Journal articles on the topic 'Small business Australia Accounting'
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Chua, Yi Lin, Chee Seng Cheong, and Graeme Gould. "The Impact of Mandatory IFRS Adoption on Accounting Quality: Evidence from Australia." Journal of International Accounting Research 11, no. 1 (January 1, 2012): 119–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.2308/jiar-10212.
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ABSTRACT Following the mandatory implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Australia as of January 1, 2005, this study examines its impact on accounting quality by focusing on three perspectives: (1) earnings management, (2) timely loss recognition, and (3) value relevance. Using four years of adoption experience since the mandate was first made effective in Australia for a wide range of accounting-based metrics and market-based information, we find that the mandatory adoption of IFRS has resulted in better accounting quality than previously under Australian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In particular, the findings indicate that the pervasiveness of earnings management by way of smoothing has reduced, while the timeliness of loss recognition has improved post-adoption. Additionally, the value relevance of financial statement information has improved, especially for non-financial firms. This is despite the fact that there is evidence to suggest that financial firms are engaged in managing earnings toward a small positive target after the mandatory adoption of IFRS in Australia.
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Patrickson, Margaret, and Leonie Hallo. "Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship: The Experience of Chinese Migrants to Australia." Administrative Sciences 11, no. 4 (December 3, 2021): 145. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/admsci11040145.
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This article reports on findings from interviews with a small group of Chinese female immigrants to Australia who have started up their own business since their arrival. Unlike most publications concerning immigration that focus upon financial factors, we have instead concentrated on their personal journeys, why they started their businesses and the benefits they sought. We interviewed thirteen participants in Adelaide who had recently arrived from China with the aim of immigrating permanently to Australia. Immigration records indicate that by 2020 this figure had risen to over 160,000 per annum. However, it dropped again quickly in 2020 following the beginning of COVID-19. Nonetheless, according to recent Australian government records, over 866,200 current Australian residents have Chinese ancestry and 74% are first-generation migrants. The primary motivators for respondents were independence and control as well as income and skill development. Respondents were also satisfied by the personal development they gained.
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Killian, Sheila, Stewart S. Karlinsky, Garry Payne, and Jackie Arendse. "Mixed Blessing of Being Designated a Small Business: A Four Country Comparison." ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2007): 16–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.2308/jltr.2007.5.1.16.
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This article will focus on how four countries' income tax laws define a small business and how the taxing authorities and legislators attempt to prevent small business definitions from being exploited by potentially unintended users or for unintended purposes. We will use the experiences from four diverse countries (Australia, Ireland, South Africa, and the U.S.), which take their roots from the same legal system (England) to see if there are best practices that can be adapted for these and other countries as well. A fundamental question that arises when discussing tax incentives and disincentives for small business is why carve out special provisions for this segment of the business community? The answer, as discussed below, is two fold: one, the economic benefits that small business yields the economy is material and significant; two, economies of scale as to both regulatory (including tax) compliance costs as well as costs of goods and materials warrant incentives to level the playing field with large businesses.
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Dyt, Robyn, and Abdel K. Halabi. "Empirical Evidence Examining the Accounting Information Systems and Accounting Reports of Small and Micro Business in Australia." Small Enterprise Research 15, no. 2 (January 2007): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/ser.15.2.1.
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Melia, Adrian, Paul Docherty, and Steve Easton. "The impact of regulation on the seasoned equity offering decision." Australian Journal of Management 45, no. 1 (May 10, 2019): 94–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0312896219833724.
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The rarity of rights issues in the United States makes it difficult to examine the choice between alternative seasoned equity offering (SEO) methods in that market. In Australia, however, both rights issues and private placements are prevalent. We therefore use the Australian market to test whether regulation influences a firm’s choice between rights issues and private placements. When a firm decides to issue seasoned equity in Australia, regulation favours private placements if the issue is small or needs to be completed quickly. Consistent with regulations affecting the choice between SEO types, our empirical results provide evidence that firms in Australia are more likely to choose a private placement for small issues or when taking advantage of temporary periods of overvaluation. JEL Classification: G12, G14
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Breen, John, Sue Bergin‐Seers, Ian Roberts, and Robert Sims. "The Impact of the Introduction of the GST on Small Business In Australia." Asian Review of Accounting 10, no. 1 (January 2002): 89–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb060751.
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Holmes, Scott, Gary Kelly, and Ross Cunningham. "The Small Firm Information Cycle: A Reappraisal." International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship 9, no. 2 (January 1991): 41–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/026624269100900203.
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DR. SCOTT HOLMES IS PROFESSOR OF Accounting at the University of Arizona, Tucson, United States, and was previously at the University of Queensland, Australia. Cary Kelly is a lecturer in the department adn Ross Cunningham a senior lecturer in the Departmet of Statistic at the Australian National University. Prior research has identified various stages in the lfie of a small enterprise. These states are commonly combined to produce a business life cycle. This paper proposed that small enterprise consists of a serios f interrelated cycles and as such, the presentation of an overall life cycle provides and over-simplified view of the firm. the concept of the information sub-cycle is introduced, which in itself can take many forms. Logistics regression modelling techniques incorporating those variables which appera to be significant in infulecing the level of accounting information prepared or acquired are applied to the development of an information cycle. The result obtained indicate that the acquistion and /or preparation of a relatively detailed level of accounting information is dependent on firm age, size, industry membership and level of owner-manger education. the pattern which emerges from these results supports the revision of traditional life cycle concepts. in particular, the need to segment the firm into severl sun-cycle is recommended.
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Xiang, Dong, and Andrew Worthington. "Finance-seeking behaviour and outcomes for small- and medium-sized enterprises." International Journal of Managerial Finance 11, no. 4 (September 7, 2015): 513–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijmf-01-2013-0005.
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Purpose – Model finance-seeking behaviour and outcomes by Australian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using firm-level panel data. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Using firm-level three-year panel data for more than 2,000 SMEs from the Business Longitudinal Database compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the authors estimate separate models for the seeking of finance (debt and/or equity) and the outcomes of finance seeking (successful or unsuccessful). Key explanatory variables include declared business focus (on financial, cost, operational, quality, innovation, and human resource measures), presence of business plans and other documentation related to successful finance seeking, innovation, indicators for family and foreign-owned businesses, and profitability. Control variables include sales, the number of employees, length of operations, export and import activity, government financial assistance, and industry classification. Findings – Business objectives together with a large number of firm-level characteristics, including firm age, size, industry and sales, profits, growth and exports, significantly affect both finance-seeking behaviour and outcomes. The authors find evidence that the pecking-order and agency cost theories of capital structure at least partly explain the financial behaviour of Australian SMEs. Research limitations/implications – Several of the responses in the underlying survey data are qualitative so the authors are unable to assess how the strength of these relationships varies by the levels of sales and profitability. Practical implications – The findings show that business objectives significantly affect SME finance-seeking decisions and outcomes. SMEs that focus on profitability or growth have a strong willingness to seek additional finance; in comparison, SMEs that focus on the quality of their products or services are less likely to apply for additional finance. As only half of the SMEs in the sample considered profitability or growth to be a major business focus, core business objectives greatly affect SME financing decisions. Further, pecking-order theory not trade-off theory better explains the financial behaviour of SMEs, yielding evidence that SMEs continue to face financial constraints when pursuing growth. Some evidence also of agency cost theory in the positive effects of family ownership on debt seeking. Originality/value – One of very few studies to examine finance seeking by SMEs, especially in Australia. Further, only study known to include declared business strategy, presence of business plans and other finance-related documentation and innovation in addition to the usual focus on growth and profitability to explain financing behaviour. Very large panel of longitudinal data used to explain financial decision making over time.
