Since China's introduction of economic reform and adoption of market-oriented programs, more and more people are going into business. China registered an average annual GDP growth of over 8% in the past ten years. Moreover, during the past ten years (1995-2005), the number of women-owned businesses in China has increased significantly, and these businesses are just as successful as those owned by men. With an increasing number of them participating, women have become a major force in China's economic development, even in Shaanxi. The need for a better understanding of this emerging economy and of women entrepreneurs in small firm motivated the researcher to undertake this study. Moreover, this study was guided by the following research objectives: Primary objectives • Determine the motivations underpinning entry of women into small business in Shaanxi • Examine the barriers and challenges that female entrepreneurs face and how can these be addressed • Examine the contribution of female entrepreneurs to the regional development of the province with regard to employment • Consider the determinants of the employment growth of women-owned business as in Shaanxi • Examine the determinants of the performance of female entrepreneurs in Shaanxi • Make suggestions regarding further research on entrepreneurship development in Shaanxi province, China • Examine whether source of funding is associated with the education of the entrepreneurs. Secondary objectives • Examine whether perceptions of support for women entrepreneurs vary with marital status and education. • Examine whether perceptions of support for women entrepreneurs vary with training and networks. • Examine whether belonging to a business network is related to the marital status and education of the women entrepreneurs. According to surveyed entrepreneurs, the quest for personal development (pull) and a feeling of not "fit in" with the organisation (push) are two main factors which motivated women to go into business as self-employed persons. The main barriers to them start-up in business are availability of funds and family support. Problems still exist, but women entrepreneurs made a great contribution to Shaanxi's provincial economic development, especially in terms of employment creation opportunities. The regression analysis shows that education and experience of the entrepreneurs contribute significantly to employment growth. Moreover, efficient business networks, availability of funding with training opportunities and the support from government are seemingly rather weak in Shaanxi, China. Results of the hypotheses tests indicate that training, networks, business location, family member employees and prior working experience of the women entrepreneurs contribute significantly to better performance in business. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

This study investigated the contribution of women entrepreneurs to the economic growth of the North West Province. The aim of the study was to identify the contribution of women entrepreneurs in the economic growth, to determine forces driving women to become entrepreneurs. The study also aimed at examining future challenges for women entrepreneurs as well as strategies to advance women entrepreneurs . The Quantitative research method was chosen for the study and the targeted population was women entrepreneurs and women interested in entrepreneurship in Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province. A total of200 participants were selected for the study, 100 women entrepreneurs and 100 women interested in entrepreneurship. Stratified random sampling was used to randomly select a subset of 50 women entrepreneurs and 50 women interested in entrepreneurship. The primary instrument used to collect data from the selected respondents was the questionnaire. Data were collected, analysed and presented in tables and figures. The findings of the study reveal~ that women entrepreneurs made positive contributions on the economic growth of the North West Province. They create employment, reduce poverty, initiate businesses, build self-employment and expand their businesses. The study confirmed that women entrepreneurs lack skills, knowledge and experience in business. They do not get support in infrastructure, finance and education to run their businesses. The researcher recommended that women entrepreneurs should get training and education with regard to running a business. There should also be infrastructure, accessibility of technology, funding and support for women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs should get support from local governments and appropriate information should be made available to them. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The aim of this thesis was to generate a series of propositions identifying the elements most likely to be found in 'durable' employee-owned organisations. Previous studies in the field had often been marked by the assumption that benefits associated with employee share ownership, including reduced 'social divisions' between employees and their managers and a greater propensity among the former to work harder, would follow in all employee-owned enterprises, Few researchers had addressed the 'empirical reality' and 'diversity' of individual employee share ownership conversions and the circumstances in which systems had been created, implemented and subsequently managed by organisations.' Areas covered by the thesis included an examination of employee participation structur'es in different employee share ownership environments and 'feelings of ownership and commitment' among employee shareholders. The thesis also considered whether the 'traditional' trade union role would be undermined by new forms of representation and participation resulting from the introduction of employee share ownership programmes, Applying an extensive 'multimethod' approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected over an eighteen-month period from six organisations in the UK bus industry -regarded by the mid 1990s as the most important locus of employee-owned companies. In 1994, some twenty-five UK bus companies were defined as 'employee-owned', generally consisting of non-managerial employees holding at least 25 per cent of the equity in their work places, Results from the investigation revealed that 'direct monetary investment' by employees and extensive information and communication programmes were among the elements characterising durable employee-owned organisations, Preservation of the 'traditional' trade union role was also evident, with employee shareholders generally content to participate in company matters through their union, More broadly, the thesis concluded that recognition in future research of the interplay of different variables was essential to increase understanding in relation to employee commitment, participation and industrial relations outcomes.

