Products and services created by small and medium sized organizations account for the vast majority of economic activity across the globe. These organizations will prove vitally important to the emerging and developing economies that will shape future decades. Small Business Management in Cross-Cultural Environments is one of very few books to take the cross-cultural context as an opportunity to analyse and discuss the key concepts of small firm management in different parts of the world. This textbook covers important topics, such as: the global economic development process entrepreneurship the role of government SME growth and collaborations in a global context. By explaining how culture shapes and conditions the reality of small businesses and how organizational theories and models fail as management tools, this book fills a significant gap. Supplemented by a compendium of compelling case studies, drawn from across the world, and based upon 25 years of international research by the author, Small Business Management in Cross-Cultural Environments is a useful guide for students and practitioners of SME and International Management

This book provides rich and provocative comparative studies of South and Southeast Asian domestic workers who migrate to other parts of Asia. These studies range from Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, to Yemen, Israel, Jordan, and the UAE. Conceptually and methodologically, this book challenges us to move beyond established regional divides and proposes new ways of mapping inter-Asian connections. The authors view migrant workers within a wider spatial context of intersecting groups and trajectories through time. Keenly attentive to the importance of migrants of diverse nationalities who have labored in multiple regions, this book examines intimate connections and distant divides in the social lives and politics of migrant workers across time and space. Collectively, the authors propose new themes, new comparative frameworks, and new methodologies for considering vastly different degrees of social support structures and political activism, and the varied meanings of citizenship and state responsibility in sending and receiving countries. They highlight the importance of formal institutions that shape and promote migratory labor, advocacy for workers, or curtail workers rights, as well as the social identities and cultural practices and beliefs that may be linked to new inter-ethnic social and political affiliations that traverse and also transform inter-Asian spaces and pathways to mobility. This book was published as a special issue of Critical Asian Studies.

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and the role of e-commerce in these organizations continue to change, grow and evolve. Researchers and governments have given rise to the number of strategies, to address the challenges these enterprises face daily in competition with large, global businesses.E-Commerce in Regional Small to Medium Enterprises showcases detailed studies of e-commerce in multiple regional areas, focusing on the role of business size, business sector, market focus, gender of CEO, and education level of the CEO on driving forces for e-commerce adoption. E-Commerce in Regional Small to Medium Enterprises produces new research results to show that even regional SMEs in developed countries have low e-commerce adoption rates, and that strategic alliances by SMEs play a key role in overcoming the low adoption rate. These issues are of ongoing concern to government departments, specifically in Sweden and Australia, and to SME researchers everywhere.

This monograph considers issues that are central to our understanding of self-employment in the UK. The author begins with a review on the evidence of the role of self employment and entrepreneurship in employment creation. The discussion then moves on to consider self-employment as a route for advancement of many groups in society that face disadvantage in the labour market. The author concludes by considering the role of government in this relationship.

This thought provoking book builds on existing research traditions that make small business, entrepreneurship and family business a resource rich arena for study. It steps back to ask fundamental questions that every researcher should consider prior to engaging in data collection. It focuses on topics that have traditionally frustrated researchers including experimental methods in small business research, scale development, control variables and language issues in cross cultural research.The distinguished authors also address subjects such as theory development and testing in entrepreneurship, as well as determining if progress in research has been made and how that can be measured. Critically, many of the chapters highlight ways in which research can be both practical yet theoretically important. Bringing together quantitative and qualitative techniques and taking an investigative approach almost totally ignored in entrepreneurship research, this unique volume will be of special interest to anyone studying small and family businesses or entrepreneurship and business. Contributors: K. Berglund, B. Bird, M. Brannback, C.G. Brush, A. Carsrud, D. Deeds, L.F. Edelman, R.T. Harrison, B. Johannisson, T. Kenworthy, S. Lang, S. Latham, C.M. Leitch, T.S. Manolova, E. McMullen, M. Renko, L. Schjoedt, K.G. Shaver, S. Terjesen, C. Wigren

