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This paper focuses on Australian development firms in the console and mobile games industry in order to understand how small firms in a geographically remote and marginal position in the global industry are able to relate to global firms and capture revenue share. This paper shows that, while technological change in the games industry has resulted in the emergence of new industry segments based on transactional rather than relational forms of economic coordination, in which we might therefore expect less asymmetrical power relations, lead firms retain a position of power in the global games entertainment industry relative to remote developers. This has been possible because lead firms in the emerging mobile devices market have developed and sustained bottlenecks in their segment of the industry through platform competition and the development of an intensely competitive ecosystem of developers. Our research shows the critical role of platform competition and bottlenecks in influencing power asymmetries within global markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first reviews available instruments that might be used by new technology-based small firms (NTSFs) as self-diagnostic tools to assess their positioning and plan their future development strategies. It makes a clear distinction between tools that are for self-diagnostic internal use by such ventures and the more established tools, such as Timmons 'fatal flaw analysis' and Bell-Mason, designed to assist venture capital investors in decisions whether to invest or not in a new company. The paper then analyses the application of the Klofsten Business Platform with its eight Cornerstones as a comparative diagnostic tool in over twenty case studies to the understanding of the early stages of development of new technology-based spin-off ventures from Australian and Scottish universities. The analysis is longitudinal over a period of up to six years for surviving companies. Survival rates for the sample have been compared with overall survival rates of spin-off and other new ventures in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to determine whether Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could be described as 'bleak houses' or whether they have developed over the last decade into 'bright prospects' typified by human resource innovations. This study builds on empirical work (n = 1425) from ten years ago (1998), and re-examines the prospects of SMEs through the lens of human resource management (HRM) practices. Uniquely, the 2008 cross-sectional data provides for the large-scale tracking of strategic HRM practices. Specifically, 110 HRM practices over five traditional areas across 1230 SMEs are analysed. The prevalence, change, and patterning of HRM practices used by Australian SMEs in 2008 are investigated. It was found that SMEs need less of a make-over in relation to the adoption of HR practices, compared to a decade ago. From a practitioner viewpoint, the study provides cross-sectional benchmarking against the previous time-point, 1998, as well as extending that work with an examination of a more extensive range of new and emerging HRM practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid semantic recommendation system to provide personalized government to business (G2B) e-services, in particular, business partner recommendation e-services for Australian small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach - The study first proposes a product semantic relevance model. It then develops a hybrid semantic recommendation approach which combines item-based collaborative filtering (CF) similarity and item-based semantic similarity techniques. This hybrid approach is implemented into an intelligent business-partner-locator recommendation-system prototype called BizSeeker. Findings - The hybrid semantic recommendation approach can help overcome the limitations of existing recommendation techniques. The recommendation system prototype, BizSeeker, can recommend relevant business partners to individual business users (e.g. exporters), which therefore will reduce the time, cost and risk of businesses involved in entering local and international markets. Practical implications - The study would be of great value in e-government personalization research. It would facilitate the transformation of the current G2B e-services into a new stage wherein the e-government agencies offer personalized e-services to business users. The study would help government policy decision-makers to increase the adoption of e-government services. Originality/value - Providing personalized e-services by e-government can be seen as an evolution of the intentions-based approach and will be one of the next directions of government e-services. This paper develops a new recommender approach and systems to improve personalization of government e-services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The open innovation approach emphasizes porous knowledge boundaries between firms and upstream suppliers, but tends to ignore questions of transformative efficiency and effectiveness once the knowledge reaches the focal organization. In this paper, we test for the significance of interaction effects between open innovation strategies and absorptive capacity, finding support for the idea that effective knowledge absorption capabilities are of vital importance in the facilitation of innovation effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to make a major contribution to the Australian economy. However, research into organisational processes within SMEs has been limited to date. This study aims to examine the links between communication processes and organisational effectiveness in SMEs. Designlmethodologylapproach - This quantitative study uses social capital theory as a framework to investigate whether employees' level of satisfaction with organisational communication processes affects organisational outcomes within three high growth manufacturing SMEs in one area of Australia. Findings - Results indicate that organisational communication processes does affect employees' levels of ambiguity regarding customers, job satisfaction and commitment to their firms. Research limitations/implications - While generalisability is limited because of the small number of SMEs participating in the study, the research indicates great potential for developing theoretical and practical insights into Australian SMEs that would assist industry and employees overall. Practical implications - Implications for the growth strategies of SMEs, particularly in relation to the current skilled labour shortage, are discussed. Originality/value - The