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Mirshekary, Soheila, and Rodney Carr. "Effects of exposure to unethical practices on the personal attitudes of accountants in small accounting firms." Journal of Management & Organization 21, no. 1 (January 2015): 98–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2014.62.
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AbstractWe investigate how exposure to unethical practices affects the personal attitude of accountants in small accounting firms towards unethical behaviours. This is an important topic for business because accountants in small accounting firms are in a position to influence the behaviour of the large number of businesses they serve. The main independent variable is a measure of exposure to a variety of different types of unethical practices. A regression involving the exposure variable onto personal attitude is carried out using data from owners/managers of small accounting firms in Australia. Findings confirm a negative relationship between the amount of exposure and personal attitude towards questionable practices: increased exposure to questionable ethical behaviour is related to an increase in the level of acceptance of unethical behaviour. While such a finding is not unexpected, it suggests that other strategies need to be pursued to encourage ethical behaviour.
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Wright, April, and Deborah Ralston. "The Lagging Development of Small Business Internet Banking in Australia." Journal of Small Business Management 40, no. 1 (January 2002): 51–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-627x.00038.
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Webster, Beverley, Elizabeth Walker, and Alan Brown. "Australian small business participation in training activities." Education + Training 47, no. 8/9 (October 2005): 552–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400910510633107.
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Carey, Peter John. "External accountants’ business advice and SME performance." Pacific Accounting Review 27, no. 2 (April 7, 2015): 166–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/par-04-2013-0020.
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Purpose – This study aims to investigate whether “small- and medium-sized enterprises” (SMEs) benefit from their external accountants’ business advice through enhanced firm performance. Most SMEs draw on external support, and their main advisors are external accountants (Bennett and Robson, 1999). The resource-based view of the firm suggests that firms will seek external support if they perceive a gap in their internal resources. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a questionnaire mailed to a random sample of Australian SMEs, defined as businesses having between 5 and 200 full-time employees. Findings – An analysis of 380 survey respondents confirms a positive relationship between the voluntary purchase of business advice and SME performance, and that SME performance is further enhanced when business advice is purchased jointly with auditing. These relationships apply to the small (5-49 employees) but not to the medium-sized (50-200 employees) businesses. Findings are consistent with smaller firms having narrower resource bases and thus a greater need to source business advice. Practical implications – The accounting profession has long encouraged a broadening of its service base, and evidence that small businesses perceive a performance benefit from their accountants’ business advice provides support for the profession’s strategy. Originality/value – This research extends the empirical literature investigating the link between the business advice of an external accountant and SME performance. It explains small firms’ demand for business advice by extending the application of the resource-based view of the firm and provides new evidence consistent with “knowledge spillover” from auditing to business advice in the small firm environment.
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Holmes, Scott, and Gary J. Kelly. "METHODOLOGICAL WEAKNESSES OF AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH." Accounting & Finance 29, no. 1 (May 1989): 21–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-629x.1989.tb00153.x.
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Stone, Gerard William. "Readability of accountants’ communications with small business—Some Australian evidence." Accounting Forum 35, no. 4 (December 2011): 247–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2010.12.001.
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Zheng, Connie S., and Soheila Mirshekary. "The power of Australian small accounting firms’ unethical exposure." Social Responsibility Journal 11, no. 3 (August 3, 2015): 467–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/srj-02-2014-0018.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate small business owner/manager’s exposure to unethical behavior, and to examine the influence of unethical exposure on organizational intention to implement ethical policies and practices. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 209 Australian small accounting firms with a path analysis, this paper adopts a modified ethical decision-making model to test the relationship between exposure and personal attitudes toward unethical behavior, and the relationship between exposure and intentions to implement ethical policies and practices at firm level. Findings – The results show that increased exposure to unethical behavior triggered stronger personal attitudes with small accounting firm owners/managers tending toward accepting unethical behavior. In contrast, at the firm level, more exposure to unethical behavior creates cautious overtones and motivates owners/managers to take action and implement more ethical policies, with the underlying aim of addressing serious ethical issues. Research limitations/implications – The study tests the ethical decision-making model but focuses only on three constructs (i.e. exposure, attitude and response). The aim is to examine whether extensive exposure to unethical behavior would change personal attitudes toward accepting such behavior, and whether unethical exposure would trigger firm owner/managers to take action and address the ethical dilemma by establishing some ethical guidelines. Other important variables (such as subjective norm, personal locus of control) embedded in the ethical decision-making model should be included in future research. Practical implications – The study draws attention to ethical dilemmas encountered by many small accounting professionals and their organizations. It addresses the importance of upholding the ethical standard and avoiding the extensive exposure to unethical behavior. It also emphasizes the needs for small businesses to establish some ethical policies and practices. Originality/value – The paper is purposely set out to reduce the gap in studying how small accounting firms make decisions in implementing their ethical policies and practices to address the rampant ethical dilemma faced by their employees as a result of many corporate scandals and financial crises of the past decade. The results are particularly valuable for small accounting firm owners/managers. The findings also have educational and policy implications.
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Stone, Gerard. "Power, dependence and frustration." Meditari Accountancy Research 23, no. 3 (October 5, 2015): 250–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/medar-05-2014-0042.
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Purpose – This study aims to explore the existence and strength of power through focussing on the manner in which accountants exercise power in their advisory relationship with small business. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews provided insights into accountants’ power-related perceptions, experiences and use of power in the advisory relationship. A questionnaire accessed evidence from small business owner-managers (SBOMs). Power theoretical perspectives informed the analysis of the findings. Findings – Accountants’ expert and information power is a consequence of SBOMs’ dependence on their accountants’ expertise and knowledge. Accountants construct advisor roles and exercise power in a manner indicating that they attempt to manage rather than exploit power imbalances to the detriment of dependent SBOMs. However, outbreaks of frustration and conflict in the relationship illustrate the difficulties in managing the dysfunctional consequences of power imbalances. Research limitations/implications – While the findings are restricted to the Australian accountant–small business advisory relationship, they offer a basis for research into the effect of power on the relationship in other national contexts. Research which includes the views of managers of failed small businesses would also extend this work. Practical implications – The study’s focus on accountants’ experiences can assist practitioners endeavouring to develop advisory relationships with small business and designers of professional development programmes seeking to optimise the value of the advisory relationship. Originality/value – The paper extends the study of power to the under-researched yet important accountant–small business advisory area. Its findings are of interest to accountants and accounting policymakers who envisage a broadening of accountants’ small business advisory role.
