Small Business

National Survey of Small Firms in the Events Sector

by Emma Wood

Published 2003 by Wood, Bowdin, Blackwell, Church, Pearson, Raj, Tum

Research report providing a snapshot of the sector and it's operations Research report providing a snapshot of the sector and it's operations

Supermarketization, consumer choices, and the changing food retail market structure: the case of Citlalicalli, Mexico

by Jayant Anand

Published in  Research in Economic Anthropology, Volume  29, 2009

This chapter evaluates the proliferation of supermarkets in developing countries using data collected between May 2005... more This chapter evaluates the proliferation of supermarkets in developing countries using data collected between May 2005 and June 2006 in Citlalicalli, Mexico. Contrary to the experience of most developed countries, this study revealed that supermarkets and small retailers can coexist by catering to different income groups and product categories. Consumer choices are driven by the desire to reduce transaction costs in terms of time and money. In striking a balance between the two, consumers look for retail outlets that offer them the best value for their money with the least amount of time spent in shopping trips. Location of the store plays a critical role in buying choices that consumers make. In developing countries, generally, only high-income consumers can afford to own cars and choose to buy most products in supermarkets. Consumers without cars buy frequently purchased goods (foods) in small stores and infrequently purchased goods (consumer durables) in supermarkets.

Supermarketization, consumer choices, and the changing food retail market structure: the case of Citlalicalli, Mexico

by Jayant Anand

Published in  Research in Economic Anthropology, Volume  29, 2009

This chapter evaluates the proliferation of supermarkets in developing countries using data collected between May 2005... more This chapter evaluates the proliferation of supermarkets in developing countries using data collected between May 2005 and June 2006 in Citlalicalli, Mexico. Contrary to the experience of most developed countries, this study revealed that supermarkets and small retailers can coexist by catering to different income groups and product categories. Consumer choices are driven by the desire to reduce transaction costs in terms of time and money. In striking a balance between the two, consumers look for retail outlets that offer them the best value for their money with the least amount of time spent in shopping trips. Location of the store plays a critical role in buying choices that consumers make. In developing countries, generally, only high-income consumers can afford to own cars and choose to buy most products in supermarkets. Consumers without cars buy frequently purchased goods (foods) in small stores and infrequently purchased goods (consumer durables) in supermarkets.

What do graduates do in small businesses?

by Daria Luchinskaya

Published in HECSU's Graduate Market Trends, Spring 2012.

This is a preliminary exploratory analysis of what first-degree graduates in the UK do in small businesses, using... more This is a preliminary exploratory analysis of what first-degree graduates in the UK do in small businesses, using Futuretrack 2005 pilot survey data.

Customer-Product Interaction - A Model for New Product Development in Entrepreneurial Firms

by Peter Mellalieu

Coleman, E. B., Frederick, H., & Mellalieu, P. J. (2006). Customer-Product Interaction - A Model for New Product Development in Entrepreneurial Firms. Third AGSE International Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (AIREX-2006). Auckland: Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30030708

Use of New Product Development Methods (NPD) may benefit New Zealand SMEs and entrepreneurial firms in gaining greater... more Use of New Product Development Methods (NPD) may benefit New Zealand SMEs and entrepreneurial firms in gaining greater market share. In this paper we review the literature on New Product Development, NPD theory, and methods for early stage product design and development. Our reading suggests that product design has greater success when the customer is involved in the design effort. It also recommends methods of approach to new markets in the (NPD) life cycle. The literature further elucidates methods for identification of product design criteria based on customer needs identification. In essence, customer-product interaction in the early stages of product development is important to product success in new markets for entrepreneurial firms and SMEs. Of particular interest are early-stage NPD research methods and their influence on the company's marketing strategy.

Propositions on innovation, creativity, enterprise and design: Unitec’s new learning adventure for leaders of enterprise and innovation

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2012, January 13). Propositions on innovation, creativity, enterprise and design: Unitec’s new learning adventure for leaders of enterprise and innovation. Department of Management and Marketing - Unitec. Retrieved January 13, 2012, from http://thedomm.com/2012/01/13/iced/

Peter Mellalieu introduces a new course in February 2012 comprising part of the Unitec Master of Business, MBus.more Peter Mellalieu introduces a new course in February 2012 comprising part of the Unitec Master of Business, MBus.

