The literature suggests that improving the management skills of owner-managers of SMEs contributes to their survival and growth and that there is considerable scope for further improvement in skills. However, evidence suggests that current support for management development (MD) does not meet the needs of SMEs. Nevertheless, there have been few changes on the supply side with policy makers continuously being concerned about low take-up of training. This study contributes to an understanding of how existing MD activities in SMEs can be better supported. Using Mumford's (1987) typology of MD activities to classify our interview data, findings from interviews with 25 owner-managers suggest two approaches to providing learning support: (1) incorporate structured opportunities for individual reflection and reflection within groups; and (2) address participants' concerns about training and mentoring. These findings have implications for policy makers and are timely given the current economic situation, where previous patterns of growth are being challenged and new ways of supporting MD in SMEs need to be found.

Underpinned by the threshold and dynamic capabilities perspectives as a sub-set of Resource-Based Theory, the objective of this study is to understand ways in which management teams build types of capabilities to facilitate their internationalisation activities. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews took place among smallersized, service-oriented internationalising firms located in three countries within the southern hemisphere: two emerging economies (Chile and Colombia) and one developed economy (New Zealand). The findings indicate that some management teams were able to develop threshold capabilities enabling them to operate outside their domestic market. In contrast, certain management teams appeared to possess dynamic capabilities, facilitating their evolving business models and sustainability. Particular capabilities allowed the respective firms, regardless of their national origin, to exhibit varying performance-enhancing internationalisation strategies. The study contributes to theory and practice in the domain of entrepreneurial marketing, offering new insights questioning whether certain capabilities are enough to sustain particular management teams' internationalisation behaviour.

Building on policy process theories, this study constructs a meaningful historical narrative that explains the developments in small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policy in New Zealand during the period 1978-2008 that marked the point where SME policy was firmly institutionalized as a subsystem within the wider economic policy framework. Temporality is a key characteristic of the policy process and historical accounts are an important means of describing how the process unfolds over time. The enquiry draws on archival sources as well as the personal accounts by individuals who were directly involved in SME policy development. Findings illustrate how the role of SMEs as a policy subsystem develops within an overarching economic policy framework. More specifically, we identify the periods of stability and those of change and what the role of actors, context and events is in this process by highlighting the complexity and interrelated nature of SME policy development. At the time of writing, the foundations of globalization are being called into question. Together with the ever faster rate of technological change, these are important pillars in the predominant political discourses that underpinned the formulation of SME policy during the period of this study. Understanding how SME policy was developed in the past could lead to a better understanding of the role of SME in this new world. As new policy is developed, this study brings to the fore the dynamics of institutional context, policy actors and stakeholders, and the impact they have on policy outcomes.

Purpose -Despite the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) internationally, the limited research available on the subject indicates that few SMEs consider the existence of these agreements as a reason to engage in international markets or expand their existing international engagement. The purpose of this paper is to identify and augment SME international marketing models building on Merrilees and Tiessen's (1999) work; and to explain how these marketing models condition the reaction of small firm exporters to FTAs. Design/methodology/approach -This study comprised in-depth interviews with 51 SME exporters in New Zealand. Participants were selected purposefully and were interviewed in a face-to-face, semi-structured format. Findings -Five international marketing strategies were identified drawing on prior models of international marketing: sales-driven, relationship-driven, international boutique, arbitrager and market seeder. These models are characterised by different relationships to markets and to buyers served, and by the extent of customisation in the export offering. By using these models the authors analyse why SMEs have yet to significantly capitalise on the opportunities provided by New Zealand's recent wave of trade agreements. Research limitations/implications -This study acknowledges the diversity of international marketing strategies between seemingly similar firms by recognising that approaches generally viewed as unlikely to bring success in international markets can work when applied in a particular way and in a particular context. As such the results may offer a useful starting point for the customisation of policy advice on exporting in terms of the context in which SMEs operate. Originality/value -As well as advancing theoretical perspectives on SME international marketing strategies, the findings are presented as a contribution to the as yet limited evaluation of how SMEs in New Zealand have responded to the emerging opportunities created by FTAs. The interest in filling this gap is part of a growing recognition that factors related to the firm's trading environment have been largely neglected in policy considerations.

