An investigation into the learning needs ofmanagers in internationalising small and medium-sized enterprises [12]
论文作者:留学生论文论文属性:硕士毕业论文 thesis登出时间:2010-05-03编辑:vshellyn点击率:23548
论文字数:9000论文编号:org201005021224508542语种:英语 English地区:中国价格:免费论文
附件:Article_2.pdf
关键词:learning needs of managers internationalising small and medium-sized enterprises
ther than Trade Associations, Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs), Industry Training Organisations or Professional Bodies (North et al., 1996). The perceptions of questionnaire respondents from this study about the quality of advice provided by a range of external sources confirms this view. The data shown in Table 8 suggest that contacts in similar businesses are more frequently used sources of advice than Business Links/TECs or Trade Associations. The quality of advice about international activities provided by contacts in similar businesses is rated as good or very good by over 40 per cent of respondents compared to 12 and 9 per cent for Business Links/TECs and Trade Associations, respectively. The experience of the case study organisations also lends support to network-based explanations of small business development. Personal networks of business contacts and friends were viewed as the most useful, and commonly sought, sources of advice and support related to the internationalisation process. Organisations B and C also reported Table 8: Quality of advice and support relating to international activities (n=145) Not used Poor Average Good/very No response good (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Contacts in similar businesses 26.9 3.4 17.9 42.8 9.0 Informal contacts 30.3 4.8 24.8 26.9 13.1 Dept of Trade and Industry 29.6 13.8 29.6 25.5 1.4 Chamber of Commerce 35.9 17.2 30.3 16.6 0.0 Contacts in unrelated businesses 44.8 5.5 13.8 15.2 20.7 Parent company 45.5 3.4 4.8 13.8 32.4 Banks 31.7 24.1 29.6 12.4 2.1 Business Links/TECs 42.7 13.8 25.5 12.4 5.5 Trade associations 39.3 13.1 30.3 9.6 7.6 Anderson, Boocock and Graham Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 225 receiving valuable advice from suppliers. Official bodies, such as the TECs, the CBI and other training providers, were rarely found to be of great value. For Company B, they were a reasonable, but rarely sought, source of ad hoc advice. Likewise, Company C had very little contact with such bodies although the MD felt that the company might initiate contact with the local TEC and a Trade Association at some stage. Company F failed to read many of the frequent ‘mail shots’ which arrived from trade bodies, the Chamber of Commerce, TECs and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Company D contrasted the helpfulness of the Chamber of Commerce in France with its local equivalent in the UK, feeling that the support in the UK was ‘rarely relevant or convenient’. For Company D, the Trade Association was the most helpful institution in the UK although the primary source of advice and support was through the MD’s network of friends and business contacts. Analysis of the case study data also reveals the significant influence of internal factors on the learning process. It suggests that a major influence on the passage of a smaller business through the internationalisation and learning process is the ‘dominant logic’ of key decision makers within the organisation. In Companies A, B and E the MD had previous experience of working on an international basis. In Companies A, B and D the MD had also led a comprehensive business refocusing exercise during the previous few years. While it is possible to commence internationalisation with a culture and dominant logic that reflects the existing UK small business experience, to be fully established as an international business on a sustained basis requires a period of reorientation which presupposes reconceptualisation and learning by senior
本论文由英语论文网提供整理,提供论文代写,英语论文代写,代写论文,代写英语论文,代写留学生论文,代写英文论文,留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。