What is innovation? What do we need innovation? … Is innovation more than inventing an unconventional product, or creating a new service or process?

How do innovations get created? … What are the factors associated with success and failure?

What are the roles of leadership, enterprise, creativity, and design in the process of innovation?

Do you have ‘the right stuff’ to innovate an enterprise? …. Are you motivated to ‘make a difference’?

This short video (3 min) introduces several propositions that begin a journey towards answering these questions.

An extreme case: Two cases for enterprise development workshops in Botswana

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2009). An extreme case: Two cases for enterprise development workshops in Botswana (Case and workshop notes). Auckland, NZ: Unitec New Zealand Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NZCIE). Retrieved from http://web.me.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Examples/Entries/2009/7/31_An_extreme_case%3A_Two_cases_for_enterprise_development_in_Botswana.html

In 2005, I embarked on a programme to design and facilitate a series of ‘capacity building’ workshops in enterprise... more In 2005, I embarked on a programme to design and facilitate a series of ‘capacity building’ workshops in enterprise development with the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana in southern Africa. The workshops were designed to help faculty members experience the practical foundations for the delivery of effective enterprise development education programmes for world-class entrepreneurs and their supporters: their co-partners, investors, advisors, teachers, trainers - and entrepreneurs-to-be. Part of the task involved advising on how to develop the university’s existing Business Clinic into an Entrepreneurship Development Centre serving prospective entrepreneurs and the supporters described earlier. This blueprint for this development is presented in Mellalieu (2006a) and summarised in Mellalieu (2006b).

In order to demonstrate the value and practice of 'real world learning', I lead four teams to provide advice to entrepreneurs founded on four ‘live’ cases of an entrepreneurial start-up or SME growth opportunity. The workshop teams first updated the ‘live’ cases in conversation with ‘their’ entrepreneurial client. Finally, each team presented their analysis and advice back to the case client in the final plenary session of the workshop. Two of the cases, Heroic Fashion Designers and Brackendene Lodge are presented here.

Related:
Mellalieu, P. J. (2006a). Creating Enterprise in Extreme Environments: Strategic Leadership from an Entrepreneurship Development Centre at the University of Botswana (p. 67). Auckland, NZ: New Zealand Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://web.me.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Examples/Entries/2007/10/18_Creating_enterprise_in_extreme_environments__Strategic_leadership_from_an_entrepreneurship_development_centre_at_the_University_of_Botswana.html

Mellalieu, P. J. (2006b). Case study: Capacity building for entrepreneur enabling in Southern Africa. International Indigenous Journal of Entrepreneurship, Advancement, Strategy and Education, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.indigenousjournal.com/IIJEASVolIIIss1Mellalieu.pdf

Mellalieu, P. J. (2006c). Fitness for purpose - Capacity building for enterprise development and entrepreneurship in southern Africa (Special issue on quality assurance in higher education). Lonaka - Bulletin of the Centre for Academic Development, University of Botswana, Botswana, 67–85. Retrieved from http://web.me.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Examples/Entries/2006/10/2_Fitness_for_purpose__Capacity-building_for_enterprise_development_and_entrepreneurship_in_southern_Africa.html

Creating Enterprise in Extreme Environments: Strategic Leadership from an Entrepreneurship Development Centre at the University of Botswana

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2006). Creating Enterprise in Extreme Environments: Strategic Leadership from an Entrepreneurship Development Centre at the University of Botswana (p. 67). Auckland, NZ: New Zealand Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://web.me.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Examples/Entries/2007/10/18_Creating_enterprise_in_extreme_environments__Strategic_leadership_from_an_entrepreneurship_development_centre_at_the_University_of_Botswana.html

This report presents recommendations to the University of Botswana’s Faculty of Business for extending substantially... more This report presents recommendations to the University of Botswana’s Faculty of Business for extending substantially its Business Clinic into an Entrepreneurship Development Centre. Recommendations to the University beyond the Faculty of Business are also made.


