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Objective: The aim of this paper is to expand the understanding of the influence of trust relationship as well as tacit knowledge on the process of business advice utilisation in small innovative firms.Research Design Methods: The analysis is based on empirical research conducted with the use of the explorative approach. The multiple case study methodology was used.Findings: Trust relationships as well as tacit knowledge were identified as factors essential to the process of utilisation of business advice in small innovative firms. It was recognised that the significance of both factors is related not only to the process of advice, but also as a purpose of activities happening prior to advice. They are referred to as the initial phase.Implications Recommendations: The findings provide implications for further research of the structure of the process of business advice utilisation. It is related to the extended structure of the process (the inclusion of the “initial phase”) as well as to the necessity to include both factors in further research projects. The paper also provides implications related to the measurement of business advice output, and recommendations on the construction of public policy instruments involving business advisory activities.Contribution Value Added: The originality of this work lies in using the process perspective and qualitative methodology in the field of utilisation of business advice. It extends our understanding of the processes of business advice with regard to trust as well as the use of tacit knowledge. The original contribution is to add the “initial phase” to the description of business advice process.

Business academia offers an excellent entrepreneurial foundation. Then reality sets in. This book bridges the gap between academia and real business, to counsel by example, and to deliver timely, actionable recommendations to capitalize on opportunities, or to sidestep hidden business grenades. Advice is best delivered by those who have successfully walked the entrepreneurial trail, but not without incurring some scars along the way. That's us. For the university instructor or professor, this book adds another dimension to what is being taught, and facilitates the lecturers' ability to convey important business lessons in bite-size morsels.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test a conceptual framework explaining the role of relationships and trust in enabling the purchase of business advice by small business owner–managers from their external accountants. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a semi-structured interview approach with 20 small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners and accountants in London and Melbourne. Findings The interview data support the conceptual framework’s central proposition that relationships and trust, rather than being antecedents of demand for advice, are necessary conditions for enabling latent demand. SMEs with greater propensity to trust are more open to buying business advice but not necessarily from their accountant. Research limitations/implications A limitation of the fieldwork is that it is based on a non-random and limited sample of accountants and SMEs. Practical implications Accountants in public practice can no longer assume that the already established relationships with their clients, developed while providing compliance services, will automatically lead SME clients to purchase business advice. Originality/value The paper contributes to the accounting literature by developing a conceptual model of relationships and trust that will assist the profession in better understanding the complex dynamics of the accountant–client relationship. The conceptual model distinguishes, for the first time, the antecedent factors of demand for business advice from the enabling roles of relationships and trust. Fieldwork interviews also yielded new insights into how SMEs’ decisions to purchase business advice are influenced by specific personality traits of SME owner–managers and additional antecedent demand factors not identified in the extant literature – economic conditions, environmental turbulence and business life-cycle.

Purpose – Business advisory services are an emerging service category for external accountants in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate determinants of SME demand for business advice, drawing on the agency theory, relational marketing and resource-based literatures. Design/methodology/approach – The study empirically tested theoretical predictions based on an Australia-wide survey of SMEs, in which 485 firms responded to a questionnaire. Findings – The results show that the purchase of business advice is significantly and positively associated with the perceived competence of the external accountant, but significantly and negatively associated with length of the relationship. However, the authors observe a significant positive interaction between tenure of the relationship and competence. A unique contribution of this study is the development of the understanding of the combined role of the external accountant’s competence and the tenure of the relationship. The findings indicate that SMEs require time to verify whether accountants have the competence to provide business advice, suggesting that information asymmetry and uncertainty is minimised only after SMEs have nurtured relationships with their external accountants, and after they have developed some confidence in the competence of their external accountants. At the same time, the negative association with tenure suggests that when accountants are not perceived as competent advisors, SMEs purchase less advice over time. Research limitations/implications – The paper has important theoretical implications by augmenting agency theory, the relational marketing and the resource-based literature, and it clarifies which antecedent factors are important in explaining demand for business advisory services provided by accountants to their SME clients. In particular, the paper highlights the importance of the combined roles that the external accountant’s competence and tenure play in the SME–accountant relationship, highlighting how these two factors can overcome credence issues and ex ante information problems. Practical implications – The findings have practical implications for government initiatives targeting support to SMEs, as the findings identify small firms and firms planning to grow as likely to gain the greatest benefit from external advice and support. Originality/value – This study adds to the limited literature and scant theoretical discussions on the emergence of business advisory services that accountants provide to their SME clients by drawing on several theories to explain the determinants of business advice.

