Small Business Program Research Articles

M4 - Small Business Program: Implementation of a Technological Solution to Support Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the Primary Care Setting

M4 - Small Business Program: Implementation of a Technological Solution to Support Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the Primary Care Setting

Does the small business programme benefit self-employed workers? Evidence from Nicaragua

ABSTRACT Business and skills training programmes have been a popular social policy intervention to increase productivity of the self-employed in developing countries. We study the Small Business of the Family Economy programme, a government business training programme designed to assist Nicaraguan self-employed workers. Using data from three rounds of the Nicaragua Living Standards Measurement Survey, we employ a difference-in-differences strategy to exploit variation in eligibility for the programme across time and economic activity. Our estimates indicate that the programme does not increase self-employed workers’ earnings overall. However, we find heterogeneous treatment effects for female self-employed workers with low educational attainment, which could be explained by increased working months and having a second job.

Platform Governance Through Pricing: Evidence from Apple’s App Store Small Business Program

Platform Governance Through Pricing: Evidence from Apple’s App Store Small Business Program

Overview of modern digital practices for small business management

The object of the study is digital programs used by small enterprises for business management. At the beginning of the article, the authors dwell in detail on the very concept of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship, present existing approaches to the analysis of entrepreneurship and list the generally accepted criteria of a small enterprise in the Russian Federation. Further, the authors give arguments about the need to use digital technologies in doing business and give a brief overview of common small business management software. For small businesses, there are many such approaches and tools based on effective management of the company. Special attention is paid to the advantages of the programs under consideration, as well as possible ways of their application. The novelty of the research lies in highlighting the key advantages of the digital popular small business management programs presented in the article. Small business programs ensure that the entire organization of the company is synchronized, and the company's activities as a whole are effectively optimized. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is an attempt to divide small business management tools into thematic groups in the following areas: customer relations, cloud collaboration, electronic billing, social networks, marketing, accounting, project management. The main conclusion of the study is the fact that small businesses are not lagging behind large ones in the application of innovative technologies for business process management.

Performance drivers in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms: a multidimensional perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive perspective on different facets of knowledge management and their effects on the performance of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial ventures.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting involves small and medium-sized enterprises located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Primary data for 223 knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) firms was obtained through questionnaires applied to ventures which applied to the innovative research in small business program, a small business innovation research-like initiative run by the São Paulo Research Foundation. Econometric results assessed the drivers of competitiveness in terms of firm growth, research and development intensification and technology transfer.FindingsResults highlight the complexity involved in establishing effective knowledge management processes in terms of driving KIE performance. Notwithstanding, some interesting insights on the moderation effects of strategic knowledge management (SKM) systems over technical skills could be identified with particular emphasis for the case of academic spin-offs. Ecosystem drivers present a good explanation power for technology transfer practices but fall short in providing answers for firm-level growth dynamics. It is also noteworthy that public and private investments in KIE firms are similarly associated with positive impacts – contrary to the view that private investors perform better than governmental sources in picking promising small ventures.Originality/valueThe assessment has provided novel evidence for a sample of KIE ventures concerning the appraisal of performance drivers associated with three dimensions of knowledge management, namely, technical knowledge, SKM and ecosystem features. Firms’ outcomes were addressed from a multidimensional perspective, thus providing a comprehensive perspective of the events under scrutiny.

National Institute on Aging seed funding enables Alzheimer's disease startups to reach key value inflection points.

IntroductionThe National Institute on Aging (NIA) provides funding to academic researchers and small businesses working in the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD‐related dementia (ADRD) fields to help commercialize their products. The NIA uses Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards to bridge the funding gap in the diagnostic, therapeutic, and care interventions areas, enabling startups to reach key value inflection points to achieve scientific milestones.MethodsOnly publicly available information is reported. The National Institutes of Health Report Portfolio Online Reporting Tool database and the commercial database Global Data, were used to track the progress of companies that received SBIR or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding from the NIA.ResultsSince 2008, the NIA has awarded $280 million—including $207 million from fiscal year (FY) 2015 to FY 2019—in new small business program awards for AD/ADRD research.DiscussionNIA seed capital and mentoring programs are critical resources to help small businesses reach key value inflection points and advance their research from concept to commercialization.

