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Australia, one of the most cosmopolitan of contemporary western societies, has a long history of immigrant entrepreneurship, with many ethnic groups significantly over-represented in entrepreneurial activities, particularly in the small business sector of the Australian economy. This paper addresses the changing policy context that shapes the rate of formation of - and the growth and expansion of - ethnic enterprises in Australia. At a macro level, changes to Australian immigration and settlement policy and taxation policy indirectly impact on rates of immigrant minority entrepreneurship formation and survival. At the micro level, policy development that impacts directly on minority immigrant enterprises in Australia is very recent and largely undeveloped. This paper looks at immigrant entrepreneurship in Australia, including spatial dimensions, and at the impact of changing macro policy. It then reviews three key areas of micro policy responses to immigrant entrepreneurship: the education and training needs of ethnic entrepreneurs; policies designed to encourage unemployed immigrants to become entrepreneurs; and policy related to government strategies to improve communication with ethnic entrepreneurs. This paper concludes that there are few direct policy initiatives to promote immigrant entrepreneurship in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of on-line training by small businesses in Australia. It explores the relationship between the owner's acceptance and use of the internet, and their current participation in training opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of small businesses which had participated in an Australian government scheme aimed at improving the participation of this business sector in training, were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire. The scheme provided training vouchers to businesses to fund training activities for the owner managers. Findings – Findings suggest that business characteristics can affect the participation in training, with those having plans more likely to engage in training. The use of the internet for training has improved accessibility for small businesses and offers some potential as a delivery medium, however, the findings also highlight the lack of e-literacy of many small business owners. Research limitations/implications – Given the increasing importance of small business in Australia, it is necessary to continuously promote and encourage the role of training and skills development for owners and their employees. This study highlights a relationship between growth and the need for training, however, acknowledges that many small business owners are reluctant to participate in skill development and training. Originality/value – This paper highlights the need for small business owners and their staff to recognise their training needs, and to have a broader understanding of the importance of their training and development needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little published literature available on urban contemporary Indigenous entrepreneurs in Australia. The paper defines the Indigenous Australian entrepreneur and provides an insight into the contemporary environment in which these entrepreneurs operate. Through case study analysis, the Indigenous cultural paradigm of success in entrepreneurial activity is examined. It explores commonalities among the participants, examining their educational and training expertise, their sacrifices and survival techniques in business, and investigates what makes them different from non-indigenous Australian entrepreneurs. The study provides a framework or foundation for future research on Indigenous entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurs often submit crude business plans to potential investors and are frequently disappointed when the investor decides that the new venture is not yet 'investment ready'. This paper examines the nature of investor readiness and the differing perceptions of investor readiness by entrepreneurs relative to venture capitalists in Australia. It is found that when the assessments of each investor readiness dimension are combined they are related to the venture capitalists' intuitive (gut) assessments; that new ventures are perceived to be more marketing and management ready than technology ready; and investors and entrepreneurs differ in their perception of readiness (technology, market, management and overall). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia most manufacturing firms are force to make at least two kinds of location decisions, one involving the merits of the six capital cities, and the other based on variables operating inside the metropolitan areas. This paper is concerned with the behavior of the individual manufacturing firm when making the letter decision; empirical data have been obtained from three case study areas in Sydney. There is purposeful economic behavior by firms in locating, the most important influences being closeness to product market and the cost of land. The spatial effect is an arrangement of manufacturers strongly oriented to the CBD and to centrally located transport terminals. In a theoretical context, the neglect of rent considerations is a serious weakness in traditional manufacturing locating theory. The growing ability of firms to substitute among production factors also has important locational effects.