For buyers of a business or anyone involved in any phase of the due diligence process, Gordon Bing provides a unique, comprehensive, one-volume source of information and guidance. His book will help investors research, evaluate, and understand an existing or proposed business not only from a financial standpoint, but also from equally important nonfinancial standpoints. It provides a full explanation of the due diligence process, including systematic methods to determine the information you need, why you need it, and how to get it. Keyed to each topic, chapter by chapter, is a full list of specific questions that should be asked during due diligence proceedings to be studied beforehand and carried with you as a valuable on-the-spot reference. A unique, practical resource for professionals and a hands-on text for students in business schools and upper division undergraduate courses in mergers and acquisitions.

Chapters 1 and 2 discuss how to plan, organize, and conduct due diligence. In Chapter 3, Bing shows how to construct a list of the information and documents you will need. Chapter 4, by M&A attorneys James W. Ryan and Robert C. Beasley, deals with the legal aspects, responsibilities, and perils of performing or failing to perform due diligence. From there the book focuses on specific areas of due diligence inquiry--including management, marketing, human resource and other important functions--and helps you develop your own tailor-made investigation best suited to the company you are studying. The book concludes with a unique checklist of all the questions explained earlier--a manual you can study beforehand and then carry with you into meetings on site.

This book explores the role of the rating system in creditworthiness assessment, looking into its current status, strengths and weaknesses and possible evolution in the light of Basel 3 and the Global Economic Crisis.

This book provides rich and provocative comparative studies of South and Southeast Asian domestic workers who migrate to other parts of Asia. These studies range from Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, to Yemen, Israel, Jordan, and the UAE. Conceptually and methodologically, this book challenges us to move beyond established regional divides and proposes new ways of mapping inter-Asian connections. The authors view migrant workers within a wider spatial context of intersecting groups and trajectories through time. Keenly attentive to the importance of migrants of diverse nationalities who have labored in multiple regions, this book examines intimate connections and distant divides in the social lives and politics of migrant workers across time and space.

Collectively, the authors propose new themes, new comparative frameworks, and new methodologies for considering vastly different degrees of social support structures and political activism, and the varied meanings of citizenship and state responsibility in sending and receiving countries. They highlight the importance of formal institutions that shape and promote migratory labor, advocacy for workers, or curtail workers rights, as well as the social identities and cultural practices and beliefs that may be linked to new inter-ethnic social and political affiliations that traverse and also transform inter-Asian spaces and pathways to mobility.

This book was published as a special issue of Critical Asian Studies.

"The system you need to make bold changes in your career" Daniel H. Pink We're experiencing a work revolution, with an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine how, when, and where we do what we do. Now is the perfect time to take more control over your work/life and maybe even finally take the leap into going it alone, whether by starting your own business or turning your passion into a career. Ollie Henderson shares the lessons he's learned by interviewing entrepreneurs, business leaders, and world-renowned experts on his chart-topping podcast Future Work/Life. Forget work/life balance, the secret to navigating a career transition today is to create a flywheel that aligns all parts of your work and life and harness small wins to help build the momentum you need to succeed. Take control of your long-term future using a proven step-by-step process Develop the confidence to transform your career by focusing on becoming an expert in your niche Adopt a creative and experimental approach to your work/life that delivers consistent, measurable results Cultivate a network of global collaborators to support your transition and generate new opportunities Experienced founder and CEO Ollie Henderson pivoted his career while juggling the pleasures and pressures of raising a young family. He believes work/life balance is a myth. Rather than seeing career and personal life as two opposing forces, Ollie argues that the secret is to design an integrated approach that allows them to work in harmony.