Institutional Aspects of Stimulating Small Business

The article emphasizes the need to consider the institutional environment of small businesses as the basis for ensuring the implementation of the state strategy for business development during the period of overcoming the consequences of the economic crisis that arose as a result of the spread of a new coronavirus infection. The comparative characteristic of the definitions “institutional environment” and “institutional environment of entrepreneurship” of domestic and foreign researchers is carried out. Conclusions are made about the need to study the interaction of elements of the institutional environment of entrepreneurship development in Russia. The stages of formation of the institutional environment of small business are summarized. The composition and structure of small business entities in recent years have been analyzed. The problems affecting the decrease in the level of the business climate are systematized. The institutions for supporting small businesses (the fund for support (development) of SMEs in the region, the SME corporation, Skolkovo, territories of advanced socio-economic development, special economic zones, industrial parks, etc.), which provide various types of support for entrepreneurs: subsidies, tax incentives, preferential lending, non-financial support, government guarantees. The role of the state as the initiator of the creation of various institutions that support the development of small business and implements programs for the strategic development of small and medium-sized businesses, stimulating the growth of investment potential, is emphasized. To conduct the research, the author used both theoretical and empirical methods.

Sustainable Society 2020: The case of ethnic preferences

Sustainable Society 2020: The case of ethnic preferences

Fostering Diversity and Inclusion in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Small Business Program.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has developed a strategic approach to fostering diversity and inclusion within its community of small business innovators. The approach is focused on three central goals: 1) Increase awareness of NHLBI's support for small businesses among underrepresented groups through focused outreach; 2) Identify and eliminate barriers to entry into small business funding programs and entrepreneurial activities for minority and female applicants through specific, targeted training and support; and 3) Expand diversity and inclusivity within our networks by providing additional support for NHLBI-funded small businesses to hire members of underrepresented groups. Key partnerships with biomedical accelerators in underserved regions will be leveraged to maximizeimpact and achieve all three goals. This article describes the historical context and current state of policies in this arena; it also provides details about mechanisms and approaches used to achieve the goals.

Entrepreneurship education in U.S. community colleges: a review and analysis

PurposeOver the past 30 years, enrollment in entrepreneurship programming within community colleges has grown substantially. The two-year context poses unique challenges and opportunities for studying entrepreneurship, and the purpose of this paper is to use a narrative review approach to consider the vitality of entrepreneurship education in the community college system. This research captures and reflects key findings from the field and illuminates the current state of scholarship on entrepreneurship education in community colleges. Four key areas are highlighted that describe the primarily challenges and distinctiveness of entrepreneurship education in the community college setting: curricular effectiveness, emphasis, degree and non-degree programs. The general framework that emerges from this narrative review helps to identify gaps in the literature and provides a focal point for future studies.Design/methodology/approachA structured literature review methodology (Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2008) was chosen for this study as the state of literature in the specific area of interest did not present general groupings of topics or activities. Given this lack of categorical clarity, the design was specifically focused on bringing together key groupings to provide a framework for further study. The specific methodology adopted standard SLR techniques in terms of article selection, choice and organization. No pre-conceived groupings were used as part of organization of information. The goal was to allow the disparate studies fall into natural categories as greater review and organization continued.FindingsDuring the authors’ review and analysis of the extant literature, four focal areas emerge that appear to create a general framework for explaining the important matters in community college entrepreneurial education. Those areas are: overall effectiveness, education emphasis, non-credit educational programs, and for-credit educational programs. The following discussion offers a starting point for future investigation. Figure 2 presents this paper’s advocacy arguments and a full literature review follows this initial framework.Originality/valueEntrepreneurship programs in universities have grown significantly over the last 30 years (Heriot and Simpson, 2007). In the early 1980s, approximately 300 schools had entrepreneurship and small business programs. By the 1990s, that number had increased to 1,050 schools and signaled the beginnings of rapid entrepreneurial education expansion (Solomon et al., 1994). By the early 2000s, entrepreneurship education had exploded to more than 1,600 schools offering over 2,200 courses including journals and mainstream trade publications as well as special issues devoted solely to entrepreneurship (Katz, 2003; in Kuratko, 2005). This growth trend has been mirrored in community colleges (DoBell and Ingle, 2009). Despite that growth, scholarship regarding entrepreneurship education in community colleges has been described as a “wild west” (Truit, 2017) highlighted by little communication or sharing of experiences or cooperative activities beyond limited partnerships both inside or outside of the community college. Existing studies tend to be scattered and practitioner-written while academic articles are often theoretical, focused more on entrepreneurial education in four-year universities and at times promote underspecified models of challenges community colleges face. Given the dearth of scholarly work in the domain, this review attempts to form a comprehensive classification of extant work in order to stimulate and direct future research in this domain. The goal is to provide a current “state of the literature” of entrepreneurial education in community colleges that shares findings, suggests potential areas of inquiry, and helps to structure research arguments. To accomplish this, in the spirit of Hammersley (2001) and Harvey and Moeller (2009), we present a descriptive, narrative review of entrepreneurship education in community colleges in order to gain a better understanding of its complexities.