paper contributes much needed theoretical development and research into SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The principal objective in this paper is to examine the nature and significance of financial slack in a longitudinal panel of 871 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEW) in the Australian manufacturing sector over the period 1995-96 to 1997-98. Financial slack is conceived as a joint condition of high liquidity and unused debt capacity. The desire to build financial slack can have profound effects on the investment and financing behaviour of a business, as well as significantly changing its risk profile. Approximately 15 per cent of SMEW in the panel are found to be holding financial slack in any one year of the study. The demographic profiles, performance profiles, investment behaviour and financing behaviour of the businesses holding financial slack are examined in some detail, and are compared with those of the balance of the sample. The outcomes of the inquiry are found to be difficult to explain within a strictly financial paradigm. However, a strategic management perspective suggests some linkages between owner-manager strategic objectives, such as independence and realising lifestyle aspirations, and the incidence of financial slack. The likely implications of these findings for SME scholarship and policy-making are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a survey of more than 2000 managers examining perceptions of skills gaps in a range of Australian firms. It finds that three quarters report a skills gap, and almost one third report skills gaps across the whole organisation. Firm size and industry differences exist in perceptions of the effect of the skills gap on the organisation, the causes of the skills gap, the strategies used to address the skills gap, the types of skills which are lacking, and the management of training and development. The research shows that managers believe leadership, management, and professional and industry-specific roles have the greatest needs, and that basic skills are generally strong. There is evidence that training and development is being under-used as a remedy for skills gaps, and that small firms may not be strategically recruiting due to perceptions that there are few qualified job candidates. Although skills gaps may be more of an issue for large than for small firms, the needs of small firms and those in 'non-big business' areas such as charities and the not-for-profit sector should not be overlooked. There is not a 'one size fits all' approach to reducing skills gaps which will fit all firm sizes across all sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The paper seeks to overcome previous research limitations by examining both macro (industry, country) and micro (functions, enterprise) level phenomena within the information communication technologies (ICT) use of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Australia and Germany were chosen because both recognise the importance of SMEs. Design/methodology/approach - The study adopted an interpretivist philosophy and a qualitative case study method that enables gathering data which are rich in detail. Semi-structured, on-site interviews were carried out in eight firms of various classifications. Findings - The study found that, for micro enterprises, ICT is only emerging in the form of systems that have the potential to facilitate the interactions with the outside. Small enterprises rely heavily on personal interactions, which they supplement with the use of ICT. In medium enterprises, ICT is more extensively used in interactions, both internally and with the environment. The differences between Australian and German firms do not significantly affect the extent to which ICT is infused into observed SMEs. Research limitations/implications - The study used the interpretivist research paradigm which is based on the assumption that reality is socially constructed. Findings indicated the need for increased organisational competencies and greater scope to use ICT to facilitate interaction with the external environment, especially customers and suppliers and forming alliances. Originality/value - The case studies provided rich stories of ICT infusion in the important SME sector on an international scale and produced context-aware institutionalised expectations that can help other SMEs understand ICT use. They can use the findings as benchmarks against which to measure their own endeavours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to present the perceptions and experiences of Electronic Commerce (EC) implementation in Australia. The study is investigated from the perspective of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the framework of implementation is represented by the extent of deployment. Based on the sample of about 115 small businesses in Australia, this paper uses regression modelling to explore and establish the factors that are related to the extent of deployment in EC. A multiple regression analysis shows that seven factors: perceived relative advantage, trialability, observability, variety of information sources, communication amount, competitive pressure, and non-trading institutional influences, significantly influence the extent of EC deployment by SMEs in Australia. The results and interpretations have some implications for managers in determining the appropriateness of deploying EC strategies to achieve profitability and operational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal objectives in this paper are to compare and contrast training and development initiatives for a longitudinal sample of 871 small and medium-sized enterprises in the Australian manufacturing sector that have embarked upon different growth development pathways; and to examine possible connections between small and medium-sized enterprise growth, and training and development. Statistical analysis reveals highly significant differences in management training and qualifications, training changes, as well as training methods, providers and fields, across the low-, moderate and high-growth small and medium-sized enterprise development pathways. Furthermore, training is a relatively consistent concomitant with small and medium-sized enterprise growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conditions of limited natural resources, growing social awareness, and ESG risk, sustainability and the pressure to be sustainable are gaining importance. Legislative requirements, good practices and recommendations as well as the stakeholders themselves expect from market participants, especially from the enterprise sector, that they will incorporate sustainability in their activities. Enterprises undertake adaptation activities towards sustainability by creating sustainable value based on their business models. The article aims to systematize the state of knowledge on how companies create sustainable value. Research results in this area are dispersed, and more studies discussing this topic comprehensively are needed. The article fills the gap in research by reviewing the existing studies on creating sustainable value. The analysis of publications was based on the academic databases of Elsevier Scopus and Web‐of‐Science. 