Journal of Enterprising Culture

This article attempts to understand the developments in policy making and financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of Bangladesh and Pakistan. From 1947–1971, Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, as East Pakistan, while the remaining current Pakistan, is referred as West Pakistan. However, in 1971 a political turmoil resulted in a separation of two parts into two different nations. Since then, both have taken different routes to develop their economies along with heavy reliance on SMEs. This paper explores the key differences in financing and policy for SMEs in Bangladesh and Pakistan with a comparative study based on literature, empirical case studies and analysis of government policies and regulations, trying to identify some main takeaways from Bangladesh and Pakistan’s market for entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers.

Business transfers are linked to both the beginning and the end of entrepreneurial processes. A person can become an entrepreneur by acquiring an existing business instead of starting one, and exit from entrepreneurship can occur through selling the business. Business transfers are gradually becoming more common among small businesses, largely due to entrepreneurs’ aging, and thus deserve attention from entrepreneurship scholars. In particular, the issue of why and how business transfer negotiations fail without achieving a transfer has received little research attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore this phenomenon from potential buyers’ and sellers’ perspectives. The findings are based on a sample of 156 responses. The results suggest that the problems occurring in unfinished business transfers are quite numerous and the gaps between the views of the two negotiating parties are wider than in cases where business transfer negotiations are concluded successfully, indicating that the initial negotiation positions can be crucial. This research proposes some key elements to consider when planning an exit by business transfer and highlight the importance of unfinished small business transfers as an essential element of a dynamic business transfer market; a substantial proportion of the potential buyers and sellers are satisfied with the outcome even though the transfer did not occur.

This article extends the debate regarding entrepreneurial intention antecedents. It seeks to achieve an in-depth understanding of the direct influence of attitude, entrepreneurial education (EE), and gender on entrepreneurial intention (EI), but also of the moderator effect of family background on the EE–EI relationship in an international context. The study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our hypotheses. Data analysis is based on the information of French and international postgraduate students in French business schools. The results suggest a positive and significant causal relationship between attitude and EI for both samples. However, the results also reveal that EE has a negative influence on EI development. As such, our results open interesting perspectives regarding EI antecedents, but also concerning the efficiency of the pedagogical approach adapted on EE.

In today’s competitive business environment, family and non-family small and medium enterprises (SMEs) strive to survive despite many challenges. Market knowledge and marketing efforts are crucial for them to sustain and enhance business with limited resources. In this paper, we examined three constructs (i) market orientation, (ii) marketing capabilities and (iii) marketing practices impact on the SMEs’ service sector performance. The interaction effect of ownership type (family and non-family firms) was also observed in the model. Data was collected from 240 SMEs in three major metropolitan cities. This study found positive relationships of each construct (market orientation, (ii) marketing capabilities and (iii) marketing practices) on firm performance as hypothesised. The interaction effect of ownership type i.e. family and non-family, evident on marketing capabilities and SMEs’ performance. Non-family businesses are open for adopting new ideas and personnel into decision making. Family firms should be more adaptable to compete with non-family firms. The managerial and theoretical implications discussed in family and non-family firms’ perspective.