ethnic resources may be less widely available. Considered from the perspective of mixed embeddedness framework, this study uses face-to-face interviews with 25 ethnic minority entrepreneurs to gain a greater understanding of the constraints experienced by the starting and running businesses in one such location, the Scottish city of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom. Although issues found by previous studies such as access to funding remain an issue, the entrepreneurs indicated problems with access to labour as United Kingdom Border Agency’s immigration rules and tightening of the Post Study Work visa have had a profound effect on these entrepreneurs. The results imply that the weakening of the ethnic resou...
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some key factors that influences ethnic entrepreneur’s decision in starting-up a new business in Aberdeen, Scotland. Design/methodology/approach The authors set out to investigate the... more
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some key factors that influences ethnic entrepreneur’s decision in starting-up a new business in Aberdeen, Scotland. Design/methodology/approach The authors set out to investigate the motives, drivers and attitudes of ethnic minorities in seeking entrepreneurial opportunities. The authors conduct in-depth face-to-face interviews with 25 ethnic entrepreneurs from a variety of nationalities and cultures originating mainly from the Indian subcontinent region. This includes entrepreneurs from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and some others. The motivations varies according to their culture, traditions, religion and other environmental factors influencing on their decision to start-up. Findings The results reveal some interesting influential factors that lead to the successful start-up decision. These include a positive mindset, self-efficacy, strong determination, knowing of the market and local business culture and good financial m...
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and explore why “Small-Businesses” resist employing outside the immediate family and investigate the employee as an outsider and entrepreneurial resource. Design/methodology/approach – The... more
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and explore why “Small-Businesses” resist employing outside the immediate family and investigate the employee as an outsider and entrepreneurial resource. Design/methodology/approach – The authors review the literature on barriers to small-business growth concentrating on key empirical and theoretical studies. The authors use empirical data from the Federation of Small Business in which informants commented on growth and employing outside the family. Findings – The findings suggest that small business owners adopt a polemical stance, arguing that a barrage of employment regulations deters them from employing outsiders because doing so brings trouble in terms of costs such as insurance, taxes, paperwork, leave (maternity and paternity) entitlement, etc. They argue that employing from inside the family or ones peer group is much cheaper, convenient and less hassle. This ignores the entrepreneurial employee as a potential ingredient of ...
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This paper examines funding issues for UK Technology-based Small Firms (TBSFs). TBSFs are the cry of today and UK government like other countries is trying to increase the mass of TBSFs by various means. However, it is reported that TBSFs... more
This paper examines funding issues for UK Technology-based Small Firms (TBSFs). TBSFs are the cry of today and UK government like other countries is trying to increase the mass of TBSFs by various means. However, it is reported that TBSFs face many impediments to their successful development. Finance is believed as the main barrier at the early stages of TBSFs development. This paper is attempting to follow up and report if the funding situation for UK TBSFs has improved. The findings reported in this paper suggest that nearly 80% sample firms were finance constrained at the early stages of business development.
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This paper examines funding issues for UK Technology-based Small Firms (TBSFs). TBSFs are the cry of today and UK government like other countries is trying to increase the mass of TBSFs by various means. However, it is reported that TBSFs... more
This paper examines funding issues for UK Technology-based Small Firms (TBSFs). TBSFs are the cry of today and UK government like other countries is trying to increase the mass of TBSFs by various means. However, it is reported that TBSFs face many impediments to their successful development. Finance is believed as the main barrier at the early stages of TBSFs development. This paper is attempting to follow up and report if the funding situation for UK TBSFs has improved. The findings reported in this paper suggest that nearly 80% sample firms were finance constrained at the early stages of business development.
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ABSTRACT This paper explores funding issues at the early development stages of Technology-Based Small Firms (TBSFs) spun-out from universities, non-university research organisations and parent companies. This paper presents empirical... more
ABSTRACT This paper explores funding issues at the early development stages of Technology-Based Small Firms (TBSFs) spun-out from universities, non-university research organisations and parent companies. This paper presents empirical evidence for the UK, derived from an extensive online questionnaire survey. The sample consists of 53 spin-offs representing a subsample of 133 TBSFs. The sample is divided into three subcategories, university, non-university and parent company spin-offs. The results suggest that high technology small firms which have spun-off from other organisations may have particular needs for finance and that these may change as they develop through the early stages of development. The results further suggest that there are funding heterogeneities among university, non-university and parent company spin-offs. This paper presents evidence on these issues and suggests differences in the experience of various types of spin-off TBSFs both in terms of economic performance and financing.
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This study explores the funding issues at the early stages of development of computer software and biotechnology small firms in the UK. This study reviewed previous relevant literature in this area and presents empirical evidence derived... more
This study explores the funding issues at the early stages of development of computer software and biotechnology small firms in the UK. This study reviewed previous relevant literature in this area and presents empirical evidence derived from an extensive online questionnaire survey. The sample contains a total of 83 small firms, which includes 41 biotechnology and 42 software firms. With regards to funding issues, we found that software firms reports more funding problems than the biotechnology firms. Software firms are fastest growing firms and goes through the early stages of development quicker than the biotechnology firms. With regards to the sources of funding the evidence shows that biotechnology small firms mainly use venture capital finance whilst the main source of funding for the software firms are personal savings and house mortgage/re-mortgage. On the one hand, software firms seem to follow the pecking order hypothesis whilst financing their business growth and development. On the other hand, the pecking order hypothesis may not be fully followed by the biotechnology small firms. However, both software and biotechnology small firms report difficulties in securing equity finance. Software firms are financially constrained not only due to the supply side financial constraints but also by the demand side financial constraints.