Concern regarding corporate governance is a new phenomenon in Indonesia. It became apparent in the business community when the economic crisis hit the country in 1997. Due to its recent recognition, it appears that very little is known about corporate governance in Indonesia and there has been no academic study conducted on corporate governance in the Indonesian Stateowned Enterprises (ISOEs) despite the fact that their performance is closely linked to the development of the country. The main objectives of this study are two-fold: first is to examine corporate governance systems and the roles of the Boards of ISOEs; and second is to assess the effectiveness of government initiatives in improving corporate governance practices in ISOEs. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative analysis was derived from numerical data obtained from government reports and other public documents. The qualitative analysis was based on the results of in-depth interviews with key individuals and other sources such as public opinions published in the mass media. Several key findings were obtained from the results of this study. Firstly, the study found that using agency theory to explain the relationships between the agents and the principals was more problematic in ISOEs than those in private enterprises. This is because an ISOE is a loose coalition of various agents with no real owner. Consequently. agency theory, if it is used to redefine the relationships among parties in ISOEs. should be approached at two different levels. At the micro level the agency theory examines the agent-principal relationships among the ISOE management, the Boards and the government-the corporate governance tripod. At the macro level it examines the agent-principal relationships between the corporate governance tripod and the ISOEs stakeholders (the public, labour unions, politicians in the People's Representative Assembly and others). Secondly, the results of this study confirm the results of previous studies which found that Boards in SOEs were largely ineffective. To enhance Boards' effectiveness, this study suggests that as a quasi-owner the government needs to reduce its intervention in ISOEs' operations and empower the Boards by establishing employee representation on the Board. In addition, Board training and assessment should be a mandatory in the ISOEs. Thirdly, this study found that the initiatives on corporate governance carried out by the Indonesian government had been ineffective due to the lack of incentives, lack of commitment and consistency, lack of understanding of corporate governance and unclear programmes. Here, the key factor required to enhance effectiveness is strong-willed commitment of the government and ISOE management. Lastly, other factors such as culture, public governance and law enforcement have a great influence in the process of attaining good corporate governance practices. Therefore, there should be joint efforts among parties in the public sector to ensure that good corporate governance is achieved in conjunction with the attainment of good public governance.

Weakness in corporate governance and lack of transparency are often considered causes of, or contributors to, the Asian Financial Crisis. Publicly listed companies in Indonesia, like other Asian firms, have a concentrated ownership structure. Focusing on manufacturing firms listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) for the year 2003, this study adopts an agency framework to examine voluntary disclosures included in the annual reports of 149 Indonesian firms and their relationship to various attributes such as: ownership structure; whether a firm is family-owned or not; the owner's involvement in either the Board of Commissioners or Board of Directors; and whether the firm is affiliated with a business group. The results mostly support the notion that ownership structure affects the extent of disclosure in annual reports. First, the results show that, compared to firms with a nonmajority ownership structure, voluntary disclosure is lower in firms with a majority ownership structure. Second, the results indicate that family owned firms are more likely to exhibit lower voluntary disclosure than are non-family owned firms. Third, the analysis shows that, among family firms, firms with a majority (compared to those with a non-majority) ownership structure are more likely to have lower levels of voluntary disclosure. Fourth, the results indicate that, among family firms, firms affiliated with a business group are more likely to make lower voluntary disclosures than independent firms. In contrast, the empirical analysis failed to support the hypothesis that, among family firms, voluntary disclosure would be lower in firms where the owners are involved in the Board of Commissioners compared to those where there is no owner involvement in the Board of Commissioners. Similarly, the results failed to support the hypothesis that, among family firms, voluntary disclosure would be lower in firms where the owners are involved in the Board of Directors compared to those where there is no owner involvement in the Board of Directors. Robustness checks performed using alternate measures of disclosure and the degree of ownership structure did not substantially change the conclusions. This thesis contributes to our understanding of how family firms are governed and the impact of corporate governance on a firm?s level of voluntary disclosure. The results have implications for policy makers and regulators in Indonesia striving to improve corporate governance and transparency.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University, Dept. of History. / Electronic thesis. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-111). Also available in print ed.

