The author looks for measures of economic discrimination that exist against and within the Arab-American and Arab immigrant economy. However, the focus is on the economic impacts of intra-group conflicts between Muslims and Christians (and social distance from Palestinians) in the Arab-ethnic economic enclave. Results from this sample group show trends indicating that prejudice against Muslims makes them inordinately dependent on selfemployed earnings, but also that Muslims are not compensated evenly over time for taking extra entrepreneurial risks. It is also determined that significant finance-gaps exist between Muslims' and Christians' access to capital at the time of initial investment and at the point of expansion. The researcher concludes that there are both occupational and wage-related costs to being Arab and believing in Islam in America. In addition, the author finds that within the Arab-ethnic Muslim community that some segments are avoided socially or excluded from the relative enclave. This places Palestinians in the worst economic position and Syrian Christians in the best.

Recently, informal venture capital investors have been recognised as an important source of financing small & medium sized enterprises(SMEs). Unfortunately, very little research (if any) has been devoted to understanding how these investors fund particular investments in developing countries. This research study conducts the first-ever, detailed investigation in Saudi Arabia of the informal investor's characteristics, and decision-making behaviour across the full investment process. A theoretical framework, based on the asymmetric information that characterises this market, was used. Five hypotheses were developed to see how informal investors behave to reduce the inefficiencies and risks associated with the asymmetric information problem. Data from 156 Saudi informal investors were compiled. To analyze the data, three statistical methods, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Two-Way ANOVA, were applied. A descriptive picture of the profile and the investment activities of informal investors is presented in Chapter Seven. Research hypotheses related to investors' decision-making were then tested in Chapter Eight. First, the study shows that informal investors in Saudi Arabia depend on personal searches for investment opportunities. This is clearly supports the view that the flow of information between entrepreneurs and informal investors is inefficient. Secondly, in order to select a high quality entrepreneur and venture, investors use specific criteria though clearly the entrepreneur's reputation is the most important criterion. Third, informal investors use staging of finance and involvement in the venture to have access to information and gain better control over the venture. Fourth, informal investors apply the above methods to reduce the risks of the agency problem. However, informal investors in Saudi Arabia prefer to monitor the behaviour of entrepreneurs through outcome-based incentives with moderate use of involvement and behaviour monitoring. In concluding the thesis, recommendations and the possible implications of these findings are discussed. Finally, future research is suggested that may improve the understanding of informal investors but which is beyond the scope of this thesis or which depends on its findings.

The rationale for this thesis stems from three interlinked issues. First, there is a general recognition of the importance of the small firm sector and the value of its contribution to the health of economies across the globe. Second, the provision of external finance for growing small firms in developed and developing countries has improved significantly over the last few years in terms of both the total of funds and the range of financial facilities available. Third, despite this rapid expansion in the range of public and private sector financial initiatives, there is widespread perception that financing difficulties continue to exist, difficulties which are perceived to be major obstacles or constraints on small firm growth. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the practices and problems of financing the growth of small firms in developed and developing countries with particular reference to the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Malaysia. In pursuing the main l objective, empirical study attempts to investigate the characteristics of small firms and their owner-managers, as well as the growth orientation of the firms and the extent to which these characteristics are associated with the need for, and use of, external sources of finance and with the existence of difficulties in obtaining the finance. Subsequently, comparative investigation between the two countries explores the similarities and differences with respect to the sources and patterns of finance as well as the difficulties in raising finance. Having identified the important variables in the theoretical framework of the study, the relationships among the variables are established and research hypotheses are generated. In order to achieve the main objective ofthe study, the empirical investigation was conducted using two research strategies: questionnaires and case studies. Nonparametric gamma and chi-square statistics are used in analysing the empirical results. Two major findings emerge from this study. First, the overall characteristics of firms and owner-managers have no association with the need for, and sources of external finance and the existence of difficulties in raising finance; whereas growth of the firms can be associated with the sources of external finance and the existence of financing difficulties. Second, whilst there is a significant difference in the need for external finance by growthoriented small firms in the U. K. and Malaysia, both the sources/patterns ofexternal finance and the difficulties experienced by small firms in the two countries are not markedly different.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-88). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-56).

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-131).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

No description available.

M.Phil. / Family Businesses are the most prevalent form of business throughout the world; they are highly pertinent in developing economies (Cavusgil, Kandemir & Kim, 2004). In South Africa it is estimated that 84 percent of all businesses in the formal sector are family-owned (Balshaw, 2004). Even though family businesses represent a dominant form of economic organisation, there is neglect in terms of research, particularly with respect to development of theories that have applied value (Chrisman, Chua & Steier, 2003). The key focus of this study is to provide research evidence for the verification of the predictive model Resulting Commitment Behaviours (hereafter referred to as RCBs) and the relationship(s) of the antecedent’s: Individual Characteristics, Familial Cultural Socialisation and Contextual Factors might have with an employed family member’s RCBs.