This book adopts a novel analytical approach to understanding how Russia's stalled democratisation is related to the incomplete liberalisation of the economy. Based on extensive original comparative study of Russia's regions, the book explores the precise channels of interaction that create the mutuality of property rights, entrepreneurship, rule of law, norms of citizenship and liberal democracy. It demonstrates that the extent of democratisation varies across regions, and that this variation is connected to the extent of liberalisation of the economy. Moreover, it argues that the key factor in producing this linkage is the relative prominence of small business owners and their supporters in articulating their interests vis-a-vis regional and local administrations, especially through the institutionalisation of networks and business associations. The book develops its key theses by means of detailed analysis of the experiences of four case study regions. Overall, the book provides a major contribution to understanding the path of democratisation in Russia.

In this fascinating study, Neri Karra examines entrepreneurial family businesses in emerging markets by integrating three schools of thought: agency theory, an institutional framework, and the altruism perspective. Providing an in-depth treatment of the area as well as a real-life case study, it provides a theoretical perspective as well as qualitative insights. It also offers practical observations and future research implications. This book will be valuable reading to students and researchers of entrepreneurship, family businesses, and altruism in management.

Focusing on international entrepreneurship, this research book explores the accelerated internationalization of young firms. Known variously as international new ventures (INVs) or "born globals," such firms have come to be viewed as legitimate actors on the global stage alongside large multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, the current approach taken by scholars - studying large MNEs and born globals separately - is questionable. This book explores the crucial MNE/INV interface - a fascinating, yet under-researched relationship in international entrepreneurship. Drawing upon a decade of case-based research, the author argues that the MNE influence on born globals must be considered more carefully and suggests how new ventures can leverage MNE networks in the pursuit of their rapid internationalization. Furthermore, it demonstrates that, as firms enhance their levels of innovation, new pathways emerge via multinational corporation networks, a phenomenon vividly demonstrated in the emerging economy context of the Bangalore software industry. This innovative research text will be of interest to academics, researchers, and advanced students with an interest in international entrepreneurship and business, strategy, innovation, and new ventures.

Although the new small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is emerging as one of the driving forces in transition economies, little is known about the conditions behind its successful development or about policies that could facilitate its expansion. This unique book explores the complex relationship between the growth of the SME sector and the current policies and institutional, historical and cultural forces that shape its fate.

Innovation as an activity is not new - what has changed is the pace at which firms have to innovate. This book analyzes the innovation success at the company, rather than the project level and contributes to the development of a new theory on innovation management in small- and medium-sized enterprises. The author uses studies from 63 companies from 35 different industry and service sectors in order to obtain non-sector specific findings. He concludes that innovative success is based on a combination of technological, marketing and organizational competencies and that successfully innovating companies can be said to have a strong internal locus of control.

Well-known celebrity party planner, Marley Majcher, in her signature witty, no-nonsense style shows you how to make a real profit without spinning your wheels. "But Are You Making Any Money?" answers the questions that you're afraid to ask in a straightforward, easy to understand way. In "But Are You Making Any Money?" you will learn how to fatten up your bottom line in a unique, super simple, step-by-step process that shows you where all of your money is really going. By learning from the trials and tribulations of Majcher's own entrepreneurial journey, you will magically see yourself in her examples yet learn the skills necessary to turn a real profit, all while laughing out loud. Who knew business could be so much fun?

Interest in generally expanding the understanding of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially understanding their strategies and operations to enter international markets, is growing rapidly among researchers and academics globally. Government officials, regional and economic specialists, and international trade advisers are directly involved in assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in developing their international marketing expertise. Motivating SMEs to Cooperate and Internationalize consists of research studies, cases, and experiences obtained by researchers and academics from managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Europe as they worked closely with managers on issues and problems leading to internationalization of enterprises. This book will map not only the attempts of small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Europe to enter foreign markets, but also to understand how researchers and academics can help small and medium-sized Northern European enterprisers achieve their objectives. This compilation of approaches, perspectives, and experiences will serve as a resource tool for researchers and academics active in international management training programs worldwide and help illustrate how to close the gap between publishing results of their findings and efforts to disseminate their findings among managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in their domains. This book is the first attempt to integrate results of research studies and practices as an illustration of how knowledge of small and medium-sized enterprises has evolved since the 1980s with the contributions of individual researchers and academics in Northern Europe. It will be of relevance to academics and researchers interested in working closely with small and medium-sized enterprises to meet their goals in entering international markets.

Whether you're a small or mid-size organization, managing operations can be challenging. This book provides greater insight into the methods, techniques, and tools that can be used against a well-proven organizational improvement framework. This book offers readers an opportunity to understand how to manage their businesses via the Baldrige framework, defines methods that they can use to improve operations, and ensures that those methods are appropriate and aligned to meet their needs. The tools in this book are proven and practical, but innovative methods developed by internal teams are even better.

