Recent decades have seen substantial growth in the range of assistance programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurs across the world. Once regarded as peripheral to the economy and public policy, the role of small firms and of entrepreneurship is now recognized as of key importance in the economic growth and development strategies of many nations. The range of interventions and support focused on promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship is substantial and expanding, so Government, SMEs and Entrepreneurship Development asks 'what are some of the main policy instruments being used, and how effective are they?' It considers policies in different countries, examines key interventions and tools used to promote entrepreneurship and SME development and concludes with contributions on how to best evaluate their effectiveness. The contributor chapters by academics and practitioners from businesses, enterprise development agencies and governments, are empirical or evidence-based and use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Drawing on experience from a wide range of both developed and emerging countries and economies, the contributions focus on the broad strategies that different governments and communities have adopted to foster entrepreneurship and SMEs; the policy tools and instruments that can be used to promote small business and entrepreneurship; and on the outcomes of policy instruments and the methods used to evaluate interventions. Their findings will help researchers, policy-makers, economic development officers, civil servants, elected officials, and business associations to better understand the issues in this important field.

Recent decades have seen substantial growth in the range of assistance programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurs across the world. Once regarded as peripheral to the economy and public policy, the role of small firms and of entrepreneurship is now recognized as of key importance in the economic growth and development strategies of many nations. The range of interventions and support focused on promoting SMEs and entrepreneurship is substantial and expanding, so Government, SMEs and Entrepreneurship Development asks 'what are some of the main policy instruments being used, and how effective are they?' It considers policies in different countries, examines key interventions and tools used to promote entrepreneurship and SME development and concludes with contributions on how to best evaluate their effectiveness. The contributor chapters by academics and practitioners from businesses, enterprise development agencies and governments, are empirical or evidence-based and use both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Drawing on experience from a wide range of both developed and emerging countries and economies, the contributions focus on the broad strategies that different governments and communities have adopted to foster entrepreneurship and SMEs; the policy tools and instruments that can be used to promote small business and entrepreneurship; and on the outcomes of policy instruments and the methods used to evaluate interventions. Their findings will help researchers, policy-makers, economic development officers, civil servants, elected officials, and business associations to better understand the issues in this important field.

This book is a look into the world of the small business owner through their eyes - how the five different "tribes" of business perceive the world around them, how they run their businesses, their motivations and goals. It's not another "how to" book or an academic treatise. Everyone's needs and hopes are different; however, by using cutting-edge social scientific research techniques, we break the business community into five groups (or tribes): The Seekers, Whatnows, Drifters, Satisficers and Digitals. Each tribe has its own set of issues. And there are also some things which cut across all the tribes - the consistent elements in small business owners' DNA. Understanding which tribe you belong to could make the difference in growing your business - or help you better advise businesses to achieve their goals. Small Business Exposed will bridge the gap between the frontiers of small business research and the popular business book market. As such, it will become an essential text not only for the small businessperson, but also enter the libraries of advisors, accountants, bankers and anyone else with a vested interest in the business economy.

This book is a look into the world of the small business owner through their eyes - how the five different "tribes" of business perceive the world around them, how they run their businesses, their motivations and goals. It's not another "how to" book or an academic treatise. Everyone's needs and hopes are different; however, by using cutting-edge social scientific research techniques, we break the business community into five groups (or tribes): The Seekers, Whatnows, Drifters, Satisficers and Digitals. Each tribe has its own set of issues. And there are also some things which cut across all the tribes - the consistent elements in small business owners' DNA. Understanding which tribe you belong to could make the difference in growing your business - or help you better advise businesses to achieve their goals. Small Business Exposed will bridge the gap between the frontiers of small business research and the popular business book market. As such, it will become an essential text not only for the small businessperson, but also enter the libraries of advisors, accountants, bankers and anyone else with a vested interest in the business economy.

There are at least 80–100 business associations (such as chambers of commerce or industry-specific bodies) in Malaysia today, representing over 600,000 firms. In February–April 2020, a range of chamber leaders and officers were interviewed to record their experiences of the recent Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, and any future lessons for business associations in post GE-14 Malaysia. Few Malaysian chambers have had experience in dealing with changes of government, creating challenges when PH took office. Most associations were able to build effective working relationships with the new administration. Compared to Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers, PH ministers emphasized greater policy rigour, more evidence-based arguments, lower tolerance for corruption, and enhanced public accountability. Criticisms of PH include an early focus by some ministers on seemingly trivial issues, an initial distrust of some parts of the public service, and an inability to have all parts of the federal government work cohesively. Some future lessons that business associations have adopted are: avoid taking a partisan stance in policy debates; be prepared for some confusion and lack of clarity in the early days of any new government; expect many existing policies to remain; build relationships with both new ministers and with senior public servants; and ensure that policy positions are well researched and evidence-based. Most associations feel comfortable in adapting to the March 2020 installation of the new Perikatan Nasional administration. Changes in government have also prompted associations to review their own internal policy capacity. Interviewees suggest that chambers may need to enhance their advocacy skills, move away from racially based structures, improve their level of public transparency, become more strategic, and improve their own internal governance and management.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 90 per cent of all businesses in the Asia-Pacific region - an area which is rapidly updating its competition laws and regulations to encourage greater enterpreneurship and open, dynamic economies. Yet SMEs are almost invisible when those competition policies and laws are developed and enforced. SMEs are often quite different businesses than large, multinational corporation, but their nature, significance and characteristics are often overlooked. This book seeks to rectify the relative neglect in research and policy discussions on the role of the SME sector in competition policy and law. Drawing on contributions from a wide range of competition regulators, lawyers, academics, consultants and advisers to the SME sector, it addresses such important issues as: - perceptions and views of small businesses about competition law; regulator engagement and education of the SME sector; - the link between competition law and economic growth; - franchising, SMEs and competition law; issues in enforcing competition law against SMEs; - the role of Chinese family firms; - trade, professional and industry associations; - country case studies from Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and the Pacific Islands.