Editorial

Citation

Marlow, S. (2003), "Editorial", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 9 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr.2003.16009baa.001

Editorial

As was mentioned in the previous editorial, we are very pleased to be hosting a special edition of the IJEBR on family business, edited by Dr Panikkos Poutziouris of UMIST later this year. We can now confirm that we plan to invite a number of contributors to the special track on family business at the 48th World Conference of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) to submit their papers for review to the journal. The ICSB will be held in Northern Ireland this year, on 15-18 June 2003 and already plans are well advanced for an extremely interesting and lively conference, we are very optimistic that we will be able to attract a very high standard of papers.

Regarding the forthcoming issues of the journal, we are again able to present papers which span a number of issues drawn from a truly international context. So, Louw et al. present empirical work undertaken in South Africa which explores the entrepreneurial aspirations of university students; work which is deemed to be critical given the South African Government’s need to regenerate their economy and encourage wealth creation among indigenous groups.

On a very different topic, Mazzarol draws attention to the manner in which prevailing models of human resource management effectively exclude the smaller firm sector. Drawing on empirical work undertaken in Australia, Mazzarol argues that the role of the owner, their beliefs attitudes and values is critical in the appropriate management of employees particularly in a growth environment. From these findings, a theoretical model of the small business human resource process is presented which makes an invaluable contribution to this field of study where the large firms almost always set the “norm”.

Demonstrating the eclectic coverage of the IJEBR, the paper in issue two by Saffu explores a fascinating area – that of South Pacific Island entrepreneurs. The study under discussion explores the relevance and applicability of the US/euro centric entrepreneurship literature to indigenous peoples living outside these localities. In particular, Saffu focuses on the impact of culture on entrepreneurial activity and suggests that perhaps a new “list” of characteristics which can be applied to indigenous entrepreneurs is necessary and more attention should be given to the manner in culture moderates enterprise.

Finally, returning to Australia, Hine and Howard discuss a key issue in the study of small firms, that of growth stages. Hine and Howard recognise the criticisms of life cycle models, particularly their insistence on the importance of external variables for enterprise development. This paper argues that it is possible to reconcile the external focus with internal management factors and the authors present findings from a survey of firms which explores these notions in some detail.

This collection of papers makes another impressive contribution to the journal and we look forward to more excellent submissions in the future. Indeed, it is gratifying to note that submissions are increasing in both quality and quantity, ensuring that the editorial team can continue to maintain the commendable standards of the IJEBR.

Susan Marlow