ISBA2004 Conference Paper Abstracts
|
|
Below is a list of the authors and 160 papers that were presented at the Conference. Papers
are listed in alphabetical order by the surname of the lead
author. To
find a specific co-author use your browser's toolbar - click on
"Edit" and then "Find", then input the name you wish
to search for.
ABSTRACTS How
are SMEs Financed? Empirical Evidence from Ghana Joshua
Abor, Lecturer in Finance School
of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon P.O.
Box LG 78, School of Administration, Legon, Ghana Tel:
+233-24-4633392 Fax: +233 21 500024 E-mail:
joshabor@ug.edu.gh One of the most important
problems confronting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) concerns
the issue of financing. More succinctly, directors and owner managers in
SMEs often complain of the lack of finance for what are profitable
investment opportunities. In Ghana, the problem of financing SMEs has
been of great concern for some time now. This pre-occupation is mainly a
result of the important role the SME sector is supposed to play in the
development of the economy. This study examined the importance of formal
and informal financing of Ghanaian non-traditional exporters (NTEs) and
what account for their choice of a particular type of finance. Formal
finance comprises of loans from banks, non-bank financial institutions,
government programs and foreign loans, while informal finance is made up
of credit from non-institutional sources such as relatives and friends,
money lenders, informal groups and suppliers. Descriptive statistics
were employed in the presentation and analysis of results. The results
showed that, Ghanaian NTEs largely depended on formal financing sources.
Bank loan was identified as the main source of formal finance while
trade creditors represented the highest source of informal finance.
Regarding the relationship between the type of finance and the firm
level characteristics, the results revealed that, with time firms depend
more on formal finance than informal finance. In addition, the study
found that, larger firms require more funds to finance their expansion
and therefore employ formal finance. No significant difference was found
between male-owned and female-owned firm. They all depended more on
formal sources of finance. In terms of location, most of the firms
relied on formal finance irrespective of their location. Finally, the
results of the study suggest that, as firms engage more in international
business, they employ more formal finance to finance their operations. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Internationalization
and Financing Options of SMEs in Ghana Joshua
Abor, Lecturer in Finance School
of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon P.O.
Box LG 78, School of Administration, Legon, Ghana Tel:
+233-24-4633392 Fax: +233 21 500024 E-mail:
joshabor@ug.edu.gh The importance of small
and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to stimulate the growth of the any
economy cannot be under estimated. However, the capacity of SMEs to
generate growth is hindered by a number of constraints notable among
them being the lack of access to affordable long term credit. The
problem of financing Ghanaian SMEs especially those in the
non-traditional export (NTE) sector has been of great concern for some
time now. This pre-occupation is mainly a result of the role the SMEs in
the NTE sector are supposed to play in the development of the economy.
This paper presents a study of internationalization and the financing
options of small and medium scale non-traditional exporters in Ghana.
The study also examines how age and size of the firm affect the choice
of financing. Descriptive statistics were employed in the presentation
and analysis of results. The results show that, there is a positive
association between debt financing and age of the firm. With time, firms
become more acceptable to lenders and therefore older firms are more
likely to obtain debt financing than younger firms. With respect to
size, the results show that, larger firms are more likely to receive
debt financing than smaller firms. The results show a negative
relationship between degree of internationalization and debt financing.
This suggests that, as firms engage more in international activities,
they employ less debt but use more of equity financing. This is
explained by the fact that, firms involved in international business may
not want to expose themselves to more risk by increasing financial risk
which is associated with debt financing. The results generally support
existing theory. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fostering
Innovation and Development in Micro
Companies Ken
Abraham The
Robert Gordon University fourthposition
ltd fourthposition
Ltd., Balgownie Technology Centre, Aberdeen Science and Technology Park, Bridge
of Don, Aberdeen, AB22 8GW Tel:
+44 (0)7770 827275 Fax: +44 (0)8700 940123 E-mail:
ken@fourthposition.net It is well recognised
that Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the
economy. What is not so well recognised is the important part played by
micro businesses, with less than 10 employees, within this sector. It is
also clear that innovation developed outside large organisations is
likely to result in the creation of a start up company which is in the
micro company bracket. Funding innovation within
very small organisations has an additional range of problems not often
recognised and not easily overcome due to the attitude of the financial
sector to risks involved and a perception that micro businesses are
lifestyle companies which are not contributing to economy
generation. A new approach to
innovative micro company set up is required and pioneering work in the
Highlands and Islands of Scotland may indicate a solution to the
problem. Innovative solutions, at whatever stage of development, can be
valued and supported through to a sustainable, commercially viable
outcome through a collaborative approach to funding, technology
development, marketing and management. The end result is a new business
owned by the owners of the original intellectual property and
contributing to the local economy. Many of these
opportunities are lost due to projects which stall because of a lack of
resources, skills or experience. This presentation will report on the
development of PICT Innovation Ltd., a not for profit commercialisation
and research company, which aims to adopt innovative projects which are
unable to progress due to this situation. PICT works specifically in the
Information and Communications Technology field but it is clear that the
model can be replicated in other sectors and locations. The organisation
has been in place now for two years and shows success in micro company
creation in a geographically and economically challenging area. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Acorns
into oaks?