Botswana has set itself the challenge of becoming an ‘innovative and prosperous nation’. The challenge appears daunting. The country has embarked on a journey to make the quantum jump to a country with world-class, high-growth companies by 2016. In contrast, at the time of independence in 1966 the country was a traditional hunter-gatherer village-based society. Accordingly, the education and development system required for Botswana's 21st century global citizen must extend to include identifying and developing job-makers: world-class entrepreneurs and innovators.


The principal focus of Botswana’s current formal education system seems mainly to educate job-takers for the public sector and larger companies. Furthermore, Botswana's impressive record of growth has not translated into socioeconomic transformation: "Over-dependence on diamonds, high unemployment levels and unacceptably high levels of poverty and inequality - both in terms of assets and income - are persistent problems." (Clover, 2003, p. 4). One approach to overcoming these persistent problems is to create an abundance of “grass roots” support for enterprising behavior throughout the nation.


The job-makers and wealth creators that Botswana requires are termed ‘serial innovators and entrepreneurs’. They are habitual and compulsive in their passion for innovation and creating substantial new enterprise. They are ‘weirdly wired’ people, who some might regard as ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’ in view of the risks they appear to take. However, these habitual innovators participate in leading substantial business and social change in the communities for which they create and provide new products or new service delivery systems. Furthermore, these entrepreneurs provide leadership in creating substantial forms of wealth - financial and/or social - from the new opportunities they identify, exploit, and grow into sustainable organisations.


A series of course topics is outlined for delivery as workshops and/or educational programmes through the proposed Entrepreneurship Development Centre. The course topics are directly linked to develop competencies required to embrace all elements of the entrepreneurial process model, developed by Bolton and Thompson (2001).


Furthermore, it is recommended that at least one of the three following courses are required to be studied by all students at the University of Botswana:

A strengths-based course in personal and professional career development;

Foundations of innovation and entrepreneurship;

New venture start-up project.


The most urgent recommendation is for the Faculty of Business to institutionalize formally a regular, monthly programme of 'real world learning adventures'. The format of these learning adventures was devised specifically for the Botswana context. The events are branded with the suggested name: Enterprise in Action™ (EIA). An EIA event focusses equally on business networking and knowledge exchange. Both business networking and knowledge exchange are crucial elements in aiding the success of entrepreneurs as they overcome the many obstacles that they experience in their pursuit of success. Three examples of ‘real world learning adventures’ were designed and implemented during the author’s four-month residence in the Botswana. The last adventure formed the pilot/prototype version for the Enterprise in Action format.


Many Batswana return to their homeland from study or work in foreign countries. They bring back knowledge, experience, and professional contacts to Botswana. However, a proportion of these returning Batswana are not deployed effectively upon their return home. Accordingly, one important opportunity is for a proportion of the Enterprise in Action programmes to focus on providing a networking opportunity to help the productive re-integration into Botswana business and community life of returning Batswana.


Fundamental to the success of the proposed initiatives is that the University of Botswana implements concurrently processes to identify and develop ‘entrepreneur enablers’. Entrepreneur enablers form a unique selection of teachers, consultants, advisors, and informal investors. Entrepreneur enablers intervene directly to help their ‘client entrepreneurs’ overcome obstacles, and build their entrepreneurial self-efficacy (Bolton and Thompson, 2004, 2006, Lucas and Cooper, 2004).


The full report outlines a  series of five Strategic Focus Areas (SFAs) as a basis for collaborative development of the entire University’s commitment to becoming an enterprising institution. The Strategic Focus Areas are chosen to ensure that the University of Botswana builds a robust, widespread, and significant core-competency in entrepreneurship development for business, technological, and social contexts. The five Strategic Focus Areas recommended for institutionalization are:


SFA 1: Business innovation and entrepreneurship.

SFA 2: Design, technology, and science-based innovation and entrepreneurship

SFA 3: Social sector innovation and entrepreneurship

SFA 4: Mass entrepreneurship

SFA 5: Entrepreneur enabler identification and development


Beyond these initiatives, the University should evolve the Entrepreneurship Development Centre and the other SFAs into a university-wide, world-class applied research and development centre focussing on innovation and enterprise development studies in the southern Africa region: A Centre for Innovation and Enterprise Development Studies.

