New Zealand provides a special case for a developed country where innovation and R&D levels are comparatively low in SMEs, yet, paradoxically, it is also a nation of high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In attempting to explain these low rates of innovation activity, a number of conjectures...

Empirical evidence suggests that improving the management skills of owner-managers of SMEs contributes to their survival and growth, and that there is considerable scope for further improvement in skills and competences of owner-managers. In particular, small firm owner-managers’ capability to...

Does the global recession impact on all small firms in the same way? Are small firms vulnerable with regard to a downturn in the economy because of the their limited resources, customers and product range across which to spread their risk or are they resilient because of their flexibility to...

Noting that ethnic minority entrepreneurs often face more barriers than white entrepreneurs when attempting to access finance, the authors investigate the decision-making process of bank managers who are considering applications by minority entrepreneurs.The data used to examine this issue come...

Objectives Managerial capability in New Zealand SMEs has been perceived by policy makers as a factor that has constrained SME growth and development (MED, 2008). The New Zealand Centre for SME Research (NZSMERC) has undertaken a programme of research on managerial capability in New Zealand SMEs....

New Zealand’s SMEs face increased challenges as we move into the second decade of the 21st Century. Increased challenges will arise from future changes in technological, demographic and socio-economic trends. The lecture aims to examine the nature and characteristics of New Zealand’s small...