101 publications were reviewed, and 31 categorization variables related to the area of research and issues addressed in scientific publications were created. Using a multidimensional correspondence analysis, three homogeneous clusters of publications were obtained: group I refers to articles concerning enterprises of various sizes (micro, small, SME, and start‐up); group II includes publications on Asia and Australia, which appeared in 2020 or later; group III concerns articles related to the research of large production companies in developed European countries. The result shows that companies build sustainable value in various ways, influenced by company's location and size. Among the dominant patterns of incorporating sustainable value, the following are indicated: building a sustainable supply chain, innovations, building relationships with stakeholders and consumers, sharing economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found that female-owned businesses generally underperform male-owned businesses on a variety of measures such as revenue, profit, growth, and discontinuance (failure) rates. It has been suggested that this finding might be the result of systematic differences between male- and female-owned businesses, particularly industry differences. This paper analyzes data from a representative sample of 8,375 small and medium-sized Australian enterprises that originally were surveyed in 1994–95, with follow-up surveys in each of the subsequent three years for a subsample of businesses. The aim was to determine whether female-owned businesses exhibit higher failure rates than male-owned businesses and, if so, whether this finding persists after controlling for industry differences. The results suggest that while female-owned businesses do have higher failure rates compared to male-owned businesses, the difference is not significant after controlling for the effects of industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which discussed evidence on financial reporting to financiers by small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing in Australia. Types of financial reports; Methods; Conclusions.

This article presents an announcement related to small business enterprises. The Small Enterprise Focus research group in the School of Accounting, Finance and Management at The Hinders University of South Australia has, over the last eight years or so, devoted considerable resources to the development of its own small enterprise literature databases covering those specific areas of interest in its research. The outcome has been three computer-based databases which have done much to increase the group's research productivity. These databases are maintained and extended through continual scanning of the international literature on small enterprise including academic and professional journals, conference proceedings, books, working papers and dissertations. Updates of the databases are produced annually.

Despite widespread recognition that an enterprise's critical resources may extend beyond the enterprise's traditional boundaries, with the focal enterprise drawing upon the resources of other firms and institutions through networks, there is a dearth of empirical research on knowledge mobility and appropriability patterns among innovative Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the lens of complexity science. We address this gap, by examining what, how, and why innovation-related knowledge flows from networks into SMEs, and how SMEs protect intellectual property (IP) and appropriate value. Based on a survey of 838 SMEs, we find patterns of internal and external knowledge flows with SMEs searching for ideas internally, and via market-based networks, with internally sourced ideas having the strongest impact on innovativeness. The results also show SMEs are most likely to network with market-based agents relative to localised learning networks. Further, networking with suppliers increases innovativeness, as does sourcing knowledge as part of a package with the purchase of new equipment, underscoring the importance of the vertical supply chain network. Despite limited interaction with localised learning networks, outsourcing R&D to these networks increases innovativeness. We also find that informal IP, in particular, secrecy, complexity of product design, and frequent and rapid changes to products/services increases innovativeness, as do formal copyrights and trademarks. In addition to protecting IP, these practices are product market strategies, enabling SMEs to commercialise innovations and appropriate value. But while appropriability mechanisms provide innovation benefits to individual agents, from the perspective of complexity science, IP mechanisms act as barriers to effective knowledge flows (e.g. information sharing) preventing innovative networking through the mechanism of a positive feedback loop to evolve to the state where distributed intelligence comes into play and facilitates break-through innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the extent and nature of participation of three categories of growing Australian manufacturing Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in business networks and social relationships in relation to training and learning. The proportion of SMEs engaging in relationships with other businesses ranged from a low of 11% (low growth SMEs) to a high of 18% (moderate growth SMEs). This suggests that, at the low growth end of spectrum of business growth the proportion of SMEs engaged in relationships with other businesses, is marginal, and, at best, modest at the moderate end. Furthermore, the study showed that, for those firms that do participate in business links, the purpose of the link is not to increase their training capability, with three, four and one low, moderate and high growth SMEs respectively -- less than five percent of SMEs in each of the growth categories -- only linking with other businesses for training and learning-related purposes. The study also shows there is a statistically significant correlation between training provided by equipment suppliers and business growth, with 