Size and Growth of Asian-Owned Incorporated Companies in BritainKhan, Golam Mostafa
doi: 10.1177/026624268800700101pmid: N/A
MD. GOLAM MOSTAFA KHAN is currently with the College of Business and Management, University of Bahrain, where his teaching interest concentrates primarily on entrepreneurship, small business and policy and strategy areas. The research reported here is based on the author's doctoral research at the University of Bradford, England, and examines the size of growth of Asian-owned incorporated businesses in Britain over the period 1973-1982. The effect of differences in the ethnic origin of Asian owners, the size of their firms, and the industrial sectors in which they are involved, on their business growth has been assessed. It also provides a comparative analysis of size and growth between Asian-owned and other companies in the United Kingdom. On the whole the average size of Asian incorporated firms is smaller than the UK-owned companies but the average size of Asian-owned manufacturing firms is significantly smaller than comparable UK firms. This partially reflects the fact they are newer. The Asian-owned non-manufacturing sector, however, exhibits a comparable average size to UK-owned non-manufacturing businesses.
Small Business Loan Decisions: A Survey of Criteria in Japan and NigeriaOwualah, S. I.
doi: 10.1177/026624268800700102pmid: N/A
SUNDAY I. OWUALAH has recently been a doctoral student in the Faculty of Business Administration, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan, but has now returned to Nigeria as a lecturer in the Department of Finance at the University of Lagos. This paper reports the results of a survey of small business loan decision criteria in two countries as very different stages of development. Japan and Nigeria present striking contrasts, not only terms of their levels of economic development but also in terms of socio-economic infrastructures enjoyed by their small businesses. On both counts Japan towers over Nigeria. Hence the perceptions of the banking institutions to small business lending in the former can be used to assess the perceptions of those in the latter. A major finding of this study is that although there is some degree of congruence on what banking institutions in both countries consider to be critical in their small business loan decisions, the observed divergences in their perceptions may be the consequence of institutional or promotional support inequalities between them.
Providing Effective Help for Infant Business in Areas of High UnemploymentGill, John
doi: 10.1177/026624268800700103pmid: N/A
DR. JOHN GILL is Reader in Management Studies at the Sheffield Bsuiness School, England. How most effectively to assist small business people in the early stages of business development is a matter which has concerned policy makers, agencies concerned with business support, and academics researching small business. Effective help was a main focus of a research study of infant business (Gill, 1985) and later became part of another research project into a community endeavour to create employment through small business initiatives in a deprived inner city area. This paper explores the background to both projects, makes some assessment of the needs of the business people concerned, how these needs were met in each case, and finally in the light of these considerations and using these contrasting attempts to create employment, to draw conclusions about how small business people in the earliest stages of business creation may be most effectively helped to survive and grow. The conclusion reached in both cases was that the most effective help structure was one where there was a combination of skilful process consultancycombined with access to a diverse network of 'experts' who were 'on tap but not on top'.
Self-Employment in the NetherlandsNijsen, Andre
doi: 10.1177/026624268800700104pmid: N/A
ANDRE NIJSEN is with the Economic Research Institute for Small-and Medium-sized Business, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands. Although they probably constitute major employment groups in most countries, the position of the self-employed is usually ignored in favour of study of small business and other entrepreneurial ventures. This paper tries to redress some of the balance by examining the role of the self-employed in the economy of The Netherlands, where they account for 15 per cent of civilian employment. It also examines the self-employed in the fiscal and social security systems, and the effects of government measures on the income of the self-employed. It analyses the income/retum ratio for self-employed people, concluding that the average profit income of the self-employed is insufficient in general to justify the various functions of this income and illustrates many of the problems faced by the unincorporated business, especially as most government activity is directed towards the incorporated company.