Editorial

Citation

Matlay, H. (2007), "Editorial", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 14 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed.2007.27114aaa.001

Editorial

With this new volume, I embark upon my sixth year as Editor of JSBED. The beginning of each volume of the journal affords us a few moments of reflection, as we look back upon the achievements and tribulations of previous publishing years. In 2002, when I took over the editorship of this journal under circumstances that were both difficult and challenging, I reflected upon the options, challenges and opportunities that we faced in considering the development and growth strategies of a relatively unknown journal. From the beginning, the most important aspect of our editorial strategy focussed upon ensuring a regular flow of good quality and empirically rigorous articles, including both theoretical and practical dissemination of small business and enterprise development research. Five years later, quality aspects of submissions still present considerable challenges for our Editorial Board, referees and specialist advisers. Regular readers of, and contributors to, our journal would have noticed that the incremental growth of JSBED involved not only a quantitative aspect but also a significant rise in the overall quality of the articles that we published. We have adopted a policy that aims to disseminate both quantitative and qualitative research, including theoretical and single case studies. We publish at least one special issue in each volume, with a focus on a specific theme or an emergent subtopic of particular interest to our readership. Our general issues cover a wide variety of aspects, subject matter and subtopics in the field of entrepreneurship and small business development. This strategy has enhanced our reputation and standing in the academic community and has contributed to a steady rise in the journal’s research ranking.

In quantitative terms, we endeavour to publish an average of 40 articles that are spread across four issues a year. This compares favourably with most other journals in social sciences, including those that publish six or more issues per volume. Emerald has been tracking the content published online and relevant statistics are available to chart the total number of JSBED articles downloaded from our dedicated website. I am pleased to report that over the last five years we have grown incrementally from 9,112 downloads in 2002 to a total of 36,390 and 41,889 in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Significantly, by the end of 2005 we registered a staggering 61,935 downloads from our journal. In 2006 we exceeded the all time high figure achieved in 2005. During 2006 JSBED article downloads totalled 86,040. Nevertheless, I feel that many challenges remain and much is still to be done in our quest to continuously improve the overall performance of our fast growing journal. For instance, in terms of geographical distribution of article downloads, six regions account for the largest proportion of hits: UK (49 per cent), Australasia (17.5 per cent), Far East (10.4 per cent), Western Europe (8.9 per cent), Africa (5.7 per cent) and North America (2.3 per cent). It is encouraging to note that articles published in JSBED have been accessed by readers in both Southern (1.8 per cent) and Eastern Europe (0.9 per cent) as well as Central Asia (1.6 per cent) and the Middle East (0.9 per cent), in regions where English is not the native language or in business usage. I genuinely believe that the next few years will bring further quantitative and qualitative growth for our journal and wider spread of readership in both core and marginal sales regions.

The current issue contains nine articles and two research notes. The number of themes included in this general issue is indicative of the wide spectrum of subjects covered by colleagues researching and disseminating their finding in our fast growing topic. In the first article Paul, Whitam and Wyper test the “Pecking Order Hypothesis” as it applies to start-up firms. The authors found evidence consistent with this hypothesis that entrepreneurs in start-up firms prefer to rely on their own financial resources. In contrast, however, where external funds are required, the main source is equity rather than debt. They suggest that in their consideration of start-up financial resources, entrepreneurs should assess the post-investment role they wish investors to play. In the next article, Khan and Bamber explore “country of origin” effects among Pakistani elite consumers in order to use related knowledge as an intelligence base for SMEs considering entry into Pakistan. It emerges that the elite segment of Pakistan perceives country of origin image, product quality and price as distinct attributes when making a purchasing decision. SMEs both within and outside Pakistan should adopt strategies that use appropriate marketing research to maximise their possible impact in their chosen target markets. In the third article, Ottessen and Gronhaug investigate the influence that SMEs can have upon their markets. In their exploratory study, the authors use longitudinal data to track a top manager’s interactions with the firm’s external constituencies. The authors conclude that considerable efforts are devoted to influence a wide range of external actors in order to benefit from a good reputation. Vesala, Peura and McElwee focus their article upon the entrepreneurial identity of portfolio farmers in Finland and on the extent to which the differences between them, other farmers, and non-farm rural businesses could be explained. It emerges that portfolio farmers have a stronger entrepreneurial identity and that compared to conventional farmers, they perceive themselves as growth-oriented, innovative, optimistic and more in control of their business activities. In the fifth article grimes, Doole and Kitchen profile the capabilities of SMEs to compete internationally. The authors propose an “Export Marketing Profiling System” that recognises key themes and groups them into specific characteristics, competencies, capabilities and activities that can contribute to successful performance in international markets. The next article focuses on the related issue of new product market visioning in small enterprises. Shiu and Walker found that, in the contexts of new product market visioning, small businesses have been rated lower in ability and effort on a number of possible indicators. They suggest that there is much room for improvement among small firms to achieve a more impressive rate of conversion from opportunity to successful product development. In the seventh article, Sharon Williams explores the learning opportunities that exist for smaller organisations in the context of a supplier development and business improvement environment. The author concludes that the collaborative nature of the supply chain environment is conducive to shared learning between the lead customer and the suppliers.

The next two articles focus upon methodology issues in the context of SME research. Ignatius Ekanem presents a detailed description of “Insider Accounts”, the qualitative research method that he adopted in his doctoral research into the investment decision-making process in small manufacturing enterprises. His chosen method involves in-depth, semi-structured interviews and direct observation, conducted longitudinally within a case study approach. It includes detailed accounts from the respondents themselves, incorporating the actual motives and behaviour of owner-managers. The method is based on the philosophy that the “objects” studied are in fact “subjects”, producing accounts of their own world. In the next article, Ian Fillis evaluates an alternative methodological approach to researching international entrepreneurship that “mirrors” the creativity of successful entrepreneurial organisations. His biographical approach overcomes the pervasive linear thinking of the wider management discipline. Typically, successful entrepreneurial practice is a non-linear path and this approach compensates for the complexities inherent in specialist research. The author argues that a biographical approach provides a richer and deeper data, which would otherwise remain hidden. In the first research note, Phillip Samouel assesses the presence of relational norms and the effect of time during the “transitory” and “established” phases of bilateral exchange for small business enterprises. The author concludes that trading partners should nurture relationships through the early developmental stage of their small businesses in order to ensure enduring successful partnerships. In the second research note, Clarkin and Hasbrouck set out to explore the objectivity and reliability of the Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500^®’ ranking system. The authors found that several quantifiable measures that were categorized by the publishers as “most important” or “important” to a firm’s rankings, were found to have little or no explanatory power in their regression model. Furthermore, longitudinal analysis revealed inconsistencies in the ranking among the top 100 ranked franchises, which questions the ranking system’s overall reliability.

Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to the many individuals that were involved in the delivery of this issue of JSBED: authors, referees, advisors, my publisher Richard Whitfield and other employees of Emerald Publishing Group.

Harry Matlay