25 per cent, 43 per cent and 51 per cent of low, moderate and high growth enterprises using equipment suppliers to provide training. Taken together, the results indicate growing SMEs are more likely to engage in cooperative training arrangements as part of normal supplier-customer relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies the key factors that enable Chinese entrepreneurs to set up and operate their business ventures in Australia. Data was collected from 200 Chinese entrepreneurs through a survey questionnaire and was analysed using factor analysis and regression analysis. The findings show that key factors, such as background of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial motivations, traditional Confucian values, difficulties and hurdles faced, and the vision of expanding overseas contributed to the success of the businesses. This research may be of interest to policy makers, small business consultants and academics because it highlights key success factors relevant to small ethnic Chinese based businesses and the challenges they face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing a case study methodology, this study investigates ways in which fast growth small-to-medium enterprises (FGSMEs) measure firm performance. This investigation, involving 21 interviews with 18 companies, revealed that FGSMEs seem to adopt a multi-level approach involving different sources and contexts to performance measurement. Apart from the application of standard financial performance measures such as profits and growth, FGSMEs also utilize measures of customer satisfaction, attainment of industry awards, receipt of client reports, website popularity, number and quality of successful innovations adopted, objective employee performance indices, and staff retention. Founders highlight the importance of providing employees with flexible environments and career opportunities as a way to reduce churn. These organizational characteristics signal non-financial benefits and incentives of working in these firms to potential employees and customers. These findings are in accord with extant literature and the balanced scorecard perspective, advocating associations between performance measurement systems and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the proclaimed advantages of small business strategic alliances, little research has been carried out to determine whether these structures "cushion" the disadvantages arising from e-commerce adoption for member businesses. There has also been a lack of research into comparing e-commerce use in those small businesses that are members of a strategic alliance to those that have opted to remain outside such arrangements. This article aims to correct the situation by presenting the findings of a study of 177 regional small businesses in Sweden and Australia that investigated the impact of strategic alliance membership on disadvantages associated with e-commerce adoption. The results of the study indicate that e-commerce disadvantages are often dissipated through a strategic-alliance structure more easily than through a single self-directed unit. However, the cushioning effects of a strategic alliance membership are not uniform and they differ depending on organisational factors such as the size of the business, the market focus, and the business sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the methodology and findings of four case studies conducted to explore the practice of teamwork in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) The case studies were developed from interviews conducted to answer key issues. Results from the study indicate that in small firms effective teams can emerge without the need for team development interventions - in fact emergent teams or informal teams may well be more successful than those constructed through management intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growth of many new business advice and support services over the last 15 years, the extent to which such facilities are used by the Australian small business sector has not been extensively examined, especially amongst the micro-enterprises that comprise the majority of all small firms. Home based businesses (HBBs) constitute the largest group of micro-businesses in Australia, as well as comprising the biggest single SME sector in the nation. An investigation into the usage of advisory services by HBBs in Perth, Western Australia revealed substantial differences in the types and frequency of advisers used. It was found that accountants, banks, other business operators and family/friends were the most commonly consulted services. In contrast, lawyers, government agencies, industry associations, and management consultants were only infrequently used. The research project also attempted to determine if the frequency of adviser usage could be predicted on the basis of a range of individual and firm characteristics (namely, the age of the business, the size of the enterprise, and the age and gender of the owner/operator). A positive correlation was found to exist with all four factors, with micro-firms managed by men tending to use advisory services more frequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In reviewing the cost of debt and the cost of loan applications for small, medium, and large firms representing several industry groups in Australia, this research is based on a mail survey of private sector firms. Overall, an observed difference of 2 percent in favor of large firms was recognized, with only limited evidence of statistically significant interest rate differentials. The observed difference may be attributed to the relatively higher administrative cost incurred by lending institutions in carrying relatively small loans and overdraft levels. If this view is accepted, then it would suggest that the respondents belonged to the same risk category. Consequently, only those firms which fit a lending institution's risk profile will receive funding. In order for a small firm to obtain financing it must convince the lending institution that it fits their lending profile, but these efforts can be costly. The costs associated with satisfying the lenders' information requirements represented a significantly greater proportion of total funds borrowed for relatively smaller firms. The implications of these results for small firms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the effectiveness of the government's Business Health Assessment Programme for small businesses in Australia. Delivery of the program to the targets via authorized accountants; Objectives of the program; Awareness of small business managers about the value of accounting information.