1,721,219 research outputs found
The engagement of home-based businesses in the digital economy
Full text linkThis paper explores the engagement of home-based businesses in digital trading, measured as proportion of their sales from buying and selling services and products online of all their sales. Findings are drawn from a sample of 994 Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses that are members of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland. Multivariate findings show that home-based businesses are associated with high proportions of online sales supporting the view of home-based businesses as ‘online’ businesses. However, quantitatively, the overall transformational effects of digital technologies on the nature and processes of entrepreneurship are rather small as the vast majority of home-based businesses, like SMEs that are not home-based, trade offline. Online business models represent a very small proportion of the home-based business sector. Home-based businesses in rural areas do not make greater use of e-commerce. The findings add to the critical literature on the transformative nature of digital entrepreneurship and the emerging home-based business literature that question whether the role of digital technologies and online marketplaces for home-based businesses are being exaggerated, particularly in rural economies
Home truth: The true value of home-based businesses
No full textIt is well known that small businesses, sole traders and the self-employed form the backbone of the economy. What is less appreciated is that more than half of these businesses operate in, or from, the home. The Scottish Government estimates that 56% of businesses in Scotland are home-based. This report provides the first ever profile of home-based businesses in Scotland; revealing that home-based businesses account for 17% of all private sector employment and almost 10% of private sector turnover in Scotland. The report is based on a survey of the Scottish membership of the Federation of Small Businesses
Categorisations of business angels: an overview
No full textThis book synthesizes 30 years of research on business angels by charting the significant role they play in the financing of entrepreneurial businesses in both developed and emerging economies. The expert group of contributors examine business angels themselves, the evolution of the market and the role of public policy in influencing angel investment. Finally, the editors provide an agenda for future research on business angels
Digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity
Full text linkThis introduction to the Special Issue discusses the status quo of the literature on digital entrepreneurship and digital economy highlighting the neglect of a significant and growing segment of the small business sector whose futures have remained under-researched: self-employed workers and freelancers who run one-person or micro-businesses and home-based businesses that operate largely or exclusively online. Their digital futures and opportunities cannot be understood in simple dichotomies such as ‘necessity’ versus ‘opportunity’ or ‘use’ versus ‘non-use’ of digital technologies. Instead, it is suggested to consider the spatial and social contexts of these more ‘ordinary’ or ‘unexceptional’ businesses. Attention is drawn to networks and social capital and their spatial embeddedness in complementing human capital. Concepts of the second digital divide, digital generations, entrepreneurial bricolage and spatial proximity and city ecosystems are discussed to make suggestions about the possible digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity
Entrepreneurial neighbourhoods: Towards an understanding of the economies of neighbourhoods and communities
No full textDespite the growing evidence on the importance of the neighbourhood, entrepreneurship studies have largely neglected the role of neighbourhoods. This book addresses the nexus between entrepreneurship, neighbourhoods and communities, confirming not only the importance of ‘the local’ in entrepreneurship, but also filling huge gaps in the knowledge base regarding this tripartite relationship
- …
