Export problems and Government assistance required by UK exporters: An investigation into the effect of ethnicity

Reports on one aspect of a government funded study which provides comparative empirical evidence concerning selected aspects of the behaviour and government export assistance requirements of Asian and indigenous (white)‐owned small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Provides a contribution to the literature since, although a limited body of literature exists on both the areas of export assistance, and the business practices of ethnic minority‐owned firms, there is a need to bring these two research topics together in the form of a single study to establish whether current export assistance and targeting procedures are suitable for managers from different sub‐cultures. The rationale for such a study is that if managers from particular sub‐cultures differ in their requirements towards government assistance, where pragmatic to do so, policy makers may need to reconsider the way in which services are provided to avoid wasting scarce resources. With this in mind, discusses findings which examine whether differences exist between firms from particular sub‐cultures in relation to perceived export problems and their assistance requirements.