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This study seeks to examine the impact of owner's knowledge of information technology (IT) on business and IT strategic alignment, as well as on IT use in the small firm context, using the resource‐based view as a theoretical foundation.

A random sample of 217 small manufacturers and financial services firms in the USA answered a two‐page survey containing questions pertaining to the company's business strategies, the extent IT supported each business strategy, types of IT used, and the level of owner's IT knowledge.

Owner's knowledge of IT was found to be a significant predictor of IT strategic alignment, as well as adoption of traditional IT and internet technologies, while controlling for differences in firm attributes (size, age, industry affiliation, and strategic focus).

Small firm owners are well advised to seek ways of improving their knowledge of IT, integrating IT use in firm‐level business planning, as well as reexamining their business strategy and IT use to detect and correct misalignments, if any.

From the resource‐based view, the owner's IT knowledge is a critical resource that cannot be easily codified, hence less susceptible to competitive erosion, since it is embedded in the owner's tacit knowledge and expressed in the unique but complementary use of IT in support of the firm's strategic goals. This study confirmed small firm owner's knowledge of IT as an important, knowledge‐based capability and a vital component of business‐IT strategic alignment.

To advance knowledge about the relationship between small firm networks and social capital by considering the network experiences of women business owners. To engage in such research, the paper proposes a conceptual model of business owner networking which is informed by social support theory.

To develop a conceptual model of business owner networking the paper reviews extant small business network research and argues that, while network theory can provide an understanding of the impact which social capital may have on the entrepreneurial process, a concentration on quantitative methodologies has restricted understanding of this. To address the gender bias in small firm network research the paper integrates social support theory into a conceptual model of business owner networks.

The conceptual model proposed recognises the interplay between network structures, interactions and contents and argues that consideration of these three network dimensions may provide insights into the impact of gender on business owner networks, social capital and experiences of business ownership. The paper also discusses the methodological implications of this model and proposes a research agenda for future business owner network research.

The paper addresses a recognised gap in extant small business network research and proposes a conceptual model of business owner networking which may be better suited to and more reflective of women business owners' networking experiences.

In this paper, a social capital perspective is presented to illustrate the interaction between gender and resource mobilization through business owners' networks.

This paper explores the resources provided by key supporters of small and young Spanish business owners within the professional service sector.

The findings suggest that a small group of key individuals provides a diverse range of mainly intangible support to the entrepreneur. Overall, the paper finds only limited support for the idea that male and female networks differ in resource mobilization except for the source of contacts‐referrals and emotional capital. The importance of including emotional capital is evident in the fact that men and women seek it in large numbers, although few studies consider it within the resources provided by the entrepreneurial networks, since it is normally attributed to women and the private sphere.

It seems that women business owners, through their embeddedness in networks, can build a bridge between their agency and the structure which normally implies some constraints for them due to the gender‐belief system. Establishing a mentorship program can prove very useful, since business owners prioritize obtaining intangible resources from their key supporters: ideas‐advice, emotional support, and contacts‐referrals.

Despite the research attention on social capital in recent years, prior work has tended to focus on how actors connect (structural dimension); however, there is a dearth of research about the resources actors can potentially gain access to by examining with whom they connect. Moreover, few studies have recognized the impact of gender on networking experiences.

This study aims to explore the social networks and network interactions of bed-and-breakfast (B&B) entrepreneurs in rural China. In addition, it evaluates how such network interactions relate to rural resilience.

In-depth interviews were performed in two locations: Ningbo and Dujiangyan, China. Purposive sampling was combined with snowball sampling to select interviewees. The 154 interviews involved 29 B&B owners and relevant social actors. All codes and data were analyzed using the discourse analysis framework.

The B&B owners’ social networks were identified based on strategic goals, revealing a business operation network, business development network and business citizenship network. Challenges in seeking financial support for rural B&Bs during the pandemic were specified along with network interactions. The institutional adaptation approach was used to evaluate network interaction in rural B&B business. It was argued that other networks would react based on primary network members’ goal compatibility and the effectiveness of the primary network in addressing obstacles.