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Kamall Khan, Yasmin, Jati Kasuma, and Azrin Ali. "The Challenges of Small and Medium Businesses in Managing Human Capital towards SMEs Performance – A Qualitative Study." Asian Journal of Business and Accounting 15, no. 1 (June 30, 2022): 311–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.22452/ajba.vol15no1.10.
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Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: Currently, machinery is replacing most human capital to save cost, but the value of human capital that contributes to the performance of SMEs is invaluable. SMEs were used to explain the connection between human capital and SMEs performance in South Australia. Design/Methodology/Approach: Five case studies on SMEs in South Australia were used in this study. The analysis of qualitative data entailed data coding, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis. Research findings: The cross-case analysis result is unsurprising considering that all five firms depend on their employees to work and keep the firm in operation. The cross-case analysis results are mixed in respect to the connection between human capital and the several types of performance measurement. The results, therefore, need to be interpreted with caution. SMEs perform solely through the skills, experience, and knowledge of their employees. This distinction occurs when the knowledge and information that employees gain are focused directly on the employee’s initiative, decision-making and critical thinking skills. Investment in human capital should be done carefully based on the limited resources of SMEs. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Most research has shown the link between human capital and firm performance. However, the degree to which investment in human capital contributes to the type of performance is yet to be explored based on qualitative data especially regarding SMEs in South Australia. Practitioner/policy implication: The sustainable development goal (SDG) entails a steady improvement in people’s well-being in a good environment. Thus, decisions about investment in human capital and the use of temporary workers should be taken jointly by personnel managers, in accordance with the size of the firm. If this holistic view is ignored, a full understanding of the impact of human capital on the firm’s performance will be obscured. On the other hand, a common feature that large and small firms share is an incompatibility between human capital and temporary employment. Research limitation/implications: The main limitation of this study was the sample of the study that comprised solely of South Australia SMEs. Thus, this study outcome may not be generalisable to the whole Australia as a country. Further investigation across different states would expand knowledge of the complicated patterns of HC. Keywords: Human capital, SME, Productivity, Profitability, South Australia JEL Classification: M12
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Sharafizad, Jalleh. "Informal learning of women small business owners." Education + Training 60, no. 1 (January 8, 2018): 82–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/et-01-2017-0006.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate women small business owners’ informal learning behaviour. There is limited qualitative research that examines women small business owners’ learning process and this study aims to address this gap. The study was driven by the following research questions: “Do women small business owners prefer informal learning to formal training?” and if so, “Why do women small business owners prefer informal learning to formal training?” and “If informal learning is preferred, what role do networking and mentoring play in this learning process?” Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 Western Australian women small business owners who were recruited through purposive sampling methods. Findings The small business owners had a strong preference for informal learning. Participants used their own work experience and knowledge to start-up their businesses. A low uptake of formal training was found due to time and resource constraints and personal preferences. Participants relied on contacts within their networks to acquire knowledge or they hired others who possessed the requisite knowledge or skill. Only a small portion of participants had mentors or acted as a mentor. Research limitations/implications This study has limitations that tend to be commonly found in exploratory studies, such as a small sample size. Practical implications The research has implications for recognised training institutions that are engaged in entrepreneurship education. By gaining greater understanding of the nature of learning in small business, they may be able to offer more affordable and flexible informal courses that specifically target women small business owners, incorporate mentorship programs within their business courses by engaging with industry partners, or appoint instructors with industry contacts and experience, to provide mentoring support for these business owners. Originality/value This research responds to calls for studies aimed at developing a more nuanced understanding of the learning behaviour of women small business owners.
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Woodley, Carolyn J., Stephen Burgess, Rafael Paguio, and Scott Bingley. "Technology mentors: enablers of ICT uptake in Australian small business." Education + Training 57, no. 6 (August 10, 2015): 658–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/et-08-2014-0095.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the innovative employment of students as technology mentors as part of a Blended Learning Program (BLP) that supported a group of owner-managers of small businesses to adopt appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance their work practices. Design/methodology/approach – This discussion uses various evaluations undertaken throughout the project to examine why the technology mentor role is vital in supporting small businesses to develop digital literacies. The participants’ self-reporting of their ICT skills as well as their progress in using ICT was also assessed by technology mentors in the course of the program and reported in mentor reflections. Academic staff also evaluated the performances of technology mentors in relation to each business. Findings – Participants in the BLP pilot program singled out the technology mentors as being essential in promoting their uptake of ICT and in their ability to use specific technologies at work. Research limitations/implications – Findings are based on a pilot program involving six learners and two technology mentors. While this is a statistically insignificant number of evaluations, both the findings and the model of the BLP remain of interest. This model has the capacity to address a long-standing and global challenge to support small businesses in the use of ICT. A scaled up version of the program is required to validate the findings. Practical implications – In the final evaluation, participants all self-assessed as having increased ICT knowledge and skills. They provided specific examples of how they now use ICT. The BLP could be taken up by local and state governments who periodically attempt to support small businesses in the uptake of technologies. The BLP could also be applied to vocational education students in business, information technologies or information systems. As well as supporting small businesses to adopt ICT, this model also provides an important alternative to resource-intensive work-placement programs that are designed to develop students’ employability skills through work-integrated learning. Originality/value – Less effective attempts to support small businesses often involve face-to-face training for unrealistic periods of time that foreground technology rather than real world, useful and relevant outcomes (IBSA, 2013). This BLP successfully supported owner operators of small businesses to identify, apply and evaluate a range of software applications (“apps”) and online programs to enhance their work practices.
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Grimstad, Sidsel, and John Burgess. "Environmental sustainability and competitive advantage in a wine tourism micro-cluster." Management Research Review 37, no. 6 (May 13, 2014): 553–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mrr-01-2013-0019.
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Purpose – The paper aims to examine the competitive advantage of the environmental behaviour at a firm level and micro-cluster level, building the analysis on Harts model of natural resource-based view of the firm and by using Brown et al.'s framework for analysing contextual resources that would provide locational advantage based on environmental behaviour. The case study examines the drivers and the obstacles to environmental action and demonstrates how clustering has been important in progressing a sustainability agenda. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a single wine tourism cluster in Australia is undertaken using mixed methods. Findings – The main drivers for environmental action are genuine concerns for the environment by the cluster participants, especially water conservation in the Australian context. Supporting this is the co-ordination of the Lovedale Chamber of Commerce which has promoted its “greening Lovedale” project as a source of regional identity and potential competitive advantage. The obstacles to action are those that are present when small firms dominate, a lack of resources and a lack of know how. Through clustering small businesses can share resources, access specialists and share knowledge. Research limitations/implications – A single cluster case study within the Australian and the wine tourism context confined to one point in time. Practical implications – The clustering of firms in agricultural regions offers the opportunity to achieve individual and collective benefits. Clustering participation can reduce costs, achieve scale economies and share knowledge. These advantages are relevant for environmental actions. In the context of weak or absent government actions and regulations over the environment, regional clusters can utilise the advantages of clustering to meet environmental goals. These in turn can contribute to regional identity and regional comparative advantage. These issues are addressed through the study of the Lovedale wine cluster in Australia. Originality/value – There are few studies of how clustered agricultural industries are addressing environmental challenges independently of central government directives or subsidies. Clustering enables small firms to participate in environmental programs despite being faced by resource and knowledge shortages.