Since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999, increasing attention has been paid to the problems of economic development and reconstruction in South-East Europe. In a context of limited resources, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a key role to play in creating jobs and building a dynamic entrepreneurial economy. Small Enterprise Development In South-East Europe presents important findings from recent empirical research on key factors, which hinder sustainable SME growth in South-East Europe. Finance is identified as a critical barrier to growth, and the role of commercial banks, micro-finance institutions and credit cooperatives in assisting growth is addressed. Yet finance alone is not enough. A rebuilding of social capital, a reduction of the unofficial or grey economy, and the promotion of inter-firm networks and clusters are also of vital importance in promoting sustainable growth. The book concludes with critical analyses of SME policies in Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia, countries which hitherto have received little attention in the literature. Small Enterprise Development in South-East Europe will be of great interest to policy makers, business consultants, and academics and post-graduate students working on economic development and reconstruction in South-East Europe.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are recognized as the backbone of today's world economy. However, SMEs are well known for having limitations and acceptance barriers in adopting new technology even though the internet and communications channel's revolution has changed the way people conduct business today. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed the operations of SMEs and increased the burden on social media application globally. It is essential that SMEs utilize social media to strengthen their performance. Strengthening SME Performance Through Social Media Adoption and Usage explores experiences in different technological, managerial, organizational, and entrepreneurial environmental issues. It focuses on different conceptions of factors and consequences influencing social media usage and SME performance. Covering topics such as corporate social responsibility, marketing frameworks, and social media adoption, this premier reference source is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers, human resource managers, marketers, consultants, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book is a new look at models of cooperation for trades of the future. Using seven in-depth case studies, this book looks at how globalization affects the competitiveness of small businesses. It explores the opportunities that are open to them today, and the successful strategies and models that promote development.

This volume focuses on the latest findings concerning financial environment research and the effects on business. Major topics addressed range from finance-driven globalization, contagion risk transmission, financial sustainability, and bank efficiency, to oil price shocks and spot prices research. Further topics include family business, business valuation, public sector development and business organization in the globalized environment. This book features selected peer-reviewed articles from the 16th EBES conference in Istanbul, where over 270 papers were presented by 478 researchers from 56 countries.

The Organizational Form of Family Business attempts to develop an evolutionary family business theory, positioning family businesses as a distinct organizational form (based on conjectures from organizational ecology). An open and uninhibited playing field - achieved through utilizing a grounded theory methodology - heightens chances for observing precisely how family businesses behave. An introductory chapter is followed by a literature review, beginning with a review of family business research. This is followed by a discussion of family business definitional issues, and accompanied by some data to show the economic importance of family business. There follows a review of the research literature on grounded theory, its developments, and its epistemological and ontological assumptions in the light of contemporary philosophy of science. A literature review and historical outline of organizational ecology including the theoretical achievements is provided. Also, the comparison with the other main organizational theories, justifying the theory selection, is offered.

Some 543,000 small businesses are started from scratch each month. The Website Investor explains how to buy existing website businesses and bypass the start-from-scratch process. The little known but massive marketplace for websites is unveiled along with a detailed guide to finding, evaluating, and acquiring profitable online businesses.

In a world where an increasing number of people work remotely, Invisible Work is a new skillset and framework to ensure personal and business success - from the author of The Creative Economy. Just as power has moved from boardrooms into the domain of dynamic individuals, Invisible Work maps the evolution of this new way of being and succeeding. It is a mindset of deeply focused, value-added thinking and sharing. It is a process of creativity that combines emotional intelligence and collaboration. It is the key to the success of a growing army of self-employed workers. This is an emerging field of work in which new business domains and creative endeavours are based on personal interests and digital connections. Howkins lays out a visionary framework for working practice and success. He focuses on the ways in which we think most innovatively, how we best share those private ideas, and how we make unseen connections and remain authentic while staking out our domain in a virtual world.

