2Purpose -This paper uses univariate statistical analysis to investigate barriers to raising bank finance faced by UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specifically the impact of personal characteristics (ethnicity, gender and education).Design/methodology/approach -We developed a conceptual model and analysed the results of a telephone survey of 400 SMEs conducted (before the "credit crunch") by the Barclays Bank small business research team on our behalf. The survey was based on a large stratified random sample drawn from the Bank"s entire SME population.Findings -We found that education made little difference to sources of finance, except that those educated to A-level more frequently used friends and family and remortgaged their homes. However, graduates had the least difficulties raising finance. Though statistically insignificant, women respondents found it easier to raise finance than men.The survey confirmed that -and this finding was statistically significant -ethnic minority businesses, particularly black owner-managers, had the greatest problem raising finance and hence relied upon "bootstrapping" as a financing strategy.Research limitations/implications -The study makes an important contribution to filling a research gap, given the critical need of policy-makers to understand differentials between different types of owner-managers. It brings new insights into its field -access to finance -and with respect, especially, to marginalised groups.Originality/value -The paper adopts a different approach than many prior studies, with a large sample and robust analysis, to explore a critical need-to-know area in a new wayboth for policy-makers and academics in the field of SME finance.

Abstract. This paper investigates the influence of gender, ethnicity and education in the use of external advice and finance by UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A conceptual model of "discouraged advisees" was developed as a framework for analysis of the results of a telephone survey of 400 SMEs. We found an association between the use of external advice and the ability to raise bank finance. Furthermore, both men and black and minority ethnic (BME) participants were more likely to use family and friends for advice, whilst women were twice as likely as men to use Business Link. BME business owners were discouraged from using less "trusted" sources, such as Business Link, possibly believing them insufficiently tailored or that they would provide inappropriate advice. Therefore, the findings provide support for our conceptual model of discouraged advisees and have implications for the provision of advice for business owners from BME communities.

There is a paucity of data in the literature concerning the validation of the grant application peer review process, which is used to help direct billions of dollars in research funds. Ultimately, this validation will hinge upon empirical data relating the output of funded projects to the predictions implicit in the overall scientific merit scores from the peer review of submitted applications. In an effort to address this need, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) conducted a retrospective analysis of peer review data of 2,063 applications submitted to a particular research program and the bibliometric output of the resultant 227 funded projects over an 8-year period. Peer review scores associated with applications were found to be moderately correlated with the total time-adjusted citation output of funded projects, although a high degree of variability existed in the data. Analysis over time revealed that as average annual scores of all applications (both funded and unfunded) submitted to this program improved with time, the average annual citation output per application increased. Citation impact did not correlate with the amount of funds awarded per application or with the total annual programmatic budget. However, the number of funded applications per year was found to correlate well with total annual citation impact, suggesting that improving funding success rates by reducing the size of awards may be an efficient strategy to optimize the scientific impact of research program portfolios. This strategy must be weighed against the need for a balanced research portfolio and the inherent high costs of some areas of research. The relationship observed between peer review scores and bibliometric output lays the groundwork for establishing a model system for future prospective testing of the validity of peer review formats and procedures.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review approaches to providing support to entrepreneurs adopted by four business support organisations, originally created with similar objectives, in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Cameroon to examine entrepreneurial heterogeneity in Africa and the hypothesis that local solutions are required to support entrepreneurs effectively.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical review of each business support organisation's approach, including a stakeholder analysis was undertaken.FindingsAlthough the trusts were established to achieve broadly similar objectives, all have followed a different path, apparently in response to the need to provide support in different ways. All are successful, demonstrating the importance of this approach. All learn from each other, adopting and, importantly, adapting successful programmes.Research limitations/implicationsThe research whilst systematically covering stakeholders was limited to gathering qualitative perceptions of the organisations and their successes. Further research, based on systematic performance measurement by the trusts, and with appropriate control groups, could provide further insights.Practical implicationsThe study is relevant to policy makers, particularly in donors and multi‐lateral institutions, considering how further to encourage and support small business development. It should encourage the designers of new programmes to spend more time ensuring that they understand how the needs of local entrepreneurs can best be addressed.Originality/valueThe study is unique in being able to use four business support organisations, in four countries, all with a common core sponsor and similar values, to make comparisons of supporting entrepreneurs. The paper makes a contribution towards demonstrating that there is little homogeneity amongst entrepreneurs in Africa and those entrepreneurs therefore require assistance tailored to meet their particular culture.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. ABSTRACTCurrent government policy is to encourage more businesses to grow. Access to resources -financial, human and physical -are often cited as the principal barriers to the growth of small firms. The attitudes of owner-managers, however, are equally important, with many owner-managers deliberately avoiding growing their businesses beyond their capacity personally to manage the business. Attitudes change as businesses develop; a skilled consultant can act as catalyst to overcome cultural barriers and, consequently, to the growth of businesses.This paper examines the cultural barriers which might inhibit the growth and development of a new enterprise and offers a model to show how those barriers separate seven stages of entrepreneurial development. It highlights the role of the consultant in moving through the stages. MANAGERIAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS. Attitudinal and cultural barriers are significant obstacles to new enterprise growth and development. . Effective enterprise development and growth strategies require entrepreneurs to understand and overcome potential cultural barriers. . The design of training and development programmes should take into consideration the attitudes and values of owner-managers. . Skilled business consultants are an effective catalyst in overcoming attitudinal barriers and assisting enterprise growth and development. . Intervention policies should target those owner-managers with the greatest growth ambitions.

Governments create the political and economic environment in which their countries' businesses operate, usually described as the ‘enabling environment’ or ‘investment climate’. In response, business associations seek to influence public policy to make it easier for their members to “do business”. Scholars suggest that interest groups are able to form lasting relationships with governments based on a resource exchange mechanism. This paper suggests that, at least in developing countries, a more nuanced explanation is necessary. Business associations, in particular, need proactively to pursue a logic of ‘competence’ as well as a logic of ‘positive relationships’. This paper assesses the outcomes of advocacy projects undertaken by business associations in Kenya in the period 2008–2013, considers the degree to which the associations contributed to the decision to change policy and then analyses the factors perceived by business associations to have led to their success in influencing public policy. We find evidence to support the expectation that business associations must develop a wide range of competences whilst building relationships with multiple stakeholders. The findings will be relevant to practitioners as well as to researchers and donors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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