[pt] Neste trabalho estudamos o canal de crédito de política monetária, em particular o lending channel, por meio da análise da resposta em nível desagregado de bancos comerciais a inovações de política monetária no Brasil. Os efeitos de um choque monetário são estimados em um factor augmented VAR considerando um amplo conjunto de informação. Posteriormente, estimamos regressões utilizando características dos bancos comerciais para analisar as respostas diferenciadas das operações de crédito, juros (proxy), depósitos à vista e alavancagem. Os resultados obtidos corroboram a hipótese de existência do canal de crédito no Brasil, e que as respostas heterogêneas dependem de características dos bancos comerciais. Em particular, quanto maior o porte do banco maior seu grau de sensibilidade ao choque monetário e mais ativamente ele administra seu balanço. Por fim, encontramos evidências que houve uma alteração no mercado de crédito brasileiro a partir da crise de 2008: bancos públicos tornaram-se menos sensíveis à inovação de política monetária. / [en] We study the credit channel of monetary policy, in particular the lending channel, by analyzing the disaggregated level response of commercial banks to monetary policy innovations in Brazil. The effects of a monetary shock are estimated by a factor augmented VAR considering a broad set of information. Subsequently, we estimate regressions using characteristics of commercial banks to analyze the differentiated responses of loans, interest rates (proxy), demand deposits and leverage. The results corroborate the hypothesis of the existence of the credit channel in Brazil, and that heterogeneous responses depend on characteristics of commercial banks. In particular, the larger the size of the bank the larger its degree of sensitivity to monetary shock and more actively it manages its balance sheet. Finally, we find evidences that there was a change in the Brazilian credit market from the 2008 crisis: public banks became less sensitive to monetary policy innovation.

[pt] O presente trabalho procurou identificar os fatores que predominam no processo de construção do contrato psicológico dos indivíduos com as organizações. A proposta de utilização da teoria do contrato psicológico deveu-se ao pressuposto de que este modelo permitiria reconhecer fatores explícitos ou implícitos que caracterizavam a relação entre a organização e o próprio indivíduo, seja na elaboração do contrato ou mesmo na quebra das expectativas dos novos empregados. Optou-se por desenvolver estudo de caso qualitativo com características exploratórias. A organização selecionada foi uma empresa estatal federal brasileira com sede no Rio de Janeiro que, no período de janeiro de 2008 a junho de 2009, renovou cerca de 37% do seu quadro de pessoal efetivo, com a contratação de mais de 600 empregados. A estratégia adotada para a coleta de dados teve por base questionários semi-estruturados e entrevistas coletivas com empregados de várias formações de nível superior, visando identificar os principais motivos que estimularam a entrada dos mesmos na estatal e como suas experiências e maneiras de pensar influenciam sua relação com a organização. Os resultados confirmaram algumas crenças correntes a respeito da motivação dos indivíduos para optarem por um emprego estatal, destacando-se entre elas a busca por uma situação de maior estabilidade, principalmente para aqueles acima de uma determinada faixa etária, aliada à possibilidade de um melhor gerenciamento da qualidade de vida. Embora os resultados conduzam à percepção de uma imagem positiva do setor público e uma relação de reciprocidade entre o indivíduo e a organização, eles ainda acreditam que há necessidade de melhorias em relação às oportunidades concretas de crescimento profissional e ao sistema de avaliação de gestão por competências, fatores estes que, principalmente, para os indivíduos mais jovens podem acarretar o rompimento do contrato psicológico. / [en] This study sought to identify the factors that dominate the process of construction of the psychological contract of individuals with organizations, focusing on a particular organization. The proposed use of the theory of psychological contract was due to the assumption that this model would recognize explicit or implicit factors that characterized the relationship between the organization and the individual, whether in contract preparation or even break the expectations of new employees. We decided to develop qualitative case study with exploratory characteristics. The organization selected was a Brazilian federal state enterprise based in Rio de Janeiro, in the period January 2008 to June 2009, renewed 37% of effective staff with the hiring of more than 600 employees. The strategy adopted for data collection was based on semi-structured questionnaires and group interviews with employees of some higher levels of education, identifying the main reasons that prompted the entry of the same state and how their experiences and ways of thinking influence their relationship with the organization. The results confirm some common beliefs about the motivation of individuals to choose a state employment, foremost among them the search for a more stable situation, especially for those over a certain age group, combined with the possibility of better management quality of life. Although the results lead to the perception of a positive image of the public and a reciprocal relationship between the individual and the organization, they still believe there is need for improvement in relation to concrete opportunities for professional growth and evaluation system for management skills. All of these factors, especially for younger individuals may lead to the disruption of the psychological contract.

