Purpose – Entrepreneurship is defined as a “life skill”, and the European Union (EU) has recently called on member states to promote the development of entrepreneurial attitudes from primary school right through to university level. The paper aims to investigate which factors influence...

Purpose – There has been considerable discussion concerning the resource dependency theory of strategy but relatively little qualitative, empirical research has been conducted on the proposed models. Using the value chain as the conceptual framework, the research aims to show how...

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the extent to which public house licensees conform with employment legislation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines legislation within the hospitality industry. Five aspects of the legislation were selected and a case study approach was...

Purpose – To evaluate the abilities, skills and expertise of undergraduates who participated in the UK‐based Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP) and their suitability for prospective employment in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – The...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the key micro factors that are shaping Chinese entrepreneurship: socio‐political origins, motivations, educational attainment, organisational forms and power structures. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a questionnaire survey...

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on three main strands of research relating to entrepreneurship in China: the role of local governments in the development of entrepreneurial activities in twon and village‐based enterprises (TVEs); institutional environments and strategic responses of...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the similarities and differences in the internationalization of SMEs and MNEs and the specific factors affecting them. Design/methodology/approach – The relevant literature was reviewed particularly in the context of the major theories of...

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate differences in the perceived performance and competitiveness of “successful” family and non‐family‐owned firms in overseas markets. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports on findings from a postal survey and...

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to specifically explore the role of management characteristics in the international development of SMEs. Design/methodology/approach – Since the intention of this study was to build theory from an unexplored area of research, a multiple case approach...