HR behavior competencies are critical for success today. Developing Proficiency in HR: 7 Self-Directed Learning Activities for HR Professionals provides a roadmap for HR professionals to help themselves and their HR colleagues develop the behaviors necessary to be successful. It is a pragmatic and easy-to-follow book that is filled with practical exercises and worksheets that will be useful to HR professionals-and to HR leaders. The book is designed to transform passive learners into active learners by helping HR professionals develop their HR behavioral competencies at their own pace and based on their own needs. Included is guidance on how to approach personal development in day-to-day activities rather than in a formal course setting. Self-directed activities such as role play, observation, and networking with a purpose-all of which are covered in the book-can be powerful drivers of learning and development.

Exploring the diversity of small firms, this contributed volume focuses on the crucial topic of work and the ways in which it is regulated, and offers reflections on the future of labour more generally. Traditionally managed through informal and adaptive processes, small firms allow us to understand the challenges and opportunities facing larger companies within an increasingly fragmented global production system. Analysing the case of Italy, a country characterised by a high number and wide variety of small firms, the authors draw on the results of a survey involving over 2,300 firms and face-to-face interviews with owner-managers working in 60 small and micro firms across several different sectors. Providing detailed analysis which will be useful for scholars of human resource management and small business, as well as managers, practitioners and policy-makers, the book enables a better understanding of the world of work in a globalised economy.

Have you "built a better mousetrap" but are finding the world just isn't beating a path to your door?
Do you have a product or service that people genuinely would want to buy from you... if only they knew it existed?
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Instead, you need to craft a powerful marketing strategy and develop a tactical marketing plan that will reach the right people, in the right place, with the right message... at the right time.
"Make My Marketing Work" is a blueprint, a map, a GPS device for your business that will help you navigate the often treacherous road to success.
With it, you'll learn the fundamentals of strategic marketing as you develop a strategy for your own business. Then you'll discover how to tactically apply your strategy in the real world so you can win more customers and make more money.
If you're ready to Make YOUR Marketing Work, let's get started...

Drawing on a series of case studies from Finland, this book examines the role of networking in the internationalisation process of family firms. Providing a comprehensive overview of recent literature alongside the empirical analysis of 24 family firms, the authors use theoretical concepts from family business research to create a model specifically for the internationalisation and networking of family firms. An insightful read for those interested in international and small business, this book offers practical implications for the successful internationalisation of family firms and sets the agenda for future research in the field of family business.

This book, first published in 1998, is an attempt to better understand the human resource programs utilized by small firms and the basis for their choice. Much of the study is designed to provide a working framework from which to begin to understand the myriad of human resource decisions made in these companies on a daily basis. In this way the research seeks to make some contribution to the development of a theoretical grounding for human resources in the small business area. This title will be of interest to students of business studies and human resource management.

Your own in-house legal advisor at a fraction of the cost Written in plain-English for business people without any legal training, Law For Small Business For Dummies covers everything you need to be aware of regarding the law when you're starting and running your own business. Cutting through the jargon that can make even the pros scratch their heads, this book quickly gets you up-to-speed on the key areas of business law, including contracts, websites, intellectual property, data protection and partnership agreements. Plus, you'll find out how small business law applies to advertising and marketing, confidentiality agreements, the sale and supply of goods (including e-commerce), negligence and product liability. There were 526,000 new businesses registered in the UK in 2013 and, at some point, all of them will be faced with legal risks that could make the difference between success and failure. One claim could wipe out a fledgling business' profits, and hit even big businesses harder than they could ever imagine. If you're the owner of a new business and need to get a handle on the ins and outs of small business law and don't have the budget to employ an in-house legal advisor this trusted, approachable guide is your answer. * Covers the laws surrounding the most common risks small businesses face * Addresses how to deal with legal issues before a potentially costly dispute arises * Provides access to handy sample contract templates on Dummies.com * Serves as your own in-house legal advisor at a fraction of the cost If you're an existing business owner or an aspiring entrepreneur thinking about starting your own business, Law For Small Business For Dummies gives you answers to questions you didn't even know to ask!

The challenges and opportunities that are presented to both small and medium-sized enterprises have changed dramatically in recent decades as the world's economy becomes more globalised. The policies of open borders, a decrease in protectionism and the demise of the nation-state, have enabled small and large firms to engage in international activity from the outset. Understanding the Born Global Firm, combines the many different theoretical perspectives on born globals that have been previously researched, providing a unified framework to connect the antecedents, types and outcomes of entrepreneurial activities pursued by such new ventures. A central case study of an international fashion firm which operates in over nine countries, runs through the text, highlighting the formation and success of born globals and the importance of cultural competence. This book will be invaluable to post-graduate students in the field of international business; entrepreneurship; ethnic entrepreneurs; global entrepreneurship, and international networks.

Examines regulatory and other strategies for improving chemical risk management in small enterprises in the European Union. This book considers what supports are necessary to secure the implementation of these strategies and is particularly concerned with the role of chemical product supply as envisaged by REACH.

This book documents the distinctive experiences and challenges of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia. By assessing succession and innovation in SMEs as the two sides of a coin, this book explains how innovations are essential to SMEs in succession. With detailed case examples, the book provides generalized solutions for SMEs to answer the question of how to make succession and innovation simultaneously successful. The authors discuss the potential solutions to solve the challenges of SMEs on succession and innovation by considering the utilization of the capital market, the electronic commerce strategy, the international strategy, and angel investment to pursue portfolio entrepreneurship, and compare these Asia solutions to the experiences from Europe. The book is recommended for family business and SME owners, professionals serving these firms, and the consulting firms that work on continuity issues of SMEs in Asia.

