Growth expectations of business owners:impact of human capital, firm characteristics and environmental transition

This paper presents an empirical study based on a survey of 399 owners of small and medium size companies in Lithuania. Applying bivariate and ordered probit estimators, we investigate why some business owners expect their firms to expand, while others do not. Our main findings provide evidence that SME owner's generic and specific human capital matter. Those with higher education and 'learning by doing' attributes, either through previous job experience or additional entrepreneurial experience, expect their businesses to expand. The expectations of growth are positively related to exporting and non-monotonically to enterprise size. In addition, we analyse the link between the perceptions of constraints to business activities and growth expectations and find that the factors, which are perceived as main business barriers, are not necessary those which are associated with reduced growth expectations. In particular, perceptions of both corruption and of inadequate tax systems seem to affect growth expectations the most.

Attachment anxiety and friendship group identification under attachment threat:the moderating role of priming support network expectations

We examined the role of priming participants' own network expectations on their subsequent identification with their friendship group. We examined this prime alongside attachment anxiety and attachment threat, as predictors of friendship group identification. Previous research has suggested that attachment anxiety is associated with negative network expectations. In this study, we extended this work to show that when a network expectation prime was absent, higher attachment anxiety was associated with lower group identification under attachment threat, compared to a control condition. However, when expectations of support network were primed, attachment threat no longer affected group identification, so that only attachment anxiety predicted group identification. This suggests that priming participants who are high in attachment anxiety with their own network expectancies (which are negative), results in participants dis-identifying with their friendship group, regardless of whether or not they have experienced attachment threat. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

An empirical investigation of host country national categorization of expatriates in the United Kingdom

In recent times, some authors have argued that Host Country National (HCN) categorization of expatriate co-workers plays a major role in expatriate adjustment. Previous studies have argued that HCN categorization of expatriates maybe be based on gender, or national origin. In this study, using data from 331 HCNs in the U.K., we find that HCN expectations of foreigners may play a big role in categorization. Further, we find that categorization leads to lower levels of support offered by HCNs, which can affect expatriate adjustment. We discuss implications and offer suggestions for future research.

Transferring manufacturing technology in China:supplier perceptions and acquirer expectations

Results of complementary surveys of foreign and Chinese manufacturing enterprises with respect to their objectives and expectations regarding technology transfer into China show that the major strategic objective of foreign enterprises, to gain access to the Chinese market, fits well with Chinese enterprises’ main objective of improving domestic competitiveness but less well with that of accessing world markets through technology transfer. Foreign firms rate highly the capability of Chinese enterprises to learn new technologies and also find the Chinese macro environment for business favourable. The survey results provide information that will help managers with their negotiations on co-operating with prospective partners for the transfer of technology as well as assisting policy makers who wish to facilitate more effective transfer arrangements.

An investigation into the nature, determinants, and dynamics of service quality expectations

On the basis of a review of the substantive quality and service marketing literature current knowledge regarding service quality expectations was found either absent or deficient. The phenomenon is of increasing importance to both marketing researchers and management and was therefore judged worthy of scholarly consideration. Because the service quality literature was insufficiently rich when embarking on the thesis three basic research issues were considered namely the nature, determinants, and dynamics of service quality expectations. These issues were first conceptually and then qualitatively explored. This process generated research hypotheses mainly relating to a model which were subsequently tested through a series of empirical investigations using questionnaire data from field studies in a single context. The results were internally consistent and strongly supported the main research hypotheses. It was found that service quality expectations can be meaningfully described in terms of generic/service-specific, intangible/tangible, and process/outcome categories. Service-specific quality expectations were also shown to be determined by generic service quality expectations, demographic variables, personal values, psychological needs, general service sophistication, service-specific sophistication, purchase motives, and service-specific information when treating service class involvement as an exogenous variable. Subjects who had previously not directly experienced a particular service were additionally found to revise their expectations of quality when exposed to the service with change being driven by a sub-set of identified determinants.

Technical entrepreneurship in the UK:an examination of the relationship between the previous occupational background of the technical entrepreneur and the management of the small technology-based venture

With the growing appreciation of the contribution of small technology-based ventures to a healthy economy, an analysis of the individual who initiates and manages such ventures - the technical entrepreneur - is highly desirable, predominantly because of the influence of such an individual on the management and future strategy of the venture. An examination of recent research has indicated that a study of the previous experience and expertise of the entrepreneur, gained in previous occupations, may be highly relevant in determining the possible success of a new venture. This is particularly true where the specific expertise of the entrepreneur forms the main strategic advantage of the business, as in the case of small technology-based firms. Despite this, there has been very little research which has attempted to examine the relationship between the previous occupational background of the technical entrepreneur, and the management of the small technology-based firm. This thesis will examine this relationship, as well as providing an original contribution to the study of technical entrepreneurship in the UK. Consequently, the exploratory nature of the research prompted an inductive qualitative approach being adopted for the thesis. Through a two stage, multiple-site research approach, an examination was made of technical entrepreneurs heading award-winning technology-based small firms in the UK. The main research questions focused on management within the firm, the novelty and origin of the technology adopted, and the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur under study. The results of this study led to the creation of a specific typology for technical entrepreneurs, based on the individual's role in the development of technology within his previous occupation.

