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The economic and social importance of minority ethnic‐owned businesses (MEBs) is widely recognised, but it is also well‐known that the providers of business support services have so far fallen short of the ideal in identifying, targeting and communicating with MEBs. This study seeks to add to the very limited academic literature on the topic by investigating the application of marketing principles to the task, in Scotland.

Data for interpretation were collected by six semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with public‐sector business‐support providers in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Providers are aware of the lack of awareness among MEBs of the services available, and the consequent poor take‐up rates. Some have made limited efforts to initiate change by beginning to differentiate their products and services, and market them proactively, but others still favour a generic approach. A constraint on further progress is the lack of useful databases.

This was a small‐scale exploratory study. It would be useful to use its tentative findings as the departure point for broader‐based studies, especially where MEBs are more numerous.

The findings contain lessons for academic researchers and marketing practitioners with an interest in ethnic minorities. Various “differentiated” marketing strategies are discussed, and promotional strategies for targeting the owners and operators of MEBs.

This study adds significantly to the published body of knowledge. Its findings are potentially applicable in the wider context of non‐profit, public‐sector and services marketing.

Uses a large sample survey of businesses to demonstrate that a critical mass threshold exists for their use of business support organization services. This critical mass threshold is very marked for the two organizations examined: British case studies of chambers of commerce and government‐supported business training and advice bodies. Beyond this threshold, managers of chambers of commerce can achieve nonlinear returns to scale, while returns to scale for government‐supported bodies are almost exactly linear. Infers that this results from the very different motives of commercially based chambers and their members, compared to government‐supported bodies, which allow the benefits of service bundling for chambers while managers of government bodies have to deal with multiple discrete programmes offering few synergies. Also examines the effects of external economies of agglomeration and shows that these increase market penetration and hence reduce the catchment sizes necessary to reach critical mass only in the case of the most agglomerated urban and industrial centres.

To stay at the forefront of new technology, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) can be assisted through Internet and Web sites providing innovation and technology support services. The cost of the latest technology, including hardware, training and personnel, however, can be insurmountable for SMEs with limited financial and technological resources. The business support community in Wales is continually evolving its own Internet and Web site offerings to make sure that businesses, especially SMEs, are kept abreast of the latest innovations, most productive methods and provision of support services. Considers the provision of Web‐based innovation and technology support in Wales and examines its coverage in relation to Welsh SMEs. Utilises a range of data collection techniques including interviews with policy makers and the analysis of reports and Internet sites.

From a literature review and a comprehensive survey aims to analyze how small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) use existing support systems. The analysis is specifically on focusing different size groups within the SME category, the role of industrial sector, and regional location.

The combination of macro‐economic theory and entrepreneurial perspectives constitutes the theoretical framework for this study. Empirical data are collected via a survey to over 1,000 Swedish SMEs with one to 49 employees, from both manufacturing and service industries, and from three different regions. Descriptive as well as multivariate statistical techniques are used in the analysis.

The results indicate low participation rates of available support services and the largest manufacturing companies with a location in sparsely populated areas are the most frequent users. Vague arguments from neo‐classical theory and lack of clarity in definitions of small firms pose an obstacle to the production of empirical results as well as theoretical development. Support users are mainly positive to the services and, although the “take‐up rate” has increased in recent years, a better match between demand and supply of support services must be undertaken.

This paper gives understanding of how the business support programs are received among small companies. The results generated via a large sample size, 1,022 companies, combined with theoretical considerations, give a solid platform for research and policy conclusions.

One powerful public support instrument to support the economic interests abroad is via commercial diplomacy (CD). CD is practice gaining more importance in today's economy, but is poorly addressed in research. The available existing research, however, lack detail on the beneficiary perspective and the value-added function of CD, let alone specific enterprises to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study contributes to the field of CD by identifying the determinants of the value of CD from an SME (beneficiary) perspective. Out of a random sample of 450 SMEs contacted, 115 of them agreed to fill out a scale-based questionnaire and answer to open questions in the questionnaire. The results demonstrate that the perceived service quality by SMEs of CD influences the overall value SMEs attach to CD. No evidence was found in support of the hypothesis that institutional environment of a host country is negatively related to the value SMEs attach to CD. But we found a negative relationship between the international experience of an SME and the overall value SMEs attach to CD, and a positive relationship between the extent of having foreign public customers and the overall value attached to CD by SMEs. Opposite to what existing literature suggests, smaller SMEs do not attach more value to CD services. Also, for the business network we did not find evidence that SMEs with an established business network attach less value to CD. We did, however, find evidence that SMEs with an established business network attach less value to partner search services. Suggestions for further research are provided.