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Denny-Smith, George, and Martin Loosemore. "Integrating Indigenous enterprises into the Australian construction industry." Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 24, no. 5 (September 18, 2017): 788–808. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ecam-01-2016-0001.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers to entry for Indigenous businesses into the Australian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach A national survey was conducted with 33 Indigenous businesses operating in the Australian construction industry. Findings The findings show that Indigenous enterprises face similar challenges to many small non-Indigenous enterprises wishing to enter the industry. These include adjusting to unique construction industry cultures and practices, breaking into existing business networks and building social capital and being under-cut by industry incumbents and competitors when tendering for projects. These barriers are similar to those faced by other non-Indigenous social enterprises, although Indigenous enterprises do appear to experience relatively greater difficulty in starting-up their businesses and in securing sufficient capital, finance and assistance to enable them to scale-up and tender for normal work packages at a competitive price. Research limitations/implications The results are limited to Australian Indigenous businesses. The survey does not allow a comparison of non-Indigenous and Indigenous businesses, although comparison of results with existing non-Indigenous research into small to medium-sized firms in construction does allow some tentative insights. These need to be explored further. Practical implications These results indicate that there are significant barriers to be addressed within the Australian construction industry if government indigenous procurement policies are to achieve their stated aims of increasing the number of Indigenous firms in the industry. The results also have important implications for Indigenous businesses and for non-Indigenous firms operating in the Australian construction industry. Social implications This is an important gap in knowledge to address if countries like Australia are to redress the significant inequalities in income and health suffered by Indigenous populations. Originality/value In countries like Australia, with significant Indigenous populations, governments are seeking to address persistent disadvantage by using new social procurement initiatives to create quasi construction markets for Indigenous enterprises to participate in the construction industry. While there is an emerging body of research into the barriers facing mainstream small to medium-sized enterprises and, to a lesser extent, social enterprises in construction, the barriers to entry facing Indigenous construction enterprises have been largely ignored.
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Mamun, Mehadi. "Human resource management practices and organisational performance: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia." Corporate Ownership and Control 19, no. 4 (2022): 163–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv19i4art14.
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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the drivers of economic activities in Australia. The present study provides empirical evidence on the connexion between the four key dimensions of human resource management (HRM) practices and organisational performance, in response to the call by earlier researchers that the influence of specific HRM practices on organisational performance needs to be further investigated across different countries and organisational contexts. A survey among SMEs in the South-Western region of Sydney in Australia was conducted and self-reported measures were applied to attain data on HRM practice aspects and businesses’ performance. Regression analyses were employed to assess the proposed relationships, and it was found that all dimensions except training and development exhibited positive relationships to organisational performance, as hypothesised. Discussion on the findings is underlined, so as are the implications of this study, limitations, and avenues for future researchers.
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Mathews, Shane, Keith J. Perks, Constanza Bianchi, Hsiu-Li Chen, and Charmaine Glavas. "Leveraging Internet capabilities for international business relationships: a comparison between Australian, Chilean and Taiwanese exporting SMEs." Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 28, no. 3 (February 22, 2021): 380–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-12-2018-0385.
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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how Internet capabilities influence international business relationships using the resource-based view and capabilities perspective. Many studies highlight the importance of the Internet in helping smaller firms internationalize. However, few studies actually test how this is happening. The central purpose of this research was to examine and test the impact of Internet capabilities on international information availability, international strategic orientation and international business relationships in a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia, Chile and Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a structural equation modeling process so as to test the Internet capabilities on international business networks. The empirical research is based on an analysis of a sample of internationalizing SMEs in three export-intensive markets in Australia (215), Chile (204) and Taiwan (130) to test a conceptual model.FindingsThe results demonstrate that Internet capabilities have a distinct effect on the development of international business relationships for SMEs in the three countries. That is, Internet capabilities have a positive impact on a firm's international business relationships, but this varies across Australian and Taiwanese and Chilean SMEs.Originality/valueThese studies give empirical validation on the way in which smaller firms are using Internet capabilities for leveraging networks in internationalization and how this varies across countries. The results demonstrate that Internet capabilities have a distinct and positive impact on the development of international business relationships for SMEs in the three countries. However, there are specific differences between countries in how the Internet is being leveraged for the development of international business networks. Something currently not highlighted in the body of knowledge.
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Lesner, Christopher, Alexander Ran, Marko Rukonic, and Wei Wang. "Large Scale Personalized Categorization of Financial Transactions." Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence 33 (July 17, 2019): 9365–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v33i01.33019365.
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A major part of financial accounting involves tracking and organizing business transactions over and over each month and hence automation of this task is of significant value to the users of accounting software. In this paper we present a large-scale recommendation system that successfully recommends company specific categories for several million small businesses in US, UK, Australia, Canada, India and France and handles billions of financial transactions each year. Our system uses machine learning to combine fragments of information from millions of users in a manner that allows us to accurately recommend user-specific Chart of Accounts categories. Accounts are handled even if named using abbreviations or in a foreign language. Transactions are handled even if a given user has never categorized a transaction like that before. The development of such a system and testing it at scale over billions of transactions is a first in the financial industry.
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Jie, Ferry, and Denise Gengatharen. "Australian food retail supply chain analysis." Business Process Management Journal 25, no. 2 (April 1, 2019): 271–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bpmj-03-2017-0065.
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PurposeThe Australian retail food sector, comprising mostly small enterprises, is undergoing change as a result of the innovative supply chain approach adopted. This change has implications across the entire food value chain in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the adoption of supply chain management practices on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian food retail industry.Design/methodology/approachThe study surveys 120 SME retailers in the food sector. A stepwise multiple regression using SPSS version 14.0 was performed on the data.FindingsStatistical results suggest that lean thinking and the quality of information shared can lead to greater efficient supply chain performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample is the main limitation. The findings bear important implications for further research as understanding these dimensions can help to position key changes and industry improvement that will increase revenue and reduce cost to the SMEs in the food retail supply chain.Practical implicationsAdopting lean thinking and improving information sharing in the supply chain can reduce the cost for SMEs.Social implicationsThis study has unique implications for social sustainability, especially the smaller food enterprises, which are hard pressed to combat the challenges within the food sector.Originality/valueInnovative supply chain management helps SMEs to see beyond the silo mentality and helps them to focus on greater value addition in the supply chain.
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Lesner, Christopher, Alexander Ran, Marko Rukonic, and Wei Wang. "Large Scale Personalized Categorization of Financial Transactions." AI Magazine 41, no. 3 (September 14, 2020): 63–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v41i3.5319.
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A major part of financial accounting involves organizing business transactions using a customizable filing system that accountants call a “chart of accounts.” This task must be carried out for every financial transaction, and hence automation is of significant value to the users of accounting software. In this article we present a large-scale recommendation system used by millions of small businesses in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, India, and France to organize billions of financial transactions each year. The system uses machine learning to combine fragments of information from millions of users in a manner that allows us to accurately recommend chart-of-accounts categories even when users have created their own or named them using abbreviations or in foreign languages. Transactions are handled even if a given user has never categorized a transaction like that before. The development of such a system and testing it at scale over billions of transactions is a first in the financial industry.
