Theories of Growth of Small Scale Enterprises

Many people want to live the “American Dream”, and what better way to do that than to start a small business. Small businesses are incredibly important to the United States economy. Small businesses have been around from the beginning of the history of the U.S. and remain a large portion of the business community today. Small businesses are the driving force for job creation. Small businesses struggle to meet regulations set in place by the government and at the same time stay afloat in the U.S. economy. There are strict size standards set in place that make small business owners weary of expanding the amount of people they employ. Small business owners also struggle with offering healthcare to their employees. Small businesses try to stay ahead by introducing new and unique products. In an ever-changing economy, it is important to understand the impact of small businesses in the United States.

According to Landstrom (1998), the sociological theories are in the level of analysis which is traditionally the society. Reynolds (1991) identified social networks, life course stage context, ethnic identification and population ecology as the four social contexts that relates to entrepreneurial opportunity.

Factors that can limit the threat of new entrants are known as barriers to entry. In this case barriers to entry are low because: there is no government intervention to prevent businesses from entering the industry, resources are abundant, and customers’ switching costs are low as well as fixed costs to start this type of business.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how different factors effect on the growth of small businesses. The growth of small businesses has been influenced by factors such as growth strategy, business forms, short and medium term goals, financing assistance, organizational structure and staffing needs, customers and promotion, and ethics and social responsibility. In this paper will to discuss how the different factors alter the advancement of small businesses.

The high failure rate of business start-ups has become common knowledge over time. According to the study by Van de Ven, Ar, Hudson, R and Schroeder (1984), the survival of a business over a short-term period of about a year and half is 54% and 25% over a period of six years. This means that the failure rate of business start-ups is a high 75%. Although studies show that business start-ups have a high failure rate, strategic business and financial planning, good management and marketing skills are important factors to consider to avoid failure and to be a successful business.

Businesses grow through their products/ services every time they put a product on the market more and more people will find out about the product. For example Tesco have been using growth strategies as they are expanding with their services, such as Tesco Money, you can now have a credit card with Tesco which people who may don’t

According to Reece and O’ Grady (1987), average person uses a small business to refer to an owner-managed business that only employs people not more than twenty or twenty five. The major reason for going into business for one’s self is the desire to be one’s own boss. Working capital, the money necessary to find he business regular operations. Also, the key element in defining an entrepreneur is that they take risks. Each year, a million or so people balance the rewards and the risks of

It is a compilation and presentation of data collected by surveys of small business owners. It is a simple device designed to show how business owners feel about expanding their businesses, as well as how new entrepreneurs feel about opening businesses. It takes into account many factors to get an overarching index of business confidence. Some of the factors include the inventories, capital outlay, sales, and the economy. The report also takes into account subjective factors, such as whether the survey taker believes it is a good time to expand, as well as a brief explanation of why or why not. (Dunkleberg & Wade,

Numerous large businesses that are operating today were once started as small businesses. A new business is established to create a good or service that no other businesses have ever created or simply a product of higher quality than existing products, with the purpose of meeting customers’ needs and earning profits. Due to the technological advances at the present time, starting and operating a new business is less laborious. Nevertheless, would-be entrepreneurs should be familiar with the proper approaches to start their businesses.

Small businesses were once the backbone of the United States economy. After a time these business owners expanded, merged, and bought other businesses. This historic business trend has created some the well know corporations we know of today. One example would be the development of Wal-mart. Today, small businesses operate in the shadows of “big box” stores. However, small business owners account for more than 90% of, but only less than 5% or 10% of the GDP, “gross domestic product.” As a manager of a large corporation or a prospective business owner it is wise to be knowladgeble of new competitors, state of the economy, and current management trends. There are trends today that will change everyone’s expecatons of small business

(3) Moreover, to obtain his information, a questionnaire was developed which included mixtures of scaled, dichotomous, multiple choice, open ended and rank-order questions. (3) Hisrich findings were divided into four areas; the demographic composition and background of the entrepreneurs, the nature of their business ventures, the skills, and personalities of the entrepreneurs as well as the problems confronted in starting and operating a new venture. (3) In the sample entrepreneurs were between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five; in which sixty percent were married and had children. (3) Forty-two percent were first-born children in their families, and the majority grew up in lower or middle class environments.

Lindgreen, A., & Hingley, M. K. (2010). Challenges and opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) arising from ethnically, racially and religiously diverse populations. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 22(1), 1-4. doi:10.1080/08985620903220470

Hatten, T. (2006). _Small Business Management: Entrepeneurship and Beyond (3rd ed.)._ New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Caste and religion of entrepreneurs are the contributory factor of entrepreneurial development. History reveals that the entrepreneurial traits do not belong to a specific caste rather the entrepreneurs emerge from varied communities. James Berna conducted a study of 52 medium – scale manufacturing entrepreneurs and found that

The importance of small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in the economy of any country cannot be overlooked. In fact for nearly 15 years, most researchers dealing with economic planning have highlighted the significance of these enterprises stating that they are a key player in realizing any country’s economic goals. As such, governments as well as other organizations with interest in development are laying plans and strategies to promote the establishment of Small and Micro Enterprises. This is seen as a move to ensure that there is full participation of SMEs in the country’s economy. The Small and Micro Enterprises have been known to contribute to a large extend as a source of innovation, entrepreneurial skills as well as source of employment. For example, statistics in 25countries of the European Union show that 99% of the jobs provided to its citizens come from the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Rowe (2008) points out that the British economy relies heavily on the participation of SMEs. On the other hand, 99% of the UK’s economy is composed of small and micro enterprises.