Into the Wall of a Hurricane: Report of Staff Exchange to Florida Gulf Coast University

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2006, February). Into the Wall of a Hurricane: Report of Staff Exchange to Florida Gulf Coast University. NZ Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Unitec Institute of Technology.

In August 2005, I travelled to work at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)... more In August 2005, I travelled to work at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between FGCU and Unitec New Zealand. This report reflects on my experiences teaching at FGCU, my visits to several sites of techno- logical innovation such as the NASA Kennedy Space Centre, and my experience of two extreme weather events: Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Wilma.
FGCU is a state university, recently established, and located between Fort Myers and Naples, Southwest Florida. The Southwest Florida region is growing at a very fast rate, on account of its attractive (warm and sunny) climate, and the recreational resources (fishing, water sports, The Everglades) of the Gulf of Mexico. Accordingly, the university is developing at a fast rate. FGCU is planning for an enrollment of 15,000 students within the next 10 years. There is a substantial building programme, funded partly by the state of Florida, and partly through donors. The multi-million dollar donations seem to me extraordinary generous given the young age of the university: the donations do not come from wealthy retiring alumni - there are none yet!

Case study: Total Quality Control at W Graham Hitchins Ltd

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (1978). Case study: Total Quality Control at W Graham Hitchins Ltd. Productivity & Technology, NZ Department of Trade & Industry, 1(78), 8–10.

Graham Hitchins came to Blenheim, New Zealand, from Britain after a successful career in the building trade and... more Graham Hitchins came to Blenheim, New Zealand, from Britain after a successful career in the building trade and manufacture of synthetic resins. Having the import agency for a line of protective coating materials for buildings he began investigating a new formulation. Thus began the Hitchins group of companies. In 1977 W Graham Hitchins Ltd won a New Zealand Export Award. Although employing a staff of under 40 people, exports reached over 40 per cent of its total sales. The article discusses the history of the company, its services to building restoration, and the practical systems of quality control implemented within the company.

The Management of Quality

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (1978). The Management of Quality. Wellington, New Zealand: Productivity Centre, Department of Trade & Industry.

For a case example, see:
Mellalieu, P. J. (1978). Case study: Total Quality Control at W Graham Hitchins Ltd. Productivity & Technology, NZ Department of Trade & Industry, 1(78), 8–10. Retrieved from http://unitec.academia.edu/PeterMellalieu/Papers/1571203/Case_study_Total_Quality_Control_at_W_Graham_Hitchins_Ltd

Introduces a practical approach to managing the quality of products and services throughout the entire value chain... more Introduces a practical approach to managing the quality of products and services throughout the entire value chain from design through delivery and service. Focusses especially on the needs of small-medium enterprise and short-run manufacturing or bespoke services.

New Myths for a Very New World: The Mythic Journey as a Basis for Learning About Entrepreneurial Start-Ups

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2001). New Myths for a Very New World: The Mythic Journey as a Basis for Learning About Entrepreneurial Start-Ups. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Thinking. Presented at the Breakthroughs: The 9th International Conference on Thinking, Auckland, NZ. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/heropll

Also presented at:
Mellalieu, P. J. (2003). 7th International Conference on African Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (ICAESB), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mellalieu, P. J. (2004). Enterprise in Distant Lands: Studies of South Pacific Business Development, The University of Auckland Business School.

How does a young, “peripheral” country develop the cultural infrastructure - the myths and stories - it needs to... more How does a young, “peripheral” country develop the cultural infrastructure - the myths and stories - it needs to inspire creation of the heroic forces for creating successful enterprises in a hypercompetitive, globalising world? The article presents the ‘first act’ of the true story of the establishment and early challenges faced by an ambitious new venture, New Zealand-based Pacific Lithium Limited (PLL), and its founding entrepreneur, Robin Johannink. Somewhat untypical for a formal business case report, the structure of the story presented here is strongly informed by Vogler’s (1998) “mythic structure of the heroic journey” and inspired by de Jong’s (1999) application of the mythic structure to what he notes as the heroic task of establishing a new business enterprise. The second part of the article presents observations drawn from the Pacific Lithium story, and outlines our approaches for extending the learning one can make from contemporary heroic tales of enterprise such as the one presented here. The author concludes that de Jong appears quite correct when he suggests that “as a scalable, replicable piece of social code, [the mythic structure of the heroic journey] could be as profound as the biological code Watson and Crick found in DNA” (de Jong, p. 159)