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Zheng, Connie, and Soheila Mirshekary. "Exposure to unethical behaviour: does it change accounting firms’ ethical stance?" Corporate Ownership and Control 11, no. 2 (2014): 319–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv11i2c3p1.
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Decisions to implement ethical policies and practices at the organizational level are assumingly influenced by two key factors: (1) the extent to which businesses are exposed to prevalent unethical behaviours; and (2) change of business owner/manager’s personal attitudes toward unethical behaviours. Based on the theories of planned behaviour (TPB) and reasoned action (TRA), it is hypothesised that exposure leads to changed personal attitudes of individual business owners/managers, which in turn determine the potential actions taken by them to implement ethical policies and practices in their respective firms. Using a sample of 209 Australian small accounting firms, we test these hypotheses. Path analysis results indicate close relationships between the exposure and firm owners/managers’ personal attitudes towards unethical behaviour; and between the exposure and firms’ decisions to implement ethical policies. Increased exposure to unethical behaviour is nonetheless a concern as it triggered stronger personal attitudes towards accepting unethical behaviour. However, more exposure to unethical behaviour creates motivates owners/managers of small accounting firms to take actions and implement more ethical policies and practices at firm level. Policy implications of these results and future research directions are discussed.
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Miller, Stephanie. "Real teams in small Australian firms." Journal of Management Development 22, no. 9 (November 2003): 809–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02621710310495793.
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Chong, Sandy. "An Empirical Study of Factors That Influence the Extent of Deployment of Electronic Commerce for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Australia." Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research 1, no. 2 (August 1, 2006): 45–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jtaer1020012.
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The purpose of this paper is to present the perceptions and experiences of Electronic Commerce (EC) implementation in Australia. The study is investigated from the perspective of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the framework of implementation is represented by the extent of deployment. Based on the sample of about 115 small businesses in Australia, this paper uses regression modelling to explore and establish the factors that are related to the extent of deployment in EC. A multiple regression analysis shows that seven factors: perceived relative advantage, trialability, observability, variety of information sources, communication amount, competitive pressure, and non-trading institutional influences, significantly influence the extent of EC deployment by SMEs in Australia. The results and interpretations have some implications for managers in determining the appropriateness of deploying EC strategies to achieve profitability and operational efficiency.
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da Silva Rosa, Raymond, Dane Etheridge, and Izan H. Y. Izan. "One size does not fit all: small companies and ASX corporate governance compliance." Corporate Ownership and Control 5, no. 1 (2007): 66–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv5i1p6.
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The ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations (Released March 2003) has been criticised as unduly prescriptive and potentially costly, particularly for small firms. Using a sample of 518 West Australia and Queensland based ASX listed companies, we show that small companies are less likely to comply with several of the ASX recommendations than large companies. We also show that some agency controls largely ignored in the recommendations, such as substantial shareholders, may substitute for some of the corporate governance mechanisms recommended by the ASX. We also consider the effect that the extent of director interlocking may have on compliance, and find that it is minimal. Overall, the results of this research provide a timely reminder that when it comes to corporate governance, one size does not fit all.
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Feng, Tianyuan, Lorne Cummings, and Dale Tweedie. "Exploring integrated thinking in integrated reporting – an exploratory study in Australia." Journal of Intellectual Capital 18, no. 2 (April 10, 2017): 330–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jic-06-2016-0068.
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Purpose Integrated thinking is central to the International Integrated Reporting Council’s (IIRC’s) integrated reporting (IR) framework, which is in turn is related to a potential resurgence of intellectual capital (IC) reporting. However, it remains unclear how key IR stakeholders understand this concept in theory or practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore how key stakeholders interpret integrated thinking; and how pilot organizations are applying integrated thinking in practice. Design/methodology/approach The study involved in-depth semi-structured interviews with key IR stakeholders in Australia, including two IR pilot organizations, one professional association, an accounting professional body, an accounting firm and two IIRC officials. Findings First, the IIRC has not fully defined and articulated the concept of integrated thinking, and there is no shared consensus among practitioners. Second, there is evidence of an evolving understanding of integrated thinking within practice. What remains unclear is how this understanding will develop over time. Research limitations/implications Since interviews were conducted with a relatively small sample of participants in Australia, the results may not be generalizable across different contexts. The study emphasizes the need to interpret carefully IR’s potential contribution to organizational practice through either reporting in general, or IC reporting in particular. Originality/value Despite the centrality of integrated thinking to IR, there has been limited research to date on the concept. Clarifying what integrated thinking means in practice can improve our understanding of a key IR concept, and can advance our understanding of IR’s potential to improve IC reporting and research.
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McCarthy, Scott, Barry Oliver, and Martie-Louise Verreynne. "Bank financing and credit rationing of Australian SMEs." Australian Journal of Management 42, no. 1 (June 22, 2016): 58–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0312896215587316.
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This paper investigates two aspects of bank financing using a sample of 1,973 Australian small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). We compare the variables that explain why Australian small to medium sized enterprises seek bank finance with those that underpin bank credit rationing of loan applications. Our analysis highlights that little overlap exists between the two sets of variables. Larger small to medium sized enterprises with growth intentions, business plans, and those in the agriculture industry are significantly more likely to seek finance. In contrast, firms in agriculture that are older, and that have incremental product innovation, 40% or more of export sales, and a male Chief Executive Officer, are less likely to be credit rationed. Importantly, having business plans, whether in large or small firms, does not relate significantly to credit rationing.
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Reddy, Wejendra, David Higgins, and Ron Wakefield. "An investigation of property-related decision practice of Australian fund managers." Journal of Property Investment & Finance 32, no. 3 (April 1, 2014): 282–305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jpif-02-2014-0014.
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Purpose – In Australia, the A$2.2 trillion managed funds industry including the large pension funds (known locally as superannuation funds) are the dominant institutional property investors. While statistical information on the level of Australian managed fund investments in property assets is widely available, comprehensive practical evidence on property asset allocation decision-making process is underdeveloped. The purpose of this research is to identify Australian fund manager's property asset allocation strategies and decision-making frameworks at strategic level. Design/methodology/approach – The research was undertaken in May-August 2011 using an in-depth semi-structured questionnaire administered by mail. The survey was targeted at 130 leading managed funds and asset consultants within Australia. Findings – The evaluation of the 79 survey respondents indicated that Australian fund manager's property allocation decision-making process is an interactive, sequential and continuous process involving multiple decision-makers (internal and external) complete with feedback loops. It involves a combination of quantitative analysis (mainly mean-variance analysis) and qualitative overlay (mainly judgement, or “gut-feeling”, and experience). In addition, the research provided evidence that the property allocation decision-making process varies depending on the size and type of managed fund. Practical implications – This research makes important contributions to both practical and academic fields. Information on strategic property allocation models and variables is not widely available, and there is little guiding theory related to the subject. Therefore, the conceptual frameworks developed from the research will help enhance academic theory and understanding in the area of property allocation decision making. Furthermore, the research provides small fund managers and industry practitioners with a platform from which to improve their own property allocation processes. Originality/value – In contrast to previous property decision-making research in Australia which has mainly focused on strategies at the property fund investment level, this research investigates the institutional property allocation decision-making process from a strategic position involving all major groups in the Australian managed funds industry.