The price of progress: Funding and financing Alzheimer's disease drug development

IntroductionAdvancing research and treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the search for effective treatments depend on a complex financial ecosystem involving federal, state, industry, advocacy, venture capital, and philanthropy funding approaches. MethodsWe conducted an expert review of the literature pertaining to funding and financing of translational research and drug development for AD. ResultsThe federal government is the largest public funder of research in AD. The National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and National Center for Advancing Translational Science all fund aspects of research in AD drug development. Non-National Institutes of Health federal funding comes from the National Science Foundation, Veterans Administration, Food and Drug Administration, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Academic Medical Centers host much of the federally funded basic science research and are increasingly involved in drug development. Funding of the “Valley of Death” involves philanthropy and federal funding through small business programs and private equity from seed capital, angel investors, and venture capital companies. Advocacy groups fund both basic science and clinical trials. The Alzheimer Association is the advocacy organization with the largest research support portfolio relevant to AD drug development. Pharmaceutical companies are the largest supporters of biomedical research worldwide; companies are most interested in late stage de-risked drugs. Drugs progressing into phase II and III are candidates for pharmaceutical industry support through licensing, mergers and acquisitions, and co-development collaborations. DiscussionTogether, the funding and financing entities involved in supporting AD drug development comprise a complex, interactive, dynamic financial ecosystem. Funding source interaction is largely unstructured and available funding is insufficient to meet all demands for new therapies. Novel approaches to funding such as mega-funds have been proposed and more integration of component parts would assist in accelerating drug development.

The Effects of R&D Subsidies to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Evidence from a Regional Program

This article evaluates a small-business program implemented in an Italian region, Tuscany, providing small and medium-sized firms with R&D subsidies. To establish whether the subsidy has encouraged non-transitory R&D, enhanced the propensity to intellectual property protection and to collaborative R&D with other firms or research centers, or improved firm performance in general, we estimate a number of potential input, output and behavioral effects that the program might have induced shortly after the completion of the subsidized project. In order to do so, we perform a careful application of matching techniques, using a wide set of pre-subsidy characteristics. We find that the program has been ineffective with respect to the innovation and commercial outputs of small and medium-sized firms, but has encouraged a non-transitory practice of R&D by former non-R&D-performers and contributed to firm upskilling, which may be seen as prerequisites for the creation or the consolidation of absorptive capacity.

Complementary Initiatives from the NIDDK to Advance Kidney Health.

Despite the high prevalence and burden of acute and chronic kidney diseases, our understanding of appropriate clinical care and underlying disease pathology is far from complete. Nephrology clinical practice guidelines are littered with weak recommendations on the basis of low or very low evidence.

News Briefs

New York Life Foundation awards $1 million for children's bereavement programs. Arby's raises over $4.3 million for hunger relief group. JPMorgan Chase commits $75 million to small business program. Walmart Foundation awards $5 million for veterans' services. Enterprise Rent‐A‐Car Foundation launches new hunger relief initiative. Research shows disaster philanthropy topping $22 billion globally. Gates Foundation establishes separate charity to accept public donations.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Small Business Program: A Comprehensive Ecosystem for Biomedical Product Development

SummarySmall companies working to develop products in the cardiovascular space face numerous challenges, from regulatory, intellectual property, and reimbursement barriers to securing funds to keep the lights on and reach the next development milestone. Most small companies that spin out from universities have the scientific knowledge, but product development expertise and business acumen are also needed to be successful. Other challenges include reduced interest in early-stage technologies and limited deal flow for cardiovascular products. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) small business program is a comprehensive ecosystem designed to address these critical challenges and to provide resources and expertise to assist early-stage companies developing cardiovascular and other products within the institute’s mission. This article describes steps that NHLBI has taken to enhance our small business program to more effectively translate basic discoveries into commercial products to benefit patients and public health, including enhancing internal expertise and developing nonfinancial resources to assist small businesses as they develop their products and seek private sector investment and partnership.