Lay down the foundations of a successful business venture through a thoroughly researched and competitive business plan.

Based on tried and tested business methodology used at the leading business school, Cranfield School of Management, this 10th edition of The Business Plan Workbook guides you through all the necessary steps to constructing a winning business plan. This is a practical run-through of 24 key areas of development of strategic planning. It will allow you to think of these areas in isolation through the use of assignments that ensure you have stress-tested your business proposition. This guide covers how to

• Come up with a winning business idea
• Complete market and competitive research
• Set up a winning marketing strategy
• Forecast watertight financials and projections
• Define realistic operations and staffing
• Deliver an unforgettable pitch to potential backers and investors

Micro-econometric analyses cover a wide range of new innovation 'input' and 'output' indicators. Among the robust findings about determinants of innovation is evidence on the importance of technological opportunity, of appropriability of innovation benefits, and of Schmooklerian demand-pull effects. As opposed to the evidence from standard R&D data, small firms appear more innovative and the impact of market power on innovation is, in the best case, modest.

There is more to setting up a successful business than just a good idea. Creating a Business examines concisely all the relevant aspects: the excitement and satisfaction that business entails, the challenges that face the entrepreneur, the risks that lie in wait. The textbook is organized around a practical example: a company setting out to launch a new line of clothing. Aspects of setting up a business, including management, marketing, legislation, and financial management are examined. Including pedagogical features, such as end-of-chapter questions and illustrations, Creating a Business will interest students of small business and entrepreneurship.

Since the 1980s, governments have often sought to encourage entrepreneurship on the assumption that it creates small businesses which are the primary drivers of job creation. Largely because of this assumption, entrepreneurship has become a valid subject for academic research attracting extensive funding. Yet despite this explosion of scholarship, there is no accepted model of how entrepreneurship operates or even a commonly accepted definition of what it is. Simon Bridge posits that this is because entrepreneurship has been studied as if it were a deterministic science, based on the false assumption that it exists as a specific discrete identifiable phenomenon operating in accordance with consistent, predictable 'rules'. This challenging book contends that this misdirected search has produced more questions than answers. Accepting that entrepreneurship as we have conceived it does not exist could lead to new and valuable insights into what the different forms of entrepreneurship are and how they might be influenced. Scholars, advanced students and policy makers will find this a thought-provoking insight into the myths and misconceptions of 'entrepreneurship'.

This book brings together thirty years of original empirical research on key aspects of the formation and development of small firms from selected articles authored or co-authored by Peter Johnson. Complete with a comprehensive introduction from the author placing the work in relation to the contemporary debates on the subject and providing a cohesive overview, these essays provide an excellent historical context for current research in this area. Many of the studies in this book emphasise the interrelatedness of economic activity and decisions, an emphasis that serves as an important reminder of the complex business environments in which small firms operate. The book is divided into five sections. The first part focuses on the process of business formation. In part two, the role of new firms in regional development is considered. The third section deals with employment issues, whilst part four looks at various aspects of growth and development. Finally, the book concludes with two articles on policy.

A new analytical approach to small firms' cases, which * Uses rich primary source data on modern small businesses * Combines business strategy and industrial organization * Presents detailed Profiles on diverse small businesses * Shows how successful small businesses achieve competitive advantage * Considers both extended rivalry and financial structure * Shows how to `ground' small business theory in reality Profiles in Small Businesses has a companion volume Small Business Enterprise by Gavin Reid (also published by Routledge, Hb: 0-415-05681-0: GBP45.00) which contains a full analysis (ranging from econometrics to the ethics of competition) of the larger sample of small businesses from which the Profiles are drawn.

Master the evergreen traffic strategies to fill your website and funnels with your dream customers in this timeless book from the $100M entrepreneur and co-founder of the software company ClickFunnels. The biggest problem that most entrepreneurs have isn't creating an amazing product or service; it's getting their future customers to discover that they even exist. Every year, tens of thousands of businesses start and fail because the entrepreneurs don't understand this one essential skill: the art and science of getting tra­ffic (or people) to find you. And that is a tragedy. Traffic Secrets was written to help you get your message out to the world about your products and services. I strongly believe that entrepreneurs are the only people on earth who can actually change the world. It won't happen in government, and I don't think it will happen in schools. It'll happen because of entrepreneurs like you, who are crazy enough to build products and services that will actually change the world. It'll happen because we are crazy enough to risk everything to try and make that dream become a reality. To all the entrepreneurs who fail in their first year of business, what a tragedy it is when the one thing they risked everything for never fully gets to see the light of day. Waiting for people to come to you is not a strategy. Understanding exactly WHO your dream customer is, discovering where they're congregating, and throwing out the hooks that will grab their attention to pull them into your funnels (where you can tell them a story and make them an offer) is the strategy. That's the big secret. Traffic is just people. This book will help you find YOUR people, so you can focus on changing their world with the products and services that you sell.