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Hong, Ying, Ahmed W. A. Hammad, Samad Sepasgozar, and Ali Akbarnezhad. "BIM adoption model for small and medium construction organisations in Australia." Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 26, no. 2 (March 18, 2019): 154–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ecam-04-2017-0064.
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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a model for building information modelling (BIM) implementation at small and medium-sized construction contractor organisations (SMOs). The proposed BIM adoption model assesses BIM implementation benefits, costs and challenges faced by SMOs. Correlation between BIM adoption in SMOs and the associated impacting factors, including knowledge support and BIM adoption motivation, is captured through the model.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of BIM adoption in construction was first presented. Research data, collected from 80 SMOs in Australia through a conducted survey, are then analysed. Descriptive analysis and structural equation modelling were used to investigate SMOs’ understanding of BIM, and to qualify the correlations among the proposed latent variables impacting BIM implementation at SMOs, respectively. Additionally, this study usedχ2test to compare differences between BIM users and non-BIM users regarding BIM understanding, interested applications and attitudes towards implementation benefits and challenges.FindingsPotential benefits associated with BIM implementation are a major motivation factor when it comes to BIM adoption at SMOs. In addition, existing staff’s capability in using BIM tools positively affects the establishment of an organisational knowledge-support system, which determines the decision of adopting BIM eventually. Ultimately, there is a need for further emphasis on staff engagement in the implementation process.Research limitations/implicationsThe results presented in this paper are applicable to SMOs in the building sector of construction. BIM implementation at organisations involved in non-building activities, including civil works and infrastructure, needs to be assessed in the future.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that rather than placing the focus mainly on benefits of BIM implementation, successful implementation of BIM in practice requires adequate effort to assess implementation problems, establish knowledge support and engage staff in using BIM.Originality/valueResults of this study provide an insight into the adoption challenges of BIM in SMOs, given that the focus of previous studies has been mostly placed on BIM adoption in architectural firms and large contractors.
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Fuller, Don, and Eileen Cummings. "Indigenous Small Enterprise in Northern Australia: A Case Study of the Warai." Journal of Small Business Management 41, no. 1 (January 2003): 108–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-627x.00070.
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Kummer, Tyge-F., Kishore Singh, and Peter Best. "The effect of fraud on risk management in not-for-profit organizations." Corporate Ownership and Control 12, no. 1 (2014): 641–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv12i1c7p4.
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Not-for-Profit (NFP) organizations have specific organizational characteristics as their objectives are ethically motivated and trust is indispensable. Additionally, NFP organizations are often small sized and do not have the expertise to prevent fraud. As a result, an effective risk management is of substantial importance. We use survey data from NFP organizations in Australia and New Zealand (N = 652) to identify factors that influence fraud prevention strategies. Our findings indicate that organizations that have not experienced fraud rely partially on ineffective prevention measures. The occurrence of fraud seems to trigger a learning process that leads to a more sophisticated understanding of internal controls and a more suitable risk management. Our results are applicable to support fraud prevention strategies and are highly relevant for practitioners
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Graves, Chris, and Yuan George Shan. "An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Internationalization on the Performance of Unlisted Family and Nonfamily Firms in Australia." Family Business Review 27, no. 2 (June 17, 2013): 142–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894486513491588.
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The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of unlisted family and nonfamily small and medium-sized enterprises (SMFEs and non-SMFEs) and the effect of internationalization on their relative performance. Results of the regression analysis of 4,217 firms with 11,821 observations over a 3-year period found that SMFEs achieved a higher return on assets as a result of having a superior return on sales. Also, although the results indicate that internationalization had a significant negative effect on the return on assets of SMEs overall, this was not the case for SMFEs, and the results suggest that SMFEs perform better in the international marketplace. These results were consistent across different definitions of family business employed. Implications for future research are explored.
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Joham, Carmen, Mike Metcalfe, and Majharul Talukder. "Idea adaption, social interactions and small world networks: An Australian study." Human Systems Management 29, no. 3 (2010): 165–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/hsm-2010-0724.
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Bevan, Emma A. M., and Ping Yung. "Implementation of corporate social responsibility in Australian construction SMEs." Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 22, no. 3 (May 18, 2015): 295–311. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ecam-05-2014-0071.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) related activities in small to medium sized construction enterprises within Australia. Reasons behind the implementation level are also evaluated. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative and qualitative company level data from 28 Australian small to medium sized construction enterprises were collected using an in-depth questionnaire. Levels of CSR implementation in three aspects, namely, environmental, social and ethical, were measured. Each aspect was broken down into sub-areas and implementation scores were aggregated and normalised. Awareness level and concern for economic aspect, the two hypothesised reasons for level of implementation, were also measured. Non-parametric correlation analyses were used to examine the hypotheses. Findings – The findings suggest small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) incorporate some aspects of CSR into their business activities even though they do not refer to the practices as CSR, as none of them have a formal CSR policy in place. Most SMEs in the construction industry implement ethical and economic aspect of CSR; however implementation across environmental and social issues is limited. Non-parametric correlation analyses show that higher awareness of CSR issues leads to higher levels of implementation and that concern about economic aspect is not a reason why CSR is not implemented into business practices. Research limitations/implications – Everett Rogers’ diffusion paradigm can also be applied to CSR implementation, but more research works are required to theoretically and empirically examine the relationships between CSR implementation and economic aspect. Originality/value – It is apparent that there is a significant gap in the research regarding Australian SMEs and sustainability issues as the majority of the literature is focused upon large organisations even though the approaches taken by SMEs towards CSR are very different to those of large corporations. The SME business sector is a significant sector in terms of its environmental, economic and social impacts. Hence recognition of this sector is growing and is now becoming the focus of an agenda to promote the implementation of CSR practices in SMEs. This paper aims to provide useful and detailed information to add to what is currently an underdeveloped body of knowledge in this area.
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Venkatraman, Sitalakshmi, and Raveendranath Ravi Nayak. "Corporate sustainability: an IS approach for integrating triple bottom line elements." Social Responsibility Journal 11, no. 3 (August 3, 2015): 482–501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/srj-11-2013-0136.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inter-relationships among three triple bottom line (TBL) outcomes of corporate sustainability, namely, corporate environmental performance outcome (CEPO), corporate social performance outcome (CSPO) and corporate financial performance outcome (CFPO), with the aid of an empirical study conducted in Australian businesses. The paper also aims to provide a roadmap for integrating sustainable business practices using information systems (IS) approach of continuous improvement lifecycle. Current business practices try to achieve economic, social and ecological goals independently as silos due to the individual operational challenges posed by each of these TBL principles. Design/methodology/approach – The research design mainly adopts a quantitative research methodology with data collected by means of a survey questionnaire that included both descriptive and exploratory flavour. The empirical study examines the relationships of TBL elements as perceived by 85 different Australian-based large, medium as well as small business organisations. The data collected were analysed by performing factor analysis on 21 items, resulting in three latent factors that were aligned to TBL outcomes and the correlations among them were analysed to assess their inter-relationships. Findings – The results of the study report weak and positive relationships existing between the TBL elements, with insights gained through the study leading towards useful implications that are well-supported by the qualitative feedback. The empirical study has also resulted in providing practical recommendations and an implementation framework consisting of a four-step roadmap with the participation of quality circles within an IS approach. Practical implications – The study focuses on inter-relationships and integration of TBL elements in Australian businesses. This could be extended to other businesses in different countries. The proposed roadmap with a continuous improvement cycle of system implementation steps facilitates any organisation to adopt an incremental integration of the social responsibility and environment protection practices within its core business operations for achieving corporate sustainability. Originality/value – While most of the TBL studies conducted worldwide focus on predominantly assessing large organisations towards responsible and sustainable business practices, this paper considers large, medium and small businesses. The research methodology adopted in this study as well as the proposed IS approach with quality circles add value to a growing body of literature with a recent increasing focus on integrated approaches for corporate sustainability.