Entrepreneurs who start out with no network, no money, no market and scarce resources find a big contrast between what they read in books and the success stories from the Valley and their reality, specially first-timers. Most entrepreneurial books focus on the Business Canvas Model, simplifying the process of building a start-up. Many entrepreneurs who have no previous business experience embrace quick and lean methods without the foundations needed to build solid value proposals. This book stands out because it deals with entrepreneurship in environments far removed from large cities with fewer infrastructures, connections and resources but which also need companies that provide services to citizens and society. This book focuses on the basics, treating each part of the business canvas as a discipline itself that must be mastered. The book illustrates key lessons learned and offers guidance on essential topics for new venture success in mainstream markets. It expands critical lessons learned and points of guidance across several key topics for new venture creation. Noteworthy is the role of context, financial understanding, building business development skills and start-up communications. Entrepreneurship for Rural Start-ups will be of interest to students, academics and researchers in the field of entrepreneurship, and will be of use to individuals looking to start a local business to take advantage of the rural environment and the possibilities it offers.

'Kind, realistic and genuinely helpful' Observer 'Bravo on the publication of this witty, wise guide to solo working' Alice Lascelles 'Filled to the brim with advice . . . Such a brilliant book' Emma Gannon Whether by choice or circumstance, as a freelancer or a company employee working from home, more of us are becoming solo workers than ever before. But once you've made the leap, how to do you actually work well in isolation? And how can you thrive while working alone? Picking up where the freelancer bibles stop, Solo addresses what we gain but also miss when we shift from the structure of an office environment to the solitary confines of our homes or studios. Blending the latest research in psychology, economics and social science with guided self-examination and more than ten years of freelance experience, Rebecca Seal shows you how to stay resilient, productive and focused in a company of one. Practical and inspiring, she also explores the idea of meaningful work and helps you define your own success.

The book represents a state of the art review of key research on small firms in tourism in relation to European integration. It is, therefore, an essential resource for those engaged in research relating to tourism SMEs in transitional economies throughout the world. In addition, it is an essential purchase for the increasing number of students studying modules on small businesses as part of their final year undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.
One of the key features of this book is its clear focus on breaking new ground by reporting recent research and theorising on small firms in tourism. In many cases, the analysis provided by contributors will carefully relate small business behaviour to issues of wider concern to tourism academics and policy-makers. It is also distinctive for its overt emphasis on contrasting European experiences.
These characteristics contrast with the existing literature on small firms in tourism and hospitality, particularly in Europe. Previous literature achieved their aims by providing valuable syntheses of existing literature. Now that such 'taking of stock' has been undertaken, there is a demand for more overtly research-based texts that are nevertheless accessible to a wide audience. This book does exactly that.
*Focuses on small firms in European tourism
*Breaks new ground by being a research-based text that remains accessible to a wide audience
*An excellent resource for those researching small business and tourism in transitional economies worldwide

This volume is part of a growing body of work that maps the evolution of high technology small firm research over almost a complete decade since 1993. Begun during a period of relative neglect of high technology small firms (HTSFs) during the early 1990s, the book series has witnessed, and perhaps played some part in creating, a resurgence of interest in this type and scale of enterprise in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe by the turn of the century. Throughout this period, specific interest within the high technology small firm study area has ebbed and flowed, with some rather obviously important issues (e.g. policy and finance) often to the fore, while new and resurrected areas of concern have also contributed to the research agenda. Perhaps the best example of resurrection has been the rebirth of interest in the subject of clustering (or agglomeration) as it applies to HTSFs, notably led by Michael Porter. This interest has extended, and put a new slant upon, work consistently well represented in these volumes on networking. This trend is evidenced by the presence of four papers in the concluding Part IV of this volume on "Clusters and Networks". Earlier themes comprise groups of papers on "Science Parks and University Spin offs" (Part II), and "Markets, Strategy and Globalization" (Part III). Both individually and in aggregate, this series of books on HTSF development and growth issues represents a "one stop shop" for all those seeking to gain a broad understanding of the evolution of HTSF research since 1993 by providing a record of the manner in which this research agenda has evolved over these years.