The literature suggests that improving the management skills of owner-managers of SMEs contributes to their survival and growth and that there is considerable scope for further improvement in skills. However, evidence suggests that current support for management development (MD) does not meet the needs of SMEs. Nevertheless, there have been few changes on the supply side with policy makers continuously being concerned about low take-up of training.This study contributes to an understanding of how existing MD activities in SMEs can be better supported. Using Mumford\u27s (1987) typology of MD activities to classify our interview data, findings from interviews with 25 owner-managers suggest two approaches to providing learning support: (1) incorporate structured opportunities for individual reflection and reflection within groups; and (2) address participants\u27 concerns about training and mentoring. These findings have implications for policy makers and are timely given the current economic situation, where previous patterns of growth are being challenged and new ways of supporting MD in SMEs need to be found

HR systems in IT organizations need to be flexible to enable them to adjust to the fast rate of technological change. Employee empowerment, often practiced at IT organizations under the banner of agile practices, has been highlighted as likely to enable HR flexibility. Based on a research panel based survey of top managers at 163 IT organizations in New Zealand and Australia, we confirmed positive effects of employee empowerment on four dimensions of HR flexibility: resource flexibility in employee skills and behaviors, coordination flexibility in employee skills and behaviors, resource flexibility in HR practices, and coordination flexibility in HR practices. The results are consistent with the view that, at IT organizations, employee empowerment both promotes employee ability and willingness to be flexible and facilitates the organizational structures and practices that enable flexible use of HR resources.

Purpose This paper aims to explore how Maori entrepreneurs in Aotearoa New Zealand negotiate cultural and commercial imperatives in their entrepreneurial practice. Culture is integral to Indigenous entrepreneurship, an example being tikanga Maori (Maori cultural values) and Maori entrepreneurship. This study discusses the tensions and synergies inherent in the negotiation of seemingly conflicting imperatives both theoretically and practically. Design/methodology/approach This study reports on a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews involving ten Maori enterprises of the Ngati Porou tribe on the east coast of Aotearoa New Zealand. Findings This study finds that depending on their contextual and cultural orientation, Maori entrepreneurs use tikanga to help negotiate cultural and commercial imperatives. The contingency of entrepreneurial situations and the heterogeneity of Maori perspectives on whether (and in what way) tikanga influences entrepreneurial practice appear influential. The authors propose a typology of Maori entrepreneurs’ approaches to explain the negotiation of cultural and commercial imperatives comprising the “culturally engaged Maori entrepreneur”; the “culturally responsive Maori entrepreneur”; and the “culturally ambivalent Maori entrepreneur.” Originality/value This study proposes a typology to analyse entrepreneurial practices of Indigenous entrepreneurs’ negotiation of cultural and commercial imperatives.

Culture is integral to Indigenous entrepreneurs, but how culture manifests in their entrepreneurial processes is understudied. This paper explores how Aboriginal entrepreneurs in Perth, Australia navigate cultural and commercial imperatives in their entrepreneurial practice. The study uses an interpretive lens and thematic analysis based on Altman’s hybrid economy model (HEM) to explore how ten Aboriginal entrepreneurs managed commercially viable enterprises while meeting their cultural obligations and aspirations. The focus is on the convergence of the customary and market economies and entrepreneurs’ experiences of navigating the hybridity of that space. We find that Aboriginal entrepreneurs iteratively assess the complementarity of cultural and commercial imperatives to protect their Indigenous identity while meeting business objectives. Cultural and commercial imperatives are navigated using context-dependent strategies. Strategies fall within fluid classifications of ‘high cultural–low commercial bias’, ‘high commercial–low cultural bias’, and an even consideration of both. We propose a contingency model to help explain Indigenous entrepreneurs’ approaches to navigating customary and commercial imperatives. This study contributes to knowledge of culture in Indigenous entrepreneurship by uncovering strategies Indigenous entrepreneurs can, and do, use to conduct business in ways culturally attuned to their indigeneity and situations.