Objectives: Small business, SME research

 

This Forum article, by Robert P. Hamlin, of the University of Otago, New Zealand, questions if market researchers take sufficient notice of the mindset of those who commission, or consume, their servi ...

This paper is a response to Boddy's (2005) paper, published in the International Journal of Market Research, 47, 3, which called for more evidence on projective techniques applied to a research proble ...

The paper aims to identify non-sector-specific brand and reputation-based factors that distinguish successful entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from their larger counterparts. ...

Examines how branding can facilitate small business development of new ventures. Opportunity recognition, innovation, business model development, supplier acquisition and other key factors are investi ...

The paper seeks to uncover the perceptions of resources which may be utilised to create competitive advantage and improve performance. The concepts of community brand identity, local social capital an ...

The authors analyse web site brand communication by small to medium-sized firms (SMEs) in the restaurant franchise industry, using Aaker’s brand personality dimensions. Findings suggest that brand per ...

The paper aims to provide a first step towards a synthesis of new service and new product development research. It argues that R & D strength is more important for new product than service development ...

Using a case study, the authors examine marketing techniques normally practised by larger companies used within the constraints of one small company’s attitudes, resources and time horizons. A pro-act ...

The paper lists 17 key practices, processes and activities that taken together are closely associated with SME export performance. They relate primarily to export marketing strategy, with knowledge ma ...

Market orientation within the small business sector is identified as concentrating on such factors as customer care and market intelligence, and the personality of the owner- manager. Despite the abse ...

The authors suggest that there is a significant supply-demand imbalance between the skills demanded in SMEs and those taught in typical marketing syllabuses. Graduates’ frames of reference tend to be ...

Explores the links between the theory and practice of marketing and small businesses. A literature review plus participant observation and inductive analysis techniques were used to explore the action ...

The paper aims to show how networking contributes to marketing, in particular in small firms. Previous networking research is reviewed, and it is noted that though a conceptual framework of small firm ...

Research has suggested that small firms adapt marketing theory to their needs, using ‘emergent actions’ rather than recourse to formal planning. Examining this and equivalent responses to brand manage ...

Strategy formulation in smaller firms has not been extensively investigated. The process tends to be personality driven and instinctive rather than reflecting strategic analysis. Qualitative research ...

A qualitative study amongst 11 companies in Northern Ireland was undertaken to explore the extent of business intelligence usage and to evaluate the extent of implementation of effective e-business sy ...

Smaller firms (SMEs) are relatively less likely to adapt their business processes to accommodate new technology. Qualitative techniques were used by the authors to facilitate self-expression and explo ...

Investigates the significance of cultural factors within ethnic minority-owned firms’ business practices. Factors associated with key decision-makers and cultural networks, balanced by resource constr ...

The paper describes the processes and strengths of convergent interviewing to investigate under-researcher areas and compares it with alternative qualitative techniques such as in-depth interviews, ca ...

E-relationships have developed as spin-off from e-business and have facilitated close partnerships to add unique and complex electronic components to business relationships. The emergence of such rela ...

Explores electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) and resulting strategies using the internet, with particular relevance to SMEs. Qualitative research was used in an attempt to use two inter ...

Qualitative case studies provide evidence of the extent to which information communications technology can be embedded within a firm’s marketing strategy. The potential impact on the firms’ services a ...

Qualitative research was undertaken to explore the nature of small businesses and the interdependence of business practice. The value of internet technologies, and possible reasons for lack of success ...

The technological environment in which contemporary small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operate includes the seemingly exponential nature of technological change, perceived increases in the ben ...

The paper suggests that existing approaches to conducting marketing research in SMEs are rooted in a big firm mindset and tend to focus mainly on survey methods. It argues for an approach to SMEs that ...

Micro-business start-ups appear often to ignore normative decision making models, but the paper argues that this may be rational and effective in context. Data from 55 semi-structured interviews with ...

Argues that the way the UK government works to improve the effectiveness of the small business sector is based on a naïve and over-simplistic understanding on how such businesses operate. Government i ...

Owner/managers of SMEs tend not to consider research or other external expertise until a problem has already occurred. The objective of this study was to evaluate a model of the pre-entry phase of con ...