This study indicates that the rural B&B entrepreneurs’ interactions with various networks could influence on business resilience, community resilience as well as rural resilience.

By combining the institutional adaptation typology with social network theory, this study generates a new typology of network interactions for rural B&Bs. The typology helps to explain how and why B&B entrepreneurs make decisions and provides a broader scope of social networks involved in these business operations.

As many businesses faced economic disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic and sought financial relief, existing bank relationships became critical to getting a loan. This study examines factors associated with the development of personal relationships of rural small businesses with community bank representatives.

We applied a mixed-method approach. We employed descriptive statistics, principal factor analysis and logistic regression for data analysis. We distributed an online survey to rural small businesses in five states in the United States. Key informant interviews with community bank representatives supplemented the survey results.

A business owner’s trust in a banker was positively associated with the establishment of a business–bank relationship. However, an analysis of individual trust’s components revealed that the nature of trust is complex, and a failure of one or more components may lead to decreased trustworthiness in a banker. Small businesses that preferred personal communication with a bank were more inclined to relationship banking.

Due to the relatively small sample size and cross-sectional data, our results may not be conclusive but should be viewed as preliminary and as suggestions for future research. Bankers should be aware of the importance of trust for small business owners and of the actions that lead to increased trustworthiness.

The study extends the existing knowledge on the business–bank relationship by focusing mainly on social (instead of economic) factors associated with the establishment of the business–bank relationship in times of crisis and high uncertainty.

Small business owners require objective solutions to deal with threats of labour unionisation. This study aims to centre on a novel exploration for improving the leadership acumen of small business owners to address labour unionisation. Specifically, small business owners need a theoretical framework that uses best practices from human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations to provide solutions.

The design, methodology and approach reflect post-modernist epistemological and ontological perspectives for conducting systematic literature reviews. A systematic literature review revealed the relationship between small business owners’ leadership, positive industrial relations and HRM policies and procedures. To identify relevant studies in the review, the utilisation of several databases (EBSCO Database, including PsycINFO and Psych studies; Web of Science) and a mix of ranked journals from entrepreneurship, human resources, leadership and organisational behaviour.

The findings and results in this paper reflect the purpose, methodology and literature analysis culminating in 162,132,000 peer-reviewed studies. A total of 142 peer-reviewed studies met criterion for review. For example, the purpose of this review focused on labour unionisation mitigation for small businesses and HRM solutions. In doing so, the methodology allowed for identification of a novel research topic (i.e. how small business owners mitigate labour unionisation) worthy of further investigation. The sparse findings on labour unionisation mitigation represent small business owners' reticence in creating HRM policies and procedures.

This study contributes research implications for theory and practice by offering small business owners a theoretical framework to address labour unionisation. The framework, centring on HRM solutions, is grounded in social exchange theory to address the novel topic of labour unionisation mitigation in small businesses. This study results suggest that HRM solutions for small business owners provide competitive advantages for employee job satisfaction through a holistic industrial relations approach. In future research, examining other issues discussed in this study can influence the understanding of the relationship between small business owners and industrial relations to increase employee job satisfaction.

This study investigates how a competitor orientation (knowledge of and acting on competitors' strengths and weaknesses) facilitates coopetition activities (collaboration with competitors), within networks of competing micro-sized, independent, family restaurants, owned by entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds.

An instrumental case study features data collected from interviews with 30 owners (as key informants) of micro-sized, independent, family-owned restaurants, in two urban clusters within the Midlands (UK). Specifically, the context involves restaurants offering South Asian cuisine and where the owner originated from the Indian sub-continent (Bangladesh, India or Pakistan). Secondary data were collected wherever possible. These two clusters (not named for ethics reasons) are highly populated by members of these respective ethnic communities; also, they contain a relatively large number of restaurants offering South Asian cuisine.