Despite the fact that small family and non-family businesses in South Africa are important contributors to economic and social development, their failure rates are still high globally. Major contributing factors to this high failure rate are the lack of marketing skills and ineffective marketing practices. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to establish what marketing mix strategies are used by small family and non-family businesses in the Eastern Cape and the influence of these strategies on Perceived business performance. The literature review dealt with the nature and importance of marketing, and the traditional marketing mix strategies were elaborated on from a small family and non-family business perspective. The traditional marketing mix strategies (4Ps) identified as influencing the Perceived business performance of small family and non-family businesses, were classified as Product-, Pricing-, Place-, and Promotion strategies. From the literature review, it was evident that the traditional marketing mix strategies have been criticised by a number of studies as not reflecting the holistic marketing concept within the 21st century. Yet, despite its simplicity various studies still find the traditional 4P framework to be a strong staple of the marketing mix. In this study, a quantitative research design was adopted and an exploratory and descriptive research approach of a cross-sectional nature were undertaken. A convenience sampling technique was used owing to the inaccessibility of a small family and non-family business database. The sample size in this study consisted of 195 small family-owned businesses and 145 small non-family businesses operating within the borders of the Eastern Cape. The primary data in this study was gathered by means of a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The measuring instrument was developed by sourcing items from several existing studies. Small family and non-family businesses were approached by fieldworkers and asked to participate in this study. In total 400 questionnaires were distributed, of which 340 were usable for further statistical analyses. Therefore, an effective response rate of 85% was achieved in this study. The validity and reliability of the measuring instrument were confirmed by means of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and by the calculation of Cronbach„s alpha (CA) coefficients. The five usable factors that were extracted from the EFA were identified as Pricing strategies, Competitive distribution strategies, Communication process strategies, Low cost promotion strategies and Perceived business performance. The CA coefficient for Pricing strategies indicated that the scale measuring this factor was not reliable due to it falling below the accepted norm of 0.6 and, therefore it was disregarded from further analysis. The CA coefficients returned for the remaining usable factors extracted from the EFA were greater than 0.6, thus indicating the scales measuring these variables provided satisfactory evidence of validity and reliability. The findings of the descriptive statistics showed that the highest mean score reported was for the independent variable Competitive distribution strategies, followed by Communication process strategies and Low cost promotion strategies. Based on the mean, respondents indicated that they often utilise Competitive distribution strategies and Communication process strategies, and seldom utilise Low cost promotion strategies. Pearson‟s product moment correlations revealed that all the marketing mix strategies, for both small family and non-family businesses, investigated were found to be significantly and positively correlated with the dependent variable Perceived business performance, and amongst themselves. The findings of the MRA showed that utilising Competitive distribution strategies have a significant positive influence on the Perceived business performance of small family businesses. The finding implies that the more small family businesses in this study provide high-quality and competitive products through distributions process methods by setting timing objectives, using distributions selection criteria and changing the distribution channel when needed to continuously satisfy customers‟ needs, the more likely the business is to experience growth in profit and sales and having loyal customers who make regular purchases and recommend the business to others. This study found no relationship between Competitive distribution strategies and the Perceived business performance of small non-family businesses, as well as between Communication Process strategies and Low cost promotion strategies and Perceived business performance of small family and non-family businesses. The results of the t-tests revealed that no statistically significant relationship was found between the Type of small business ownership and any of the three independent variables, Competitive distribution-, Communication Process-, and Low cost promotion strategies. Furthermore, the results of the Chi-square test for independence reported no statistically significant difference between using the family name as a marketing or branding tool and