micro credit schemes in the
UK Maggie
Anderson Centre
for Entrepreneurship, Napier University Craighouse
Campus, Craighouse Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5LG Tel:
+44(0)131 455 5045 Fax: +44(0)131 455 6217 E-mail:
ma.anderson@napier.ac.uk Web Site: www.napier.ac.uk In its study in 1999, the
British Bankers Association stated that, "the provision of micro
credit can be a way of helping the economic regeneration of an area by
helping people go into self-employment, or to start a small
business". In recent years a large
number of micro credit schemes have been established across the UK,
often developing out of community initiatives, and also via local
government agencies. This paper documents a recent study of those micro
credit schemes focussing on lending to new start businesses across the
UK, and considers- who benefits from these schemes in 2004? . The study
looked at these schemes in the context of supporting new businesses
who benefits from the lending and to what extent? Why do clients access
micro credit and why are local councils keen to establish schemes? How
do they decide their models of lending? Particular aspects covered are
funding sources, management, lending arrangements and the clients
targeted. In the literature the
subject area is discussed widely with regard to its practice in the
developing world and, to a lesser degree, in the USA. The paper makes
comparisons in order to inform current practice in the UK which will
be of benefit to practitioners and academics alike. The issue of
financial exclusion in the UK is also commented upon, particularly with
reference to micro lending. The study makes
recommendations for micro credit as a tool for new business start-up. It
addresses observed shortfalls in provision and operation, and also notes
good practice. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Business
Vital Rates in the UK: Plain
Tales of VAT in 3D Michael
Anyadike-Danes Economic
Research Institute of Northern Ireland 22-24
Mount Charles, Belfast BT7 1NZ Tel:
+44(0) 28 9026 1810 Fax: +44(0) 28 9033 0054 E-mail:
m.anyadike-danes@qub.ac.uk Mark
Hart Small
Business Research Centre, Kingston Business School, Kingston University Kingston
Hill, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 7LB Tel:
+44(0)20 8547 7247 Fax: +44(0)20 8547 7024 E-mail:
m.hart@kingston.ac.uk The Small Business
Service (SBS) Action Plan for Small Business (DTI, 2004) sets out a
framework for a government-wide approach to helping small business. The
seven themes within this framework are designed to increase productivity
and maximise opportunities for employment and self-employment. The
underlying rationale rests with the association between a dynamic small
business sector (start-ups and existing businesses) and economic growth. However, at the regional
and more importantly, the sub-regional level, we argue that this
association is "conditional" upon, most importantly inherited
industrial structure. Illuminating the
relationships between structure and business vitality measures (i.e.,
births and deaths) provides policy-makers with a more realistic
assessment of what can readily be changed, and what cannot, at the
sub-national level. It is a plain tale in the sense that the data
is allowed to speak for itself. Specifically, the narrative has not been
organised to fit any prior notions about how enterprise might be
connected with prosperity. Using VAT data on
registrations and deregistrations for the period 1993 to 2002 for the
UKs 434 Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authorities (LADs), the
story is told over three interrelated dimensions: industry;
history; and geography and it concerns business birth rates and death
rates, for the UK measured using data from the VAT register. We make
comparisons over almost a decade, between the register at end-1993 and
end-2002. One of the major
conclusions of the paper is that the variation in the contribution of
business services businesses accounts for the bulk of the inter-LAD
variation in the business birth rate. More importantly, variation in the
business services contribution, in turn, is very largely accounted for
by history: the relative importance of business services in a
LADs stock of businesses at the beginning of the period. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ A public
Sector Effort to Advance Entrepreneurship R.K.
Asundi, Professor, University of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez Campus) David
F. Muñoz, Assistant Professor, University of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez
Campus) College
of Business Administration P.O. Box 9009, Mayaguez P.R. 00681-9009 Tel:
(787) 832-4040 x. 2039, Fax: (787) 832-5320 E-mail:
asundi-r@rigel.uprm.edu This paper analysis and
evaluates the performance of a number of small enterprises established
through a program sponsored by the government of Puerto Rico. This
program is identified under he acronym AAFET which stands for
("Administración para el Adiestramiento de Futuros Empresarios y
Trabajadores") Administration to train future entrepreneurs and
workers. The program started in 1985 to recruit and provide training to
young people ranging in age from 18-28 years. Program participants who
develop an acceptable business plan are provided with startup capital of
$1,100 by AAFET. An investigation of the
survival rate and performance of these small businesses created through
AAFET program is made utilizing telephone interviews of approximately 40
small businesses from a listing of the enterprises obtained from this
agency (approximately 120 firms with telephone numbers). The telephone
interview covers aspects of employment, performance and future prospects
of the firm. A selected few of these enterprises are visited to conduct
in depth personal interview concerning their training in the AAFET
program, the functioning of their enterprise and the problems faced by
the firm. The personal interview helps to critically evaluate the
business operation and its potential for success. The owners
assessment of the government program and problems faced by the
enterprise provides added information. An analysis of the data
and information collected helps to draw conclusions about the
performance of the enterprises initiated through this program and their
contribution to employment and economic output. Conclusions about the
effectiveness of the AAFET program, and the general types of problems
facing these small businesses are also made. Recommendations to improve
the training program, and a system to assist these small businesses to
become successful will be developed. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Will
It Work? A Methodology for
Incubator Feasibility Assessment Andrew
Atherton, Professor of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, University of
Lincoln Paul
Hannon, Professor of Incubation and Entrepreneurship, UCE c/o
Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln
LN6 7TS Tel:
+44(0)1522 886927 Fax: +44(0)1522 886032 E-mail:
aatherton@lincoln.ac.uk There has been a growth
in interest in incubation and an increase in the number of incubators
being proposed and developed, both by academic institutions and within
the busine | ||