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which manufacturers' price and cost expectations conform to the findings of previous studies on expectations formation in Australia. The data source is described briefly in Section II and Section III considers the distributed lag expectations models. Section IV is concerned with the role of other economic variables in the determination of expectations, and the related question of the rationality of expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian business leaders informed the development of a framework that outlined their views of what model business behaviours are and how these can be driven through appropriate business action. This framework overviews that organisations who seek model business behaviour should: - Establish a clear direction and robust strategy - Develop and sustain relationships with stakeholder - Put people first and engage with staff - Measure outcomes and evaluate success Further consultation with Australian government leaders highlighted that these model behaviours could largely be adopted by Australian government agencies when they operate as a business. Application of these behaviours would help drive exemplar business behaviour more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Trading is the mechanism of the economist's ‘invisible hand,’ the means by which price discovery occurs. We use daily shareholdings data from the Australian equities clearinghouse to investigate the impact of the trading imbalances of investor categories on stock returns. Our evidence does not contradict the behavioral finance assumption that the trading of individual investors contributes to price discovery. Furthermore, we find that, while the trading of all investor categories Granger-causes returns, returns Granger-cause trading only for the individual investor category. That is, in the short term of up to 1 month, only individual investors engage in feedback trading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the close relationship between the Australian and New Zealand business communities to ask whether the relationship is best characterized as simply e bi-lateral trading relationship, or whether there is evidence of the formation of a transnational business community. This article also seeks to explore the nature of Australia-New Zealand integration, and specifically the degree to which the relationship is interdependent or asymmetrical. Data are drawn from quantitative sources - including a dataset developed from the IBISWorld's Largest 2000 Enterprises in Australia and New Zealand. Who's Who in Australia, and Who's Who in Business in Australia - and qualitative sources, including interviews with business and policy elites. Our findings are that the relationship between the Australian and New Zealand business communities is much deeper than a bi-lateral trading relationship, but also falls short of forming one transnational community. We also find that the relationship is substantially asymmetrical in nature, raising concerns among a number of New Zealand business executives about New Zealand sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the phenomenon of young migrant Chinese entrepreneurs in Brisbane, Australia and the various ways in which they use networks to advance their business interests. While the concept of networking is an integral component of the Chinese way of doing business for Chinese entrepreneurs in Asian countries, the highly regulated business environment in Australia poses many challenges and restrictions to Chinese network reliance. The notions of ‘entrepreneur’, ‘network’ and ‘entrepreneurial networks’ are discussed before examining these concepts in the Chinese in Asia context. The study utilised personal interviews and questionnaires with a group of six migrant Chinese entrepreneurs in Australia, all below 40 years of age. It was found that the three entrepreneurs who did not have any networks in Brisbane before their arrival found it relatively easy to purchase franchises and begin business operations immediately, without the need for preexisting networks. The three participants who did have pre-existing network contacts in Brisbane started up private businesses with the extensive assistance of their Chinese community networks. The implications of this study on business migration issues are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1970s and 1980s there was a surge of research concerning power and wealth in Australian society. One line of inquiry was framed in terms of ‘lites’, the other in terms of the ‘uling class’. This article builds upon both lines of inquiry, exploring the new wave of entrepreneurs and their articulation with the structure of power and wealth. It does so through qualitative interviews with 43 individuals drawn from the Business Review Weekly ‘Rich 200’ list. The article finds that the institutions at the top levels of Australian business and society have become more specialised, diffuse and far-flung than was the case in earlier times. At the very least, it suggests some kind of radical reconfiguration of connections, trust and solidarity between elite groups. It remains a challenge to develop more finely tuned ways of understanding this process in terms of class analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the concept of the cultural quarter as an approach to urban regeneration in Great Britain, Ireland and Australia. Provision of business grants and loans to help young cultural and other entrepreneurs; Approach to property management; Benefits of planning and urban design guidelines.

This article explores the application of corporate entrepreneurship within the public sector. It outlines research that investigates whether those factors, which the literature describes as stimulating corporate entrepreneurship in the private sector, apply to the public sector It concludes that entrepreneurship is a strategic phenomenon and, as a consequence, the unique environmental influences on public sector bodies generate stimulants and constraints to corporate entrepreneurship, which vary from those applicable to the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports the results of a study designed to identify the characteristics of manufacturers with different attitudes in Australia. Analysis of the attitudes and intended behavior towards countertrade; Determination of the internationalization of firms; Development of public policy to boost earnings from international business activities.