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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of different reorganization actions on long‐term financial performance of reorganizing small entrepreneurial firms in Finland.

An structural equation model estimated by partial least squares is applied to survey data from 98 reorganizing very small firms to analyze the effect of organizational change (OC), financial reorganization, management control system change (MCSC), and management accounting change (MAC) on performance.

Evidence supports three of the seven research hypotheses. Debt restructuring has a positive effect on performance. Liquidation of assets and OC do not show a significant direct effect but OC has a positive total effect. MCSC has a positive effect whereas the effect of MAC is negative. Compatibility of reorganization actions with the confirmed reorganization plan affects positively performance.

The sample is small. In further studies, larger samples should be used. Effect of reorganization on performance is self‐assessed by the firms. Further studies should apply more objective measures. The constructs of variables are intended for larger firms. New constructs should be developed for very small firms.

It is important that reorganization administrators and consultants prepare a careful reorganization plan to be followed during the program. In small reorganizing firms, it is beneficial to develop management control systems. However, one should be cautious when developing formal management accounting systems for very small firms.

This paper is the first one developing a structural model of the effects of reorganization actions on performance of small firms. It brings new evidence on the effects of organizational and control system change.

The Nature of Business Policy Business policy — or general management — is concerned with the following six major functions:

The purpose of this paper is to improve assessment and feedback processes in the training practices of very small firms, thereby improving the firms' human capital.

The paper reviews research and practice on effective assessment and feedback.

Based on this paper, human resources are increasingly seen as a potential source of sustained competitive advantage, and well‐trained workers can boost the performance of even very small firms. Hence, a method is provided which very small firms can use to create and implement a structured assessment tool that builds on observation of critical incidents to illustrate the differences between poor, average, and good performance.

The paper shows that readers can use the provided tools to assess and improve employee performance, thereby enhancing their firm's competitive position.

This paper can be used by very small firms to evaluate employee performance and provide employees with both positive and constructive feedback. Additionally, suggestions are provided that allow these firms to use this feedback to effectively set employee performance goals and action plans.

The paper introduces a resource-based linear programming model for resource optimization in small innovative enterprises (SIE).

The model is grounded on resource-based view on the firm and dynamic capabilities approach. Linear programming technique is used to provide the actual framework to the resource-based model.

The paper introduces a new resource-based linear programming model for resource optimization in small innovative enterprises. The conceptual model is grounded on resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities strategy. The RVB of firm and firm strategy is based on the concept of economic rent. Linear programming technique is used to provide the actual framework to the resource-based model. In developing the versatility concept, study suggests a distinct sight regarding resource fungibility. Study classifies resources into multipliable, rentable and expendable resources to increases adequacy of the model. The developed model includes both tangible and intangible assets such as human capital. The survival rate of SIE in the early stages of life cycle is very low due to the competition among SIEs. In this regard, the greatest advancement of the developed resource-based linear programming model is its simplicity and versatility which is much desirable for the SIE especially in their initial stages of the life cycle. Kelliher and Reinl (2009) argued that micro firms have unique advantage over bigger firms in following term: rate of learning or redeployment of strategy in micro firms is faster than the rate of change in their environment. One very significant feature of the developed resource-based linear programming model is that mathematically the proposed model could easily be transformed into mixed integer or stochastic linear programming models to meet the time variant requirement of small firms especially when it expands its operation.

The survival rate of SIE in the early stages of life cycle is very low due to the competition among SIEs. In this regard, the greatest advancement of the developed resource-based linear programming model is its simplicity and versatility which is much desirable for the SIE especially in their initial stages of the life cycle. Kelliher and Reinl (2009) argued that micro firms have unique advantage over bigger firms in following term: rate of learning or redeployment of strategy in micro firms is faster than the rate of change in their environment. One very significant feature of the developed resource-based linear programming model is that mathematically the proposed model could easily be transformed into mixed integer or stochastic linear programming models to meet the time variant requirement of small firms especially when it expands its operation.

One very significant contribution of the present study is that the study develops a new resource-based model for SIE especially for the SIE in the initial stages of the life cycle, to gain competitive advantages. Furthermore, the present study contributes to the existing literature in strategy at least in three senses as mentioned below: 1. further addition of SIE research based on the RBV and dynamic capabilities in the strategy literature 2. in developing the versatility concept, the study suggests a distinct sight regarding resource fungibility and it classifies resources into three categories as follows: multipliable, rentable and expendable resources to increases adequacy of the model. 3. Finally, the study introduces a new resource-based linear programming model for SIE resources allocation. To the best of author’s knowledge, no such similar model is introduced by any previous studies for small firm. The greatest advancement of the developed resource-based linear programming model is its simplicity and versatility.