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Dempsey, Michael Joseph. "Idiosyncratic volatility as an explanation of the small firm effect: Australian evidence." Corporate Ownership and Control 8, no. 3 (2011): 280–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv8i3c2p4.
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In the context of Australian stock markets, we examine how a company’s size and stock idiosyncratic volatility relate to return performance. The paper’s main conclusions may be summarized as follows. The stocks of the smallest firms markedly outperform the largest capitalized stocks, and for such small capitalized stocks, those with greater idiosyncratic volatility have markedly superior returns. It appears that the relationship of higher returns with higher idiosyncratic volatility is consistent with the mathematics of idiosyncratic volatility. In which case, the small size effect may also be interpreted as the mathematical outcome of idiosyncratic volatility. The paper further examines the condition on which the higher returns reported for either small firm size or high idiosyncratic volatility are likely to be wealth-forming. Finally, we observe that the high performances of the stocks of the smallest firms are likely irrelevant to the class of firms that are of interest to the institutional investor.
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Lingard, Helen, Michelle Turner, and Sara Charlesworth. "Growing pains: work-life impacts in small-to-medium sized construction firms." Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 22, no. 3 (May 18, 2015): 312–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ecam-07-2014-0100.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the quality of work-life experiences of workers in construction firms of differing sizes and explored the work conditions and circumstances that impact upon the work-life experiences of workers in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Australian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in two stages. First, data from a sub-set of construction industry workers were extracted from a large scale survey of workers in Victoria, Australia (the VicWAL survey). The survey measured work-life interference using the Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI). Next a subset of survey respondents was identified and interviewed to gain more detailed explanatory information and insight into work-life experiences. Findings – The survey results indicated that respondents who reported working for a construction firm with between 16 and 99 employees reported significantly higher AWALI scores (indicating high work-life interference) than workers in organisations employing 15 or less or more than 100 workers. The follow-up interviews revealed that workers in small construction organisations were managed directly and personally by the business owner/manager and able to access informal work-life supports that were provided on an “as needs” basis. In comparison workers in medium-sized firms perceived higher levels of work pressure and an expectation that work would be prioritised over family life. Research limitations/implications – The research shows that the findings of work-life balance research undertaken in large construction organisations cannot be generalised to SMEs. Organisation size should also be treated as an important variable in work-life balance research in construction. Practical implications – The research suggests that a better understanding of how workers in SME construction firms experience work-life balance is important in the design and development of work-life balance programs. In particular the challenges faced by workers as companies grow from SMEs require careful consideration and management. Originality/value – Previous research has focused on the work-life balance experiences of employees in large construction firms. Little was previously known about the experiences of workers in SME construction firms. The research provides new insight into the work-life experiences of construction workers in organisations of varying sizes.
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Hanson, Dallas, and Mark Wickham. "How should small shareholders have a voice? Lessons from Gunns Ltd extraordinary general meeting." Corporate Ownership and Control 7, no. 1 (2009): 160–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv7i1c1p1.
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In Australian corporate governance, section 249D of the Corporations Act 2001 gives small shareholders a voice by empowering them to call for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). We discuss the principles behind this section, and illustrate its action with the case of Gunns Ltd, a logger of old growth forests in the green oriented island the State of Tasmania. Our conclusion is that the section needs to be redrafted with more stringent conditions attached to calling an EGM but while still empowering small shareholders.
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Xiang, Dong, and Andrew C. Worthington. "The impact of government financial assistance on the performance and financing of Australian SMEs." Accounting Research Journal 30, no. 4 (November 6, 2017): 447–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/arj-04-2014-0034.
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Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of government financial assistance provided to Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach This study uses firm-level panel data on more than 2,000 SMEs over a five-year period from the Business Longitudinal Database compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The authors measure the impact of government financial assistance in terms of subsequent SME performance (income from sales of goods and services and profitability) and changes in the availability of alternative nongovernment finance. Findings The authors find government financial assistance helps SMEs improve performance over and above the effects of conventional financing. They also find than the implicit guarantee effect signalled by a firm receiving government financial assistance suggests firms are more likely to obtain nongovernment finance in the future. Control factors that significantly affect SME performance and finance availability include business size, the level of innovation, business objectives and industry. Research limitations/implications Nearly all of the responses in the original survey data are qualitative, so we are unable to assess how the strength of these relationships varies by the levels of assistance, income and profitability. The measure of government financial assistance of the authors is also general in that it includes grants, subsidies and rebates from any Australian Government organisation, so we are unable to comment on the impact of individual federal, state or local government programmes. Practical implications Government financial assistance helps SMEs improve both immediate and future performance as measured by income and profitability. This could be because government financial assistance quickly overcomes the financial constraints endemic in SMEs. Government financial assistance also helps SMEs obtain nongovernment finance in the future. The authors conjecture that this is because it overcomes some of the information opaqueness of SMEs. Originality/value Few studies focus on the impact of direct government financial assistance compared with indirect assistance as typical in credit guarantee schemes. The authors use a very large and detailed data set on Australian SMEs to undertake the analysis.
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Raar, Jean. "SMEs, environmental management and global warming: a fusion of influencing factors?" Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 22, no. 3 (August 17, 2015): 528–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-10-2013-0157.
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Purpose – Stakeholder theory provided the broad theoretical lens to explore environmental issues in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The diversity in issues examined ranged from concern for immediate stakeholders, their industry group and the influence of global warming on their business activities, to the type of environmental information included within their internal information systems. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A mailed survey was used to obtain data from SMEs operating in Australia. The focus was primarily directed to medium size firms. Findings – The findings indicate that SMEs were aware that their stakeholders, particularly their employees and customers were concerned with environmental issues. The respondent SMEs were also aware that global warming would influence their activities, for example, the design of their projects, occupational, health and safety, labour contracts and customer relations. Overall, the findings suggest that any tailored approach to regulate or self-regulate environmental management in SMEs, be industry and stakeholder driven. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this research are primarily those applicable to the survey method, SME response rates, and the geographical location covered by the survey. The focus of this study is primarily medium size firms, rather than micro small business. Originality/value – This study gains insights into some of the practical aspects of environmental management in SMEs and in so doing adds to the growing body of literature in this under researched area.