A competitor orientation facilitated strong coopetition-oriented partnerships comprised of extended family and intra-community members that helped enhance individual firms' performance, maintained family employment and sustained their cluster. It also helped owners develop subtle counter strategies where weak ties existed, such as via inter-community networks. For example, strategies attracted customers that were not loyal to a particular restaurant, or indeed, sub-ethnic cuisine (within Bangladesh, India or Pakistan, like the Punjab region). Subtle as opposed to outright counter strategies minimised retaliation, since restaurant owners wanted to avoid price wars, or spreading misinformation where the reputation of a cluster may suffer alongside the likely survival of individual businesses within that regional cluster.

Mixed evidence exists in earlier studies regarding the competitive rivalry in certain sectors where ethnic minority ownership is prominent; not least, restaurants located in regional clusters. However, this investigation considers the notion – what if some of these earlier studies are wrong? More specifically, does certain prior research under-represent the extent that rival entrepreneurs of an ethnic minority origin collaborate rather than compete for mutually beneficial purposes? New evidence emerges regarding ways in which a competitor orientation can influence the performance-enhancing nature of coopetition activities among business owners originating from both intra and inter-ethnic communities.

Three studies aimed to investigate the role of perceived value of entrepreneurial identity (i.e. one's evaluation of the worthiness of one's entrepreneurial role) in the relationship between motives for entrepreneurship and business growth motivation among small-business owners.

Two studies were conducted online (Studies 1 and 2) and one study in the field in Indonesia (Study 3); both employed a cross-sectional design with a mixed correlational and experimental approach.

Opportunity-based entrepreneurship, but not necessity-based entrepreneurship, was positively associated with perceived value of entrepreneurial identity. Perceived value of entrepreneurial identity was a positive predictor of future time perspective and growth-pursuit intentions. Study 2 further showed the potential of increasing the salience of both personal and others' positive views of one's business for increasing one's perceived value of their entrepreneurial identity.

The investigation of perceived value of entrepreneurial identity in this paper extends current knowledge regarding the mechanism through which motives for entrepreneurship predict business growth motivation.

The paper provides practitioners and policy-makers with useful insights into the importance of small-business owners' perceived value of entrepreneurial identity for business growth motivation, and offers suggestions on how to increase it.

The paper sheds light on the important role of perceived value of entrepreneurial identity in explaining the association between motives for entrepreneurship and business growth motivation.

Data are presented which indicate a need for improvement in the personnel skills of small business owners. A set of criteria is then provided for possible approaches to training small business owners in personnel skills. These criteria were developed from interview material acquired in a field study of small business owners. They include: research substantiation of overall effectiveness; face validity; degree of efficiency of time use; ease of access; relative cost; degree to which the method involves criticism of trainees; and effectiveness in skill development. The training approaches evaluated or these criteria are the lecture method, programmed instruction; business games/simulation; the case method, the role play method, sensitivity training; the conference method; and behaviour role modelling. Results suggest that most small business owners would derive the greatest benefits from behaviour role modelling, business games, and/or role play method and would benefit least from the lecture method and sensitivity training.

The purpose of this paper is to learn more about how regulation affects small business in the Finnish context. The authors create a framework for understanding owner-managers’ attitudes towards business legislation. It is authors’ understanding that not enough is known about how small firms make strategic choices that drive business in a highly regulated environment.

This paper contributes to the existing knowledge of entrepreneurship and small business management. The empirical data used to test the hypotheses were drawn from the postal survey. Differences between owner-managers’ attitudes towards business regulation were identified with factor and cluster analyses methods.

Regulation often exerts only a limited influence over owner-managers’ decision-making. Family entrepreneurs are more compliant towards business regulation. Regulation is not too heavy a burden to all in business in Finland, even though Finland is a highly regulated country.

The real impact of regulation on small firms’ performance is really difficult to prove, because small firms operating in the same regulatory context have different performance outcomes. Additionally, often owner-managers’ awareness of specific regulations is limited.

There could be gap between the presumed effect of policymakers and the real effect of regulation among owner-managers. In Finland, policymakers should find other motivations to encourage business than lightening the regulatory burden. They should concentrate more providing external support to small firms in the form of information, training and financing new small firms.

It is authors’ understanding that not enough is known about how small firms make strategic choices that drive business in a highly regulated environment.