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Small Companies (small + company)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	57%
Humanities and Social Sciences	21%

Selected Abstracts

Correlates of Board Empowerment in Small Companies

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 5 2007
Jonas Gabrielsson
This study seeks to advance the understanding of board empowerment in small companies. Predictions based on agency and resource dependency theories were used to examine how contingency factors correlate with board empowerment, in this study conceptualized as a larger number of board members, a higher representation of outside directors, and separate CEO and board chair positions. Statistical analyses on a sample of 135 small companies gave ample support for the agency-theoretic prediction that board empowerment in small companies is a response to satisfy the demands from owners not directly involved in managing the company. Other factors influencing board empowerment were younger CEOs, high degree of exports, and past poor company performance. The influence of these contingency factors, however, was not as strong and extensive as the presence of outside owners. The article ends with a discussion of the findings and their implications for understanding boards and governance in small companies. [source]

Are the Best Small Companies the Best Investments?

THE JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
W. Scott Bauman
Abstract Previous research finds that large companies previously judged to be excellent growth companies have subsequently been poor investments. We examine small companies selected by Business Week on the basis of multiple criteria used in annual articles featuring highly rated growth companies. We study the investment performance over the three years before eleven annual Business Week publications and the three years after publication. We find positive excess returns in the pre-publication period, but negative excess returns in the post-publication period. This reversal in investment performance appears to be due to a mean-reversion tendency in operating performance, in which the earnings and the past rates of return on capital of such companies subsequently decrease significantly. [source]

An innovative model to promote CSR among SMEs operating in industrial clusters: evidence from an EU project

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010
Massimo Battaglia
Abstract This paper presents the findings of our EU co-funded project, an idea developed to better understand the opportunities to formalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a clustered system. Small companies often have to compete in a global market; for this reason, cooperation among SMEs, and with local stakeholders and intermediary institutions, might be facilitated by a collective answer to new market requests. Cooperation and social capital are key elements to facilitate trust amongst involved local actors. Moreover, they can also play a key role in the formalization of CSR policies and practices for small companies. In our project, we aimed at identifying and understanding the role of the ,intermediary institutions' (such as trade unions, local authorities, business consortia) in the cluster. Throughout the paper, we focus on the analysis of three industrial clusters in Tuscany (Italy). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]

The Effect of National Governance Codes on Firm Disclosure Practices: Evidence from Analyst Earnings Forecasts

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 6 2008
John Nowland
ABSTRACT Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question: This study examines whether voluntary national governance codes have a significant effect on company disclosure practices. Two direct effects of the codes are expected: 1) an overall improvement in company disclosure practices, which is greater when the codes have a greater emphasis on disclosure; and 2) a leveling out of disclosure practices across companies (i.e., larger improvements in companies that were previously poorer disclosers) due to the codes new comply-or-explain requirements. The codes are also expected to have an indirect effect on disclosure practices through their effect on company governance practices. Research Findings/Results: The results show that the introduction of the codes in eight East Asian countries has been associated with lower analyst forecast error and a leveling out of disclosure practices across companies. The codes are also found to have an indirect effect on company disclosure practices through their effect on board independence. Practical Implications: This study shows that a regulatory approach to improving disclosure practices is not always necessary. Voluntary national governance codes are found to have both a significant direct effect and a significant indirect effect on company disclosure practices. In addition, the results indicate that analysts in Asia do react to changes in disclosure practices, so there is an incentive for small companies and family-owned companies to further improve their disclosure practices. [source]

An innovative model to promote CSR among SMEs operating in industrial clusters: evidence from an EU project

Correlates of Board Empowerment in Small Companies

Trade Credit Management and the Decision to Use Factoring: An Empirical Study

JOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1-2 2000
Barbara Summers
This paper examines the firm's decision to use factoring amongst a cross-sectional sample of 655 manufacturing companies using a rich firm-level database. The paper develops and tests hypotheses that explain this particular choice of credit and financial management policy. We find strong evidence of a ,financing demand' explanation for the use of factoring, and also some support for theories which relate the decision to use a factor to the firm's product characteristics, to market characteristics and to the preferences of the factor (supply constraints). The motivation to use factoring, however, appears to be related more to a demand for asset-based finance from small companies than to firm-level choices about organisational structure. [source]

Ethical Attitudes in Small Businesses and Large Corporations: Theory and Empirical Findings from a Tracking Study Spanning Three Decades

JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2006
Justin G. Longenecker
This study offers a theoretical framework of ethical behavior and a comparative analysis of ethical perceptions of managers of large, mostly publicly traded corporations (those with 1,000 or more employees) and the owners and managers of smaller companies (those with fewer than 100 employees) across 17 years. The primary research provides basic data on the changing standards of ethics as perceived by leaders of large and small businesses where the cultures frequently fall into sharp contrast. Our findings reveal the extent to which the message of business integrity is gaining or losing ground within large and small companies. It does this by means of respondents' judgments of acceptable responses to 16 scenarios profiling common business situations with questionable ethical dimensions. Based on responses from over 5,000 managers and employees (from firms of all sizes) to our scenarios at three points in time (1985, 1993, 2001), we tested two research questions. First, for firms of all sizes, have business ethics improved or declined between the years 1985 and 2001? Second, comparing responses of large and small firm executives across the 1985,2001 time frame, is there a discernible difference in their ethical standards? Our results suggest that business leaders are making somewhat more ethical decisions in recent years. We also found that small business owner,managers offered less ethical responses to scenarios in 1993 but that no significant differences existed with large firm managers in 1985 and 2001. Implications of our findings are discussed. [source]

