Papers by Michael Schaper
The role of older business operators has been largely ignored in contemporary entrepreneurship re... more The role of older business operators has been largely ignored in contemporary entrepreneurship research, even though 31% of all Australian SMEs are owned and operated by persons over the age of 50. Long term demographic trends throughout the developed world suggest that such entrepreneurs will come to play an increasingly important part of economic activity, as populations age and the traditional workforce age cohort declines. This paper provides an overview of current research into the phenomena of the so-called “grey entrepreneur” (also variously known as senior entrepreneurs, older entrepreneurs, third age entrepreneurs, elder entrepreneurs and senior-preneurs), drawing on research from Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the USA. Little direct information exists about the structure, performance and features of firms operated by grey entrepreneurs, and how they compare with their younger counterparts. The data does indicate that a majority of older entrepreneurs are ma...
Although it is the largest neighbour of both Australia and New Zealand, relatively little is know... more Although it is the largest neighbour of both Australia and New Zealand, relatively little is known in the local small business research community about the status and issues confronting micro and small-sized enterprises in Indonesia. There are more than 56 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) operating in Indonesia. More than a million new firms commence trading each year, but the country continues to rank quite poorly on global comparisons about the ease of business formation. This paper discusses some of the attempts by government to reduce both the number and cost of registration steps in recent years, with a special focus on reforms in Jakarta. A key tool has been the development of so-called one-stop shops, with either a satu atap (one roof) or satu pintu (one door) approach. In a nation with highly devolved political and administrative structures, though, successfully implementing these reforms can be difficult.
Journal of Small Business Management, 1999
The Aboriginal peoples of Australia have faced a variety of different social, legal, and economic... more The Aboriginal peoples of Australia have faced a variety of different social, legal, and economic challenges in adapting to European settlement over the last two centuries. However, despite the removal of legal impediments and a revival in Aboriginal culture and population in recent years, the number and success rate of their small business owners remain limited. This article provides an overview of Australia's Aboriginal business operators: the causes of success and failure, and the future opportunities and problems that they confront. Background Australia's indigenous peoples are one of the oldest cultures in the world. Their presence on the continent goes back at least 40,000 years. In contrast, European settlement only began in 1788, with the arrival of the first English settlers in Sydney. At the time, the Aboriginal population was estimated to be about 750,000 (McGrath 1989). It was characterized by a complex social structure, a rich religious and ceremonial life, wide...
This paper provides a brief overview of the development of business incubation across Australia. ... more This paper provides a brief overview of the development of business incubation across Australia. The first incubators appeared in the country in the early 1980s, funded by state and territory governments. This was shortly followed by an extensive program of support from the federal government, which led to a rapid expansion from 49 incubators in 1996 to almost one hundred in 2005. Australian incubation has a number of distinctive characteristics. Most have usually been initiated and subsequently managed by a local municipality, regional economic development organisation or business group, with support from government. Almost all incubators operate as not-for-profit ventures. Government assistance is usually directed towards the establishment of centres, rather than supporting their on-going operations. The most common form are either stand-alone models, or else ones embedded with other small business support centres; technology-based incubators represent a much smaller proportion of...
The process of moving businesses into a pattern of sustainable development has become a key featu... more The process of moving businesses into a pattern of sustainable development has become a key feature in many economies. However, most work to date has focussed on the operations of large firms and multinational corporations. The role of small and medium-sized firms has often been overlooked, even though they are an essential part of that process. For example, it is estimated that SMEs may account for up to 70% of global pollution, yet management theorists have frequently underestimated their importance. The purpose of this study was to measure the current environmental attitudes of small business owner/managers in one particular industry, and to assess whether significant links exist between the espoused environmental attitudes of such owner/managers and the actual environmental performance of their firms. The study also sought to determine if a number of personal (predictor) variables identified in the literature (age, gender, and education level) could be used to identify small bus...
Comparatively, very little of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) data set has been ... more Comparatively, very little of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) data set has been used to analyse the activities of Australian small business owner-operators, even though there are currently some 1.8 million small firms in existence. Using multiple waves of the HILDA survey, in this paper we investigate two important research questions related to life in a small business in Australia. Question one seeks to uncover differences between small business respondents and employees of private sector firms, by examining issues related to (i) life satisfaction, (ii) job satisfaction, (iii) individual priorities, (iv) perceived prosperity, (v) risk preferences, and (vi) individual health (general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional well-being, mental health). The second question then examines whether the factors that contribute to life satisfaction are different for the selfemployed and the employee groups. Our principal findings are that the level of satisfaction be...
