• Chinese entrepreneurship: the development of small family firms in China

      Poutziouris, Panikkos; Wang, Yong; Chan, Sally (Emerald, 2002)
      This explorative paper considers the recent developments in the emerging small family business sector in post-reform China as the country embraces socio-economic and structural transition from a centrally planned to a market-orientated system. The important contributions that Chinese small family firms play in the acceleration of private sector development across the social and industrial sectors as well as the geographic boundaries of the Pacific Rim are highlighted. The authors propose typologies of Chinese entrepreneurship and tentative enterprise policy recommendations for the future development of small private family businesses in China.
    • The relationship between succession issues and business performance: evidence from UK family SMEs

      Wang, Yong; Watkins, David; Harris, Neil; Spicer, Keith (Emerald, 2004)
      Researchers widely argue that the most significant difference between family controlled and non-family business concerns the way in which executive succession occurs, and more specifically, unique aspects of the process of intergenerational family business transfer. The importance of this study is acknowledged by the fact that it offers researchers and practitioners empirical evidence that links succession issues and the state of performance in UK-based smalland medium-sized family businesses. The article commences with a review of the conceptual framework that relates to the critical factors influencing the succession process, followed by an introduction of the methodology. Then the article proceeds with a detailed statistical analysis based on a stratified randomly selected sample (169 small- and medium-sized family controlled businesses). In summary, the article concludes with a set of tentative recommendations. It is anticipated that this study will enable a deep debate of the issues surrounding the succession practice and raise a wide awareness of the critical factors shaping the ownership transition.
    • The views of UK family business owners on flotation

      Poutziouris, Panikkos; Wang, Yong (Emerald, 2004)
      This empirical research paper draws evidence from a database of UK independent private companies (n=250) and reports on the financial aspirations of owner-managers of family firms with respect to the flotation route. Following a brief review of the literature, the paper proceeds with an introduction of the UK survey into the financial development of private SMEs. Then evidence is presented on the perceived factors that influence the decision of owner/directors of family companies to consider the flotation option. Phase A employs univariate statistical analysis to contrast financial philosophies of the owner-managing directors (OMDs) of family firms against those of their mainstream private counterparts. Phase B employs cluster analysis to categorise sample family companies into four generic groups that evidently highlight that the PLC route is not always tailored to financial issues. The empirical results demonstrate that the financial strategies of family companies are more or less in line with the behavioural issues shaping all private companies irrespective of family control. Finally, the paper concludes with a set of tentative policy implications. To encourage the public equity development of smaller privately held companies, particularly family firms, there is scope for more policy initiatives that are tuned to the "socio-behavioural-cultural" ethos of private-OMDs as they master their corporate and entrepreneurial odyssey.