the size of the small business in this study. The results, however, indicated that as the business size increases, the more small businesses use their family name as a marketing- or branding tool. From the 18 sets of null hypotheses that were formulated, to explore whether the demographical variables had an influence on the marketing mix strategies utilised by the small family and non-family businesses, only 11 multivariant analysis of variance (MANOVA) relationships could be established as being statistically significant. These include the Gender of the business owner/manager, Age of the business owner/manager, Management qualifications of the business owner/manager, Ethnicity of the business owner/manager, Position in the small business, Years small business is in existence, Working experience of the business owner/manager, Management working experience of the business owner/manager, Form of business ownership, Area of business premises and Target market of the small business. This study has addressed a gap in the current literature regarding the influence of marketing mix strategies on business performance among small family and non-family businesses in a developing economy such as South Africa. This study has furthermore attempted to enlarge the body of knowledge available on marketing, especially concerning Communication Process, Competitive distribution strategies and Low cost promotion strategies. The results of the study differ somewhat from existing literature, and therefore add to the body of knowledge on marketing. Furthermore, the findings of this study show that small family businesses utilising Competitive distribution strategies have a significant positive influence on their Perceived business performance, and in doing so makes a small contribution towards increasing the success rate of these small family businesses and in return positively contribute to the economic growth and development of South Africa.

Estudos que avaliam a importância do governo no mercado de crédito têm adquiro mais relevância após a crise econômico-financeira de 2008. Antes os bancos públicos e as políticas de direcionamento do crédito no Brasil eram vistos como ineficientes e até mesmo prejudiciais para o mercado de crédito e consequentemente para a economia. Entretanto, no enfretamento da mais recente crise com impacto global, o governo e seus diversos canais para facilitar o crédito em um cenário de escassez foram percebidos como importantes para manter a estabilidade do crédito. Este trabalho avaliou o papel dos bancos de propriedade pública e da categoria de créditos direcionados para controlar a escassez de crédito durante a crise. A amostra foi composta pelos bancos do Sistema Financeiro Nacional cujas características se enquadraram no objetivo do trabalho, com dados contábeis e financeiros do período entre a crise, de 2005 a 2013. Por meio do uso de dados em painel, o estimador utilizado foi o GMM Sistêmico. Os resultados sugerem que os bancos públicos durante a crise expandiram as operações de crédito, na tentativa de aliviar a contração dos bancos privados. Para a participação do crédito direcionado não foi percebido grandes alterações durante a crise, entretanto como era esperada, a participação dos bancos privados foi mais significativa que a dos bancos públicos nesta categoria de crédito. Também fez parte do estudo observar se os bancos que detinham maior participação de direcionado em sua carteira foram os que mais ofertaram crédito durante a crise, entretanto não foi possível encontrar evidências que apoiasse esta hipótese, e também não se pode concluir que a magnitude foi maior para os bancos de propriedade privada / Studies assessing the importance of government in the credit market have gained more relevance after the economic/financial crisis in 2008. Before state-owned banks and earmarked policies in Brazil were seen as ineffective and even harmful for the credit market and hence the economy. However, that confronts the latest crisis with global impact, the government and its several ways to promote credit in a scenario of shortage were seen as important to keep credit stability. This study assessed the role of state-owned banks and earmarked credit to control the shortage of credit during the crisis. The sample was compounded by banks in the National Financial System whose characteristics meet the needs of this study, with accounting and financial data for the period within the crisis, from 2005 to 2013. Through the use of panel data, the estimator used was the System GMM. The results suggest that state-owned banks during the crisis expanded credit operations in attempt to relieve the contraction of privately-owned banks. Major changes in the earmarked shares were not noticed during crisis, but as it was expected the privately-owned banks´share was more significant than the state-owned banks´share in this loan category. Additionally, the study aimed to find out if banks that held bigger earmarked share in their portfolio were ones that most offered credit during the crisis, however it was not possible to find evidences that support that hypothesis and also it´s not conclusive if the magnitude was higher for privately-owned banks.