Programmes providing services for small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises are important. Yet, quality and impact of many of these programmes lag behind expectations. This paper attempts to shed light on the reasons behind this disappointing state of affairs.

Modern theories of innovation and services marketing management are adopted as a conceptual framework, because these theories generate major insights about how business services should ideally be provided. The usefulness of this framework for analysing business service programmes is demonstrated through its application to one particular programme, the small business service (SBS) in the UK.

Using this approach, the paper identifies several key issues. Major weaknesses in programme structure and implementation practices emerge, mainly revolving around customer focus, incentive problems and organisational issues, and the lack of a systems perspective.

Given the suitability of the framework for the analysis of our case, it could also prove to be a promising tool for analysing business support programmes in other settings.

Managerial priorities for improvement in the UK emerge. There is a need to improve the incentives facing boundary‐spanning staff. This should be backed up by further organisational reform, to address the fragmentation plaguing the current system.

The methodological approach, of viewing practice in a SBS programme through a theoretical lens, is novel. It could be a useful supplement to conventional performance and impact assessments that are more factual in nature.

This paper seeks to present a partnering model pioneered in Sudbury, Canada, that combats fragmentation in the delivery of business support services. Partnerships form the backbone of a comprehensive business support centre. The Sudbury Regional Business Centre brings together banking, government, communications, education, legal, and accounting partners. These partners coordinate their efforts to provide services to area businesses, striving to improve the odds for a dynamic and resilient local economy. This model has been replicated and adapted by various communities across Ontario, Canada's most populous province.

The methodology consists of qualitative research by two participant‐observers.

If a solid business case can be made, banks and three levels of government can be persuaded to act in concert with other partners through a community business support centre; economic upheaval in the Sudbury area precipitated urgency and resolve; several postulates regarding key success factors were supported.

The reporting is retrospective; the postulates are examined in a single context.

Disparate players can form a working partnership so that business support services from various quarters blend effectively, and are easily accessed to give clients the best help available.

This paper describes how a community forged partnerships designed to overcome fragmentation in the delivery of business support services. Comprehensive enterprise support offered by committed public and private sector partners can be channelled through a physically accessible centre. The factors which proved most critical to success are discussed.

This study aims to investigate the demand for business advisory services by owners of start-ups and young companies by taking a gender perspective. The study also examines whether risk-taking is more characteristic of masculine than feminine behaviour in this context.

A literature review examines business advisory services and risk aversion from a gender perspective. The empirical data are derived from interviews with owners of more than 2,700 start-ups and young companies in Sweden. A number of key variables compare how the company owners (women and men) view business advisory services as a way to overcome risk and to gain access to information in networks. Several statistical tests are used to analyse these data.

Women owners of start-ups and young companies use more and different business advisory services than men owners. There are differences among the men owners and women owners with regard to the amount of start-up capital, company size and industry sector. Given the risks associated with start-up, business advisory services are important to women in helping them reduce their risk in the start-up and early stages of their companies.

Companies in Sweden’s largest city, Stockholm, were not included in the sample. Financial data were not used as variables.

Policymakers should address women owners’ greater demand for business advisory services in their companies’ early stages.

This study’s originality is its gender perspective on the demand for business advisory services by start-ups and young companies and its challenge to previous findings about entrepreneurial behaviour and risk-taking.

Taking the entrepreneur’s perspective and a broad view of business advisory services, the purpose of this paper is to examine to what degree the need of business advisory services among Swedish start-ups, first-generation immigrants compared to non-immigrants, is fulfilled.

The sample data consist of a unique and comprehensive firm-level database and contain telephone interviews with 2,800 Swedish start-up entrepreneurs. The study examines 20 different kinds of business advice services, in terms of both need and use. Statistical methods such as Mann-Whitney test and regression analysis are used while controlling for entrepreneurial characteristics.

The findings suggest that immigrants’ compared to non-immigrants’ need for business advisory service was not fulfilled. Of the 20 different business advices, ten were fulfilled and ten were not fulfilled. Both strategic advice and operational advice were fulfilled as well as unfulfilled. Apart from ethnicity, other variables did influence the need of business advisory services.

The author was not able to make comparisons between different immigrant groups.

This study offers an explorative approach that contributes on how business advisory services are differentially tailored between start-ups by immigrants and those by non-immigrants. It illustrates to what extent public- and/or private-funded organizations contribute to fulfilment of the needs of immigrant and non-immigrant start-ups.

Few studies take the entrepreneur’s perspective and from such a perspective examine the fulfilment of needs of advice regarding both private and public organizations role in the area. Both the need and the use of business advisory services are studied as well as the kind of business advice that is needed.