• In recent years, the numbers for self-employed persons are growing dramatically, even as the nu... more • In recent years, the numbers for self-employed persons are growing dramatically, even as the numbers for people in traditional paid employment have begun to decline. This major change in the country's workforce and business structure is often overlooked. • The self-employed are now the second biggest group in the Malaysian workforce. In 2018, there were 2.86 million own-account workers, out of a total of 14.8 million working adults. • The self-employed are more likely to be older males, Bumiputera, and located in urban areas. The Klang Valley (greater Kuala Lumpur) region and Sabah have the highest numbers of own-account workers in the country. • The growth of self-employment may be due to an expanding services sector, the rise of the gig economy, the desire to "be your own boss", and a more positive attitude towards entrepreneurship in the community. • More active government policy is needed to support this growing sector of the labour force.
Conducting effective research into Indigenous tourism enterprises brings with it a set of issues ... more Conducting effective research into Indigenous tourism enterprises brings with it a set of issues that may significantly influence research processes and outcomes. In part, this is because such research crosses the boundaries of three distinct disciplinary fields (Indigenous studies, tourism, and small business), each of which has its own related research issues, conventions and frameworks. To begin with, any attempt to investigate Indigenous issues must take into account the heterogenity of the Indigenous population, definitional issues regarding the appropriate use of the term 'Indigenous', the dangers of possible over-sampling, the need to ensure reciprocity with research participants, the need to obtain permission to use and share information, and the obligation to conform with ethical requirements. Research is sometimes made more difficult by the lack of written archival historical sources, and must frequently rely instead on alternate sources of data; it must also ensur...
... Entrepreneurship and Small Business : 3rd AsiaPacific Edition. Michael Schaper, Thierry Vole... more ... Entrepreneurship and Small Business : 3rd AsiaPacific Edition. Michael Schaper, Thierry Volery, Paull Weber & Kate Lewis. Volltext, [pdf] Entrepreneurship_pacific_3rd_ed_excer... (See also PDF) PART 1 The nature of small business and entrepreneurship. ...
The usage of time by small business owner/managers is a relatively poorly understood phenomenon. ... more The usage of time by small business owner/managers is a relatively poorly understood phenomenon. Whilst several studies have previously attempted to measure how much time owners spend working on their business, few researchers have tried to evaluate what activities and tasks consume that time. This is an important issue for small firms, because time is a limited resource and its use needs to be maximised if an owner is to achieve all the goals set for his or her business. A study of 155 retail (“community”) pharmacy owner/managers throughout Western Australia sought to measure what proportion of their time was spent on each of six different management responsibilities: marketing; client relations; dealing with external stakeholders; record-keeping & paperwork; business planning and strategy; and other issues (such as staffing matters or technology issues). The study also sought to evaluate what, if any, links existed between the owner’s age, their gender, firm size and the variation...
• There are more than 70 million micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast A... more • There are more than 70 million micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia today that employ over 140 million people and account for 99% of all businesses in the region. • However, there appear to be many "missing businesses," with significant underreporting and very low figures of SMEs on a per capita basis. As many as 80-90% of SMEs in some countries may be excluded from official counts.
Little is currently known about the nature of philanthropic activities engaged in by microbusines... more Little is currently known about the nature of philanthropic activities engaged in by microbusinesses. Only limited knowledge exists about the type of charitable contribution made, the causes for which such gifts are made, and what firm characteristics (if any) can be reliably used to predict the likelihood of an organisation's philanthropic activity. A study of 95 Western Australian microbusinesses revealed that most respondents did not contribute to any charitable causes. Of the minority that did provide some support, their clear preference was via a financial contribution rather than "hands-on" involvement. The most popular destinations for financial contributions were to environmental, health, religious, and sporting causes; cultural and educational bodies received much lower contributions. Testing of firm and owner demographics revealed few statistically meaningful associations which might be used to predict a firm's inclination for charitable giving. Only educ...
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2001
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and the Environment: Business Imperatives. SimonMarsden Journa... more Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and the Environment: Business Imperatives. SimonMarsden Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 44:22, 286-287, Taylor & Francis Group Ltd., 2 Park Square Oxford OX 14 4 RN UK, 3/2001. ...
As a discipline, small business studies has sought to understand the small and medium-sized secto... more As a discipline, small business studies has sought to understand the small and medium-sized sector from a number of perspectives. One approach has been to examine the nature of small firms – their characteristics, their operating procedures and foibles, and related issues whilst another has been to study the owner-managers of these enterprises – who they are, how they manage, what variations exist between them, and so forth. Despite over forty years of intensive study, however, researchers have been unable to uncover very few “laws” or principles which seem to govern the overall way in which these businesses operate. For every generalisation, there are numerous exceptions; indeed, it is often argued that the small firm sector is perhaps more remarkable for its heterogeneity than for any common characteristics that its members share.
Uploads
Papers by Michael Schaper