Public Liability Insurance - One of the most overlooked and little-known insurance essentials

by J Walker

Data from - www.yourpublicliability.org

Public liability insurance protects you from the costs and legal fees of claims if a member of the public is injured... more Public liability insurance protects you from the costs and legal fees of claims if a member of the public is injured as a result of your negligence.

Mirakle Couriers: The Business of Silence and Signs

by Krishnamurthy Prabhakar PhD

Mirakle Courier is a business proposition with a difference. It is not a charity but a social business, where the... more Mirakle Courier is a business proposition with a difference. It is not a charity but a social business, where the social element is embedded in the commercial operations. Dhruv Lakra being a Skoll Scholar from SAID School of Business of Oxford University learnt about the need for employment for deaf while travelling in a bus serendipitously .  It is estimated that six percent of the population of India is deaf and sixty six percent of them are unemployed. Hearing impaired was the most ignored of all disabilities as the disabled person appears normal. Dhruv Lakra left his job as an investment banker in Mumbai and equipped himself to be a social entrepreneur. After examination of different business propositions he finally selected a courier business that is manpower intensive and volume driven and started with £200. In the present case he explores with the authors of the case definition of social entrepreneurship and the difference between social activists and social entrepreneurs. The present study used narrative approach to describe the evolution of social enterprise and explore challenges and dilemmas . The output of the study clearly indicate with clear focus on vision and planning  business with differently enabled people whose competence is strong visual orientation can be converted to economic value and in turn contribute to social capital. 

20 Business Survival Strategies for tough economic times without laying off employees.

by Donald Harper

2009

As a business owner or manager confronting a global economic crisis you have been faced with shrinking profit margins... more As a business owner or manager confronting a global economic crisis you have been faced with shrinking profit margins and fewer customers lining up to purchase your once thought to be "hot products or services." The question of how to survive these seemingly tough times usually results in answers such as…"we have to lay off more workers" or, "…let's close the office located in Suburbia".

The eXport factor: British SMEs' approach to doing business overseas

by Thomas Wainwright

Research Report published by Barclays Bank.

(Work)Life after work: understanding barriers to older entrepreneurship in London.

by Thomas Wainwright

Conference Paper: 56th Annual ICSB World Conference; 15 - 18 June 2011, Stockholm, Sweden.

How to use programme theory to evaluate the effectiveness of schemes designed to improve the working environment in small businesses

by Kirsten Olsen

Abstract. Due to the many constraints that small businesses (SBs) face in meeting legislative requirements,... more Abstract. Due to the many constraints that small businesses (SBs) face in meeting legislative requirements, occu-pational health and safety (OSH) regulatory authorities and other OSH actors have developed programmes which can reach out to SBs and motivate and assist them in improving the working environment. A number of conceptual models help to enhance our understanding of OSH interventions in SBs and their effectiveness. However, they have mainly been evaluated on output rather than the process relating to the change theory underlying the intervention, and hence have seldom been rigorously evaluated. Thus little is known about how particular features of SBs can be transformed into national programmes. This paper shows how realist analysis and programme theory may be used as a framework for evaluating, developing and improving national intervention programmes for the improvement of the working environment and reducing injuries in SBs. It illustrates this for a specific New Zealand intervention: the Workplace Safety Discount scheme and its implementation in the agriculture sector. In practice, realist analysis should be performed during the planning, implementation and management stages so that ongoing findings can be fed back to the participant social actors to help them make appropriate changes to enhance the likelihood of success

Agency Costs, Ownership Structure and Corporate Governance Mechanisms: A Case Study in New Zealand Unlisted Small Companies

by Nirosha Hewa Wellalage

Capital Structure Choice: A Case Study on New Zealand Unlisted Firms

by Nirosha Hewa Wellalage