Variations in worker compensation claims by company,the potential for achieving a significant reduction in claims

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2007
Kenneth D. Rosenman MD
Abstract Background The objective of our study was to examine the potential reduction in paid worker compensation claims if the rate of claims were as low as the rates of the top companies in that industry category. Methods Using Michigan data for the years 1999,2001, we first excluded companies who had no paid worker compensation claims for wage replacement and then calculated the top 10th, 25th, and 50th percentile rates of paid worker compensation claims for wage replacement of all the remaining companies combined and by 2 digit SIC. The percent reduction was calculated separately for small (<20 employees) and large companies based on the differences in observed minus expected if all companies did as well as the top companies in their industry grouping. Results Fifty-nine percent of large companies and 90% of small companies had no paid worker compensation claims for wage replacement over the 3-year period. Controlling for industry type there would have been 91,504 fewer paid workers' compensation claims if all companies with at least one claim did as well as the 10th percentile or better as the companies in their industry grouping. Reductions were found across all industries and for both small and large companies. Conclusion Variations in worker compensation claims between states are highlighted when legislators consider "reforms" to reduce workers' compensation costs. These reforms overlook the larger variation between companies within the same type of industry in the same state. Possible reasons for this variation between companies and its implication on reducing morbidity and health care costs are discussed. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:415,420, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Improving the effectiveness of process safety management in small companies

PROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 4 2008
Joseph F. Louvar
Abstract Major accidents are continuing to injure people, and damage facilities and the environment. About 50% of these accidents are in plants that are covered by process safety management (PSM) and 50% are in smaller plants that are not covered. However, the damage is the same. Clearly the OSHA PSM regulation and recommendations by CSB, CCPS, PSP, etc. are not being used as specified. The objective of this paper is to express an enthusiastic support for these major excellent recommendations and to make a few additional recommendations that should enhance those previously listed. This article describes (a) specifically designed methods to improve the implementation of PSM and the above-mentioned recommendations and (b) additional plant practices for preventing accidents. The methods and practices presented in this article are especially important for smaller plants; most of the larger companies already have good systems to prevent accidents. However, since many of the large accidents are in PSM-covered plants, some of these larger plants may also benefit from these additional recommendations. One recommendation is that small companies, although not covered by PSM, should practice the intent of the regulation. At a minimum, companies should develop a document that is at least similar to the PSM documentation. However, this article emphasizes that this documentation is not enough because the management of the requirements is extremely difficult. Companies need to have a system that includes the PSM documents, communication, delegation, and follow-up to insure that the requirements are practiced as intended. Based on the author's experience, the use of additional plant practices such as an effective management system, internal audits, walk-the-line, and checklists will enhance the utilization of PSM. These practices are easy to use and will prevent accidents. More of these methods and practices are needed and should be shared between companies. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2008 [source]

Are the Best Small Companies the Best Investments?

Making the Market: Specialty Coffee, Generational Pitches, and Papua New Guinea

ANTIPODE, Issue 3 2010
Paige West
Abstract:, Today the commodity circuit for specialty coffee seems to be made up of socially conscious consumers, well-meaning and politically engaged roasters and small companies, and poor yet ecologically noble producers who want to take part in the flows of global capital, while at the same time living in close harmony with the natural world. This paper examines how these actors are produced by changes in the global economy that are sometimes referred to as neoliberalism. It also shows how images of these actors are produced and what the material effects of those images are. It begins with a description of how generations are understood and made by marketers. Next it shows how coffee production in Papua New Guinea, especially Fair Trade and organic coffee production, is turned into marketing narratives meant to appeal to particular consumers. Finally, it assesses the success of the generational-based marketing of Papua New Guinea-origin, Fair Trade and organic coffees, three specialty coffee types that are marketed heavily to the "Millenial generation", people born between 1983 and 2000. [source]

Radical innovation in a small firm: a hybrid electric vehicle development project at Volvo Cars

R & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010
Hans Pohl
The potential paradigmatic shift in technology from the internal combustion engine to electric propulsion via hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) has been addressed by most automakers, and has produced very different outcomes. This paper uses the framework of core capabilities to discuss how the small automaker, Volvo Cars, made substantial progress in its HEV development using an approach based on limited resources and a low risk. A comparison with Toyota's successful but very resource-demanding Prius project reveals some factors contributing towards rapid development in a context of limited resources, including focused project objectives, tight collaboration with suppliers of the new technologies, reuse of existing technologies and an unaggressive, bottom-up approach to change the firm's values and norms and other core capability dimensions. This paper provides an empirical illustration of how a small company in a mature industry worked with radical innovation in a development project drawing on the combination of organizational slack, entrepreneurial employees and an extensive use of external (knowledge) suppliers. [source]