Differences between theoretical predictions and operational performance in a stock control application

Over the past decade, several experienced Operational Researchers have advanced the view that the theoretical aspects of model building have raced ahead of the ability of people to use them. Consequently, the impact of Operational Research on commercial organisations and the public sector is limited, and many systems fail to achieve their anticipated benefits in full. The primary objective of this study is to examine a complex interactive Stock Control system, and identify the reasons for the differences between the theoretical expectations and the operational performance. The methodology used is to hypothesise all the possible factors which could cause a divergence between theory and practice, and to evaluate numerically the effect each of these factors has on two main control indices - Service Level and Average Stock Value. Both analytical and empirical methods are used, and simulation is employed extensively. The factors are divided into two main categories for analysis - theoretical imperfections in the model, and the usage of the system by Buyers. No evidence could be found in the literature of any previous attempts to place the differences between theory and practice in a system in quantitative perspective nor, more specifically, to study the effects of Buyer/computer interaction in a Stock Control system. The study reveals that, in general, the human factors influencing performance are of a much higher order of magnitude than the theoretical factors, thus providing objective evidence to support the original premise. The most important finding is that, by judicious intervention into an automatic stock control algorithm, it is possible for Buyers to produce results which not only attain but surpass the algorithmic predictions. However, the complexity and behavioural recalcitrance of these systems are such that an innately numerate, enquiring type of Buyer needs to be inducted to realise the performance potential of the overall man/computer system.

Adolescents and the experience of parental divorce:including reference to the expectations of teacher trainees

The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of parental divorce on adolescents, and the expectations of teacher trainees with regard to children of divorce. The literature related to children of divorce is reviewed and the results of interviews with a sample of recently divorced custodial parents and their adolescent children, using a structured interview schedule, are described. The semantic differential technique was used to obtain ratings of a sample of teacher trainees' expectations of children of divorce as compared with their ratings of several other categories of children. The results of the interviews with parents and their adolescent children suggested that parental divorce does not necessarily interfere with adolescent development and that for some adolescents the reduction of conflict in the home might enhance normal development. They also suggest that adolescents would prefer to live in a one parent home rather than a two parent home which is fraught with conflict, and that it is preferable for parents who are unable to resolve such conflict in any other way to separate rather than allow it to persist. The ratings of children of divorce by teacher trainees suggest that they hold more negative expectations of such children than of other groups • such as adopted children. The contrast between this finding and the results of the interviews with adolescents and their parents lends some support to the existence of the divorce myth; that is, the cultural belief that divorce has the inherent power to make people unhappy. The implications for policy, practice and further research are discussed.

Patients' perceptions and experiences of transitions in diabetes care: a longitudinal qualitative study

Objective To examine patients' perceptions and experiences over time of the devolvement of diabetes care/reviews from secondary to primary health-care settings. Design Repeat in-depth interviews with 20 patients over 4 years. Participants and setting Twenty type 2 diabetes patients recruited from primary- and secondary-care settings across Lothian, Scotland. Results Patients' views about their current diabetes care were informed by their previous service contact. The devolvement of diabetes care/reviews to general practice was presented as a 'mixed blessing'. Patients gained reassurance from their perception that receiving practice-based care/reviews signified that their diabetes was well-controlled. However, they also expressed resentment that, by achieving good control, they received what they saw as inferior care and/or less-frequent reviews to others with poorer control. While patients tended to regard GPs as having adequate expertise to conduct their practice-based reviews, they were more ambivalent about nurses taking on this role. Opportunities to receive holistic care in general practice were not always realized due to patients seeing health-care professionals for diabetes management to whom they would not normally present for other health issues. Conclusions It is important to educate patients about their care pathways, and to reassure them that frequency of reviews depends more on clinical need than location of care and that similar care guidelines are followed in hospital clinics and general practice. A patients' history of service contact may need to be taken into account in future studies of service satisfaction.

Balancing high expectations with academic quality:achieving equilibrium in education to promote student employability

A discussion of how to promote employability within the curriculum

Balancing expectations in engineering education:enhancing student experiences through empirical research - a comparative analysis

This paper draws upon the findings of an empirical study comparing the expectations and concerns of engineering students with students enrolled on business and management programs. It argues that whilst the two groups of students have very similar expectations, motivations and concerns before their start their studies, once at university, engineering students are twice as likely to drop-out than are their compatriots in business studies. Drawing upon the study findings, recommendations are made as to what might be done to counteract this. The conclusion argues that there is a need for more in-depth research to be conducted in this area in order to identify the reasons behind the different attrition rates and to further enhance engineering undergraduate experience.

Growth expectations and financial performance of small businesses:evidence from Latvia

By applying regulatory focus theory, this paper investigates the impact of both initial confidence and of exactness of growth expectations on subsequent financial performance of the small firms. Drawing on the unique data set based on the repeated survey design, we make one of the first attempts to explore the complexity of this relationship empirically. Overall the findings suggest that controlling for other relevant factors, including actual growth, the entrepreneurs having higher growth expectations perform significantly better later on in terms of profitability. In addition, education has a strong modifying effect: the impact of high growth expectations on subsequent profit performance is stronger for entrepreneurs with lower level of education.