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Elijido-Ten, Evangeline, and Louise Kloot. "Experiential learning in accounting work-integrated learning: a three-way partnership." Education + Training 57, no. 2 (March 16, 2015): 204–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/et-10-2013-0122.
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Purpose – Work-integrated learning (WIL) helps improve the work readiness of accounting graduates. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by large and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) employers in providing experiential learning opportunities to accounting students in an Australian higher education context. Design/methodology/approach – Case-study data for this research were collected from the case university’s processes, semi-structured in-depth interviews with employer representatives and online survey with WIL students. Findings – The analysis reveals that both SMEs and large firms provide good training opportunities that enhance the student’s experiential learning particularly when proper WIL structures for pre-placement processes, training, supervision and performance reviews are in place. The results also confirm that WIL is seen as a positive experience by employers and students alike. Originality/value – There is a three-way partnership between the university, employers and students in a WIL contract. Calls for collaborative research involving all three parties have been made to enhance WIL programs. This study is a response to this call.
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Carey, Peter, and George Tanewski. "The provision of business advice to SMEs by external accountants." Managerial Auditing Journal 31, no. 3 (March 7, 2016): 290–313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/maj-12-2014-1131.
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Purpose – Business advisory services are an emerging service category for external accountants in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate determinants of SME demand for business advice, drawing on the agency theory, relational marketing and resource-based literatures. Design/methodology/approach – The study empirically tested theoretical predictions based on an Australia-wide survey of SMEs, in which 485 firms responded to a questionnaire. Findings – The results show that the purchase of business advice is significantly and positively associated with the perceived competence of the external accountant, but significantly and negatively associated with length of the relationship. However, the authors observe a significant positive interaction between tenure of the relationship and competence. A unique contribution of this study is the development of the understanding of the combined role of the external accountant’s competence and the tenure of the relationship. The findings indicate that SMEs require time to verify whether accountants have the competence to provide business advice, suggesting that information asymmetry and uncertainty is minimised only after SMEs have nurtured relationships with their external accountants, and after they have developed some confidence in the competence of their external accountants. At the same time, the negative association with tenure suggests that when accountants are not perceived as competent advisors, SMEs purchase less advice over time. Research limitations/implications – The paper has important theoretical implications by augmenting agency theory, the relational marketing and the resource-based literature, and it clarifies which antecedent factors are important in explaining demand for business advisory services provided by accountants to their SME clients. In particular, the paper highlights the importance of the combined roles that the external accountant’s competence and tenure play in the SME–accountant relationship, highlighting how these two factors can overcome credence issues and ex ante information problems. Practical implications – The findings have practical implications for government initiatives targeting support to SMEs, as the findings identify small firms and firms planning to grow as likely to gain the greatest benefit from external advice and support. Originality/value – This study adds to the limited literature and scant theoretical discussions on the emergence of business advisory services that accountants provide to their SME clients by drawing on several theories to explain the determinants of business advice.
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Lobo, Stanislaus Roque, Premaratne Samaranayake, and Tritos Laosirihongthong. "Quality management capabilities of manufacturing industries in the Western Sydney region." International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 35, no. 6 (June 4, 2018): 1232–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijqrm-03-2017-0046.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to, using a quality management assessment framework (QMAF), provide a comparative analysis of quality management capabilities of organisations categorised by size and groups, based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) code. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey was used for data collection. Statistical data analysis, including descriptive statistics, multivariate and univariate analysis of variance and Hsu’s multiple comparisons with/to the best post-hoc test results, was carried out to identify significant differences and similarities in total quality management capabilities between organisations based on the QMAF model. Findings Significant differences in quality management capabilities were identified between large organisations and SMEs while no significant differences were found to exist between medium- and small-size organisations. Most of the QMAF-based capabilities do not seem to show significant differences between the four groups of ANZSIC code of firms, except for partnering focus and business outcomes. Research limitations/implications The research was limited by the number of returned responses of survey questionnaire from manufacturing organisations in the Greater Western Sydney region. This research provides practitioners with practical guidelines for improving quality management capabilities and can become the basis for comparative analysis in other regions of Australia, and globally. In addition, the research findings can be used by government and quality associations to develop appropriate strategies and policies for supporting the development of quality enhancing programmes in SMEs. Originality/value The comparative analysis of quality management capabilities by organisational size and industry type advances the previous work on optimum pathways of achieving business outcomes using the QMAF model. In addition, the research has mapped out differences in quality management capabilities, based on a combined scope of size and industry type, especially in the Greater Western Sydney region where a large number of SMEs are located.
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Pattni, Indira, and Geoffrey N. Soutar. "The effectiveness of self‐management training in organisations from two culturally different countries." Journal of Management Development 28, no. 7 (July 17, 2009): 633–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02621710910972733.
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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of short training in self‐management skills on employees' efficacious beliefs and skills across cultures.Design/methodology/approachA longitudinal pre‐post field investigation repeated measures analysis is used to compare the effectiveness of the self‐management training between employees from Australia (individualistic country) and Kenya (collectivistic country).FindingsThe results suggest that there is a significant improvement in the learning of skills and efficacious beliefs post‐training (24 weeks). However, there are no significant differences in improvement between the two cultures and the training is similarly effective in both cultures.Research limitations/implicationsTraining focus is based on previous research that is primarily individual focused and further studies need to explore the training ethos. The assessments are developed for the study and need further examination to test their reliability and validity in other contexts. The individualistic and collectivistic criteria are drawn from Hofstede's work and may need further investigation as Hofstede's sample size of the Kenyan population is small. Finally, the results are unique to retail banking.Originality/valueThe effectiveness of this low‐cost training for enhancing employee efficacy has positive organisational outcomes, especially for those that have a multicultural workforce. It may be particularly useful for organisations in developing countries where cost is of concern.
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Parker, Craig M., Emilia Bellucci, Ambika Zutshi, Luba Torlina, and Bardo Fraunholz. "SME stakeholder relationship descriptions in website CSR communications." Social Responsibility Journal 11, no. 2 (June 1, 2015): 364–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/srj-09-2013-0114.
Full textAbstract:
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report on an exploratory, qualitative study of how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) describe their firm’s relationships with or impact on stakeholders when communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their websites. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative content analysis was conducted on 22 Australian SME websites from the information media and telecommunications sector. Stakeholder theory was used as the basis for analysis. Findings – An important aspect of CSR communication is reporting the firm’s relationships with stakeholders such as society/communities, ecological environment, employees, customers and suppliers. This paper provides insights into how these relationships are manifested in SME website communications. For example, three-way relationships between the firm and stakeholders were described on some websites, but few explained the impact of their CSR on stakeholders. Research limitations/implications – This study concentrated on identifying the CSR communication on websites from one industry sector in Australia. These limitations provide the basis for future research to explore and compare CSR communication on websites by SMEs from other industry sectors and countries. Practical implications – The findings offer SME owner-managers ideas on different ways they can incorporate details of stakeholder relationships in CSR website communications. Originality/value – There has been little research on how SMEs use channels such as websites to communicate CSR. This paper addresses this gap in knowledge by providing insights into how SMEs describe stakeholder relationships in CSR website communications.