The purpose of this paper is to study human resource development (HRD) and organisational learning issues in a small expert organisation.

This is a qualitative single case study conducted in one Finnish SME. It is part of an ongoing study. It is descriptive in nature and the aim is to find out whether the existing HRD and OL practices are relevant and appropriate in the small context.

The results reveal that small organisations do consider HRD to be an issue, even though it may not be as visible or official as in larger companies. The HRD, OL or strategy issues merge into the territory of just one man. The case organisation represents the small firm sector very well.

Current literature has established that the models designed for larger organisations are not directly applicable to the small context. Future research should concentrate on finding out what model SMEs use for the development of human resources. This study cannot be generalised because, at this point, it is a single case study.

From the SME perspective, the paper suggests that there is a lot a small organisation can do in terms of human resource practices, even without vast resources.

The paper examines the HRD and OL issue from a practical point of view.

The purpose of this paper is to identify which small businesses are most “debt sensitive”, or most likely to be affected by banking market conditions.

For the primary debt sensitivity categories, the paper hypothesizes that bank conditions are most likely to have significant effects on firms in size classes and industries that are “on the bubble” for credit availability (probability of credit close to 0.50), rather than those with “relatively easy” or “relatively difficult” access to credit (probability much higher or lower, respectively). The secondary classifications also require that loans fund a substantial proportion of assets for the firms in the category that have loans. These hypotheses are tested using a comprehensive data set of US small businesses by size class and industry matched with variables measuring bank market power, market structure, and efficiency in the firm's local markets.

Findings show that the data are consistent with the hypotheses, with the strongest support for the hypotheses occurring using the secondary classifications. In terms of policy implications, the findings suggest that the credit availability of small, debt‐sensitive firms may be reduced by within‐market mergers that increase concentration in rural markets, but that the more common type of recent consolidation – creating larger banks that operate in more markets – may be associated with an increase in credit availability for these sensitive firms. Such an increase in credit availability would be magnified if consolidation resulted in increased bank operating efficiency.

The paper offers insights into the effect of banks on “debt‐sensitive” small businesses.

In the British and European motor industry there co‐exist firms which differ widely in size. Given the existence of economies of scale the smaller firms are faced with the problem of survival; more precisely, of being able to charge a premium price to offset higher unit costs. After confirming the existence of scale economies this paper looks at the corporate strategies of smaller firms, but first it is necessary to clarify what we mean by “smaller firms”. In any market for any good where economies of scale exist in its production, firms smaller than the optimum could, if no non‐scale problems exist, be at a cost and, with competition, a profit disadvantage. However, in the motor industry the term “smaller” covers various types of operation.

The common belief is that institutionalised industrial relations has little relevance for the smaller organisation. This belief is consequent on the ideas that problems in industrial relations occur where communications are poor and that “good communications” are an integral feature of the small firm. The authors base their counter‐argument on a study which examined industrial relations practices in small firms.

The structure and management of small firms are examined here in the light of the findings of recent research. This article analyses the contribution of small companies to the United Kingdom economy and the patterns of growth and decline of small firms in this country and in the United States of America, and describes some of the findings of research into the management of small companies. It considers some of the implications of research findings for the training and development of small firm managers and for the formulation of policies that contribute to the more effective use of managerial manpower in the small firm.

The purpose of this study is to explore small firm owners' perceptions of the impact of employee training on small firm competitiveness in the context of Greece.

The research adopts a qualitative orientation. Empirical data were collected from 43 owners of small and micro‐firms operating in various sectors of the Greek manufacturing industry through personal semi‐structured interviews.

The empirical evidence reveals that informal staff training can help Greek small firms face the challenges of the future. More specifically, the interview findings indicated that workplace training can: reduce employee errors in the production process; help small firms to meet skill shortage needs; facilitate the introduction of new technology; and enhance worker employability.

The paper argues that a key challenge for policy makers and employers in this area is to facilitate informal learning within small firms in order to improve firm performance. In the same manner, work‐integrated learning (WIL) seems to have a vital role to play in the performance of Greek small enterprises since WIL programs have the potential to address skills mismatch issues.

The study brings new insights around the benefits of informal staff training and work‐integrated learning for small and micro‐firm performance in the context of a small European country like Greece, where there has been scant research and very limited understanding.