...Min Choi; Adelina Gnanlet; Dmitry Khanin Purpose Drawing on Human Capital Theory (HCT), we examine the effectiveness of training and counseling offered by outside assistance programs (OAPs) in achieving operational outcomes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—outcomes often overlooked...

...Sue Cassells; Kate V. Lewis Purpose Micro and small enterprises face growing expectations from stakeholders to behave responsibly in respect of environmental management. However, many continue to exhibit patterns of relative disengagement with both environmental management and associated training...

...Dion Greenidge; Philmore Alleyne; Brian Parris; Sandra Grant Purpose This study seeks to determine differences between recruitment processes and methods and training practices used in small and large businesses in the retailing, manufacturing, and tourism sectors in an emerging economy, Barbados...

...Kitiya Thassanabanjong; Peter Miller; Teresa Marchant Purpose The purpose of this paper is to profile Thai small‐medium enterprises (SMEs) and fill a research gap about their investment in training and approaches to training. Design/method/approach The paper uses a quantitative, descriptive...

...‐commerce are real. Even so, senior staff in smaller firms have been reluctant to invest the time and resources needed to develop e‐commerce activities tailored to their firms' strengths and needs. A training approach blending online preparation and physical participation is found to be more effective than...

...Elizabeth Walker; Janice Redmond; Beverley Webster; Megan Le Clus Purpose The reason often cited for the poor relationship between small businesses and their uptake of vocational education and training is that small business owner‐managers claim that they are too busy to engage in training or any...

...Stephen Choo; Christine Bowley Purpose A review of the literature on franchising has revealed a significant lack of academic research on employee training in franchise systems. Further, most research in this area tended to focus on training for franchises as part of the overall package. This study...

...Dilani Jayawarna; Allan Macpherson; Alison Wilson Purpose This study sets out to examine management development activities within manufacturing SMEs, and their impact on performance. Unlike previous published studies that concentrate on formal training, this empirical analysis includes both formal...

..., these decision‐makers also possessed better attitudes towards foreign experience and other elements of international orientation. Practical implications The paper discusses the implications of the findings for policy‐makers responsible for training and trainers themselves. The evidence supports the view...

..., well‐paid or desirable workplace opportunities. In their view, smaller employers are less likely to provide induction or job‐related formal training, which many of the new graduates expect and need at this early stage in their personal development. When compared to larger businesses, a markedly higher...

...Ronald G. Cook; Paul Belliveau This article compares the educational background and years of work experience of students entering a Microenterprise Training Institute (MTI) program. Hypotheses were developed and tested to determine whether human capital attributes (education and work experience...

...David Devins; Steve Johnson; John Sutherland Workforce development is becoming a higher priority for government, both as a means of addressing social exclusion and raising competitiveness. However there is limited evidence of the contribution of training to the success of individual firms and even...

...Dean Patton; Susan Marlow It is agreed that within the UK there is a poor level of investment in formal training and development. This is particularly evident within the small firm sector. The literature, which considers this issue, concludes that there are a number of reasons why small firm owners...

...Steve Johnson Research evidence suggests that SMEs are significantly less likely than larger employers to provide or fund formal training leading to qualifications for employees. The training (or more accurately learning) that does take place in most SMEs tends to be informal, on‐the‐job...

...Mike Simpson; Joanne Padmore; Nick Taylor Supported Employment Enterprises (SEEs) are a unique sector of small and medium‐sized enterprises that provide meaningful, gainful employment, training and development opportunities for people with a disability. SEEs are run specifically to provide...

... of the business, underpinned by management and organisational learning to develop an appropriate international “mind‐set” that supports the effective development of relationships with stakeholders in different countries. © MCB UP Limited 2001 Learning Small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises Training...

... spend around one per cent of payroll on training. Lack of investment in training is an often‐cited reason why companies in the USA. are losing market share to foreign competitors. This study provides data regarding the extent to which training is conducted, formally and informally, in a sample of small...

... science. Adoption variables examined include: IT planning; choice of IT implementation strategy; the employment of external support; and investment in IT training. The study draws on survey data from over 260 firms in order to evaluate which approaches to IT assessment and adoption add most value in terms...

...Sara Carter; Elaine Collinson This paper is concerned with the retrospective perceptions of alumni towards the general provision of entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs). Whilst many HEIs provide some form of enterprise training for their student population, relatively...

...J.G. Boocock; J. Loan‐Clarke; A.J. Smith; J. Whittaker This paper presents findings from a major research study investigating management training and development (MTD) activity within small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East Midlands. Despite the fact that the academic evidence linking...