Exploring the critical factors that hinder the growth of incubatees in South Africa

In as much as entrepreneurial action fosters job creation and economic growth, entrepreneurs encounter the significant risk of failure, and community bears the brunt. Though business incubators were designed to provide support and hope to ailing businesses, evidence suggests that not all on these programs succeed. Going on the assumption that even businesses on incubation programs do not seem to be immune to failure, this study sought to determine the key factors that hinder the growth of incubatees in South Africa. Adopting a quantitative approach, the questionnaire was utilized as the primary data collection tool, and the snowball sampling method was employed resulting in a sample size of 93 respondents. The research participants for this study were limited to firms that were registered on the databases of two business incubators who promote small business development strategy and programs in Cape Town and Johannesburg, respectively. The findings indicated that lack of funding, lack of credit facility, competition, crime, lack of access to external market, lack of business skills and lack of product selection and design were the key factors that hinder the growth of incubatees. Given the substantial resources invested in business incubation programs, the fact that business incubators are entrepreneurial ventures in themselves, understanding and finding sustainable solutions to the factors that hinder the growth of their clients (incubatees) would be a win-win solution for the relevant stakeholders. Keywords: business incubatees, business incubators, entrepreneurship, growth, South Africa. JEL Classification: M1, L84

EXPLORING THE SURVIVAL STRATEGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERSHIP IN NIGERIA

Notwithstanding the unstable nature of Nigeria economy small business owners created approximately 32 million jobs and contribute almost 45% to the nations GDP. However, startup small businesses fail at rate over 80% the first five years. Guide by theory of constraints, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore survival strategies required by some small business owners to sustain business in Nigeria beyond 5 years. Data collection was through semi-structured interviews with 3 owners with up to 5 years of experience in small business management from 3 different regions of Nigeria. The 3 major themes from final data analysis were cost efficiency, informal crediting and aggressive marketing which participants said were crucial for business survival. Data analysis also revealed two critical constraints confronted by small business owners as Government Policy and capital constraints. Findings of this study contribute to social change by indicating some strategies which prospective and existing small business practitioners may use to sustain for survival beyond first five years. The findings may prove useful for small business programs and training schedules to practitioners, managers and owners.

Социально-экономическая роль малого предпринимательства сферы услуг в поступательном развитии России

Objective: to assess the socio-economic significance of small business in the services sector of national economy and to develop effective tools of its infrastructural support, basing on the characteristics of the services sector.Methods: systematic approach was applied to identify the characteristics of small businesses in the services sector; methods of comparative and statistical analysis were used to assess the contribution of small business in service sector to the economic development of the country; methods of analysis and synthesis revealed problems of development of small business in service sector; program and target method was used to develop infrastructural tools to support small businesses.Results: social and economic characteristics of small business in services were determined; the contribution of small business in service sector into the economic progress of the country was assessed; the problems and peculiarities of development of small entrepreneurship in services were identified and examined. Basing on the analysis of problems of small business growth and its role in the progressive development of the economy, the necessity of state support is proved, and the effective tools of infrastructure support for small businesses are determined, basing on the characteristics of the service sector.Scientific novelty: the characteristics of small business in services are identified and grouped by economic and social principle; the growing contribution of the small business in service sector to the Russian economy is proved, and its backlog from the developed economies is confirmed; problems hindering the development of small business are identified. Basing on the problems, effective tools for small business support are developed and offered.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the research can be used in scientific activity to study the development and infrastructural support of small business in services sectors; they can be used by public authorities to develop a strategy of small business development and programs of services development, as well as forms, methods and tools of infrastructural support of small business.

The Evolution of Small Business Preferences in the United States and Selected Lessons Learned for the European Union

This paper examines the roots of US policy and programs for providing aid to small business and its evolution from facilitative small business programs targeted at protecting the industrial base into a large, complex preference programs. Possible lessons learned from the U.S. experience are offered to help other nations develop their small business programs.

Can the SBIR and STTR programs advance research goals?

With diminishing grant support for traditional funding in immunology, can the small-business program leverage a research program? The small-business grants programs offered by the US National Institutes of Health and other organizations support high-risk, early-stage technology commercialization at small businesses.