Purpose – This study aims to investigate whether “small- and medium-sized enterprises” (SMEs) benefit from their external accountants’ business advice through enhanced firm performance. Most SMEs draw on external support, and their main advisors are external accountants (Bennett and Robson, 1999). The resource-based view of the firm suggests that firms will seek external support if they perceive a gap in their internal resources. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a questionnaire mailed to a random sample of Australian SMEs, defined as businesses having between 5 and 200 full-time employees. Findings – An analysis of 380 survey respondents confirms a positive relationship between the voluntary purchase of business advice and SME performance, and that SME performance is further enhanced when business advice is purchased jointly with auditing. These relationships apply to the small (5-49 employees) but not to the medium-sized (50-200 employees) businesses. Findings are consistent with smaller firms having narrower resource bases and thus a greater need to source business advice. Practical implications – The accounting profession has long encouraged a broadening of its service base, and evidence that small businesses perceive a performance benefit from their accountants’ business advice provides support for the profession’s strategy. Originality/value – This research extends the empirical literature investigating the link between the business advice of an external accountant and SME performance. It explains small firms’ demand for business advice by extending the application of the resource-based view of the firm and provides new evidence consistent with “knowledge spillover” from auditing to business advice in the small firm environment.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there are any significant differences between native Swedish and immigrant entrepreneurs in business advice sought at start-up. Design/methodology/approach – The study, based on a unique and large database consisting of 304 immigrant and 2,512 native-owned firms, applies several univariate and multivariate statistical methods including ANOVA and regression analysis. Findings – According to the results there are certain similarities and differences between Swedish native- and immigrant-owned firms concerning the type of external business advice they seek. The results suggest there are significant differences between native and immigrant-owned firms for four of 20 types of advice received. Native-owned firms, on average, tend to seek more advice on accounting and on the choice of business form as well as the help of a knowledgeable person. On the other hand, immigrants seek, on average, more advice on export questions than their native counterparts. Research limitations/implications – This research contributes to policy-making by helping authorities gain a better understanding of the impact of immigrant background on business network decisions at the nascent stage of development. Immigrant access to good advice in the nascent stage should increase new firm survival. This study does not, however, measure performance. As this research is based on aggregate level secondary data, more specific analysis has been impossible. This is an important limitation of this paper. In addition, immigrants are not homogenous groups and they differ in age, education, work experiences, etc. The results should therefore be interpreted carefully. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first and few empirical studies investigating the issue of immigrant business advice strategies in the Swedish context. The study provides a detailed overview of how ethnicity influences entrepreneurs’ use of external business advice in the firm formation stage for micro and small firms.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the perceptions of small business entrepreneurs regarding the efficacy of external business advisers in delivering sustainable strategic and operational guidance. Design/methodology/approach The research is interpretivist, exploring the narratives of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner/managers in manufacturing. Five in-depth interviews were carried out, revealing a range of decision stories about the use of external business advisers. Findings While there was some scepticism towards the use of advisers in certain situations, the research revealed that levels of trust, relationship building and the credibility of the consultant are substantial factors in determining whether the engagement is successful. Research limitations/implications As a small-scale study, it would be worthwhile to examine the perceptions of additional entrepreneurs to business advisers to compare research findings. Practical implications Policy regarding advice to small businesses should be framed in terms of the local context of the firm and its owner, rather than on broad and generalisable systems of business knowledge. Time and effort is required to build a sustainable relationship between advisers and owners, and it is recommended that particular attention be paid to the process. Social implications The research suggests that potentially, industrial policy regarding current delivery of small business advice requires readjustments towards more of a relationship focus. Originality/value Little established research appears to exist in relation to the tendency or otherwise, for SME decision makers to pursue and use external advice. This paper helps to fill an important gap in the literature while offering some significant and nuanced insights into the perceptions of SME owner managers.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the verbal content and its impact on panel-based business advice meetings (springboards) for family business owners and startup entrepreneurs. Further, the study also investigates how panel-based advising assists entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach The investigated springboards concern family business owners who run established firms and startup entrepreneurs who are applying for venture capital. Data from 12 different springboards are collected and studied by content analysis. Findings The outcomes indicate that advising is more constructive for the family business owners than for the startup entrepreneurs. This can mainly be explained by the rational screening that follows the business plan concept and group dynamics which appear in these meetings. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in Sweden and concerns Swedish family business owners and startup entrepreneurs. It reveals different speech patterns that appear during organized advice-giving and its implications depending on the type of entrepreneur. Practical implications This study provides potential input to change the institutional practice of panel-based business advice, which will likely support entrepreneurs in their business development and network building. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the verbal content in panel-based business advice for family business owners. Further, it provides a deeper understanding of the institutionalized conditions that this kind of advising builds on.

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine whether there are significant differences between female and male entrepreneurs’ use of consultation during business start-ups. Design/methodology/approach – Using several statistical tools, including ANOVA and seemingly unrelated regressions, empirical analyses are conducted on a unique and firm-level panel database of 837 female- and 1926 male-owned active small firms. Findings – The results indicate that gender may be an important variable in the use of advice among small business owners in Sweden. Female owners in this study are shown to be more eager than male owners to use external business advice, and do so to a higher extent. Practical implications – One implication of this study is that firms may not be able to use all business advice types simultaneously during their start-up stage, so an ordered list of consultancy services would help them prioritize and adjust their needs accordingly. Because the use of business advice is context-based, the findings of this study may not be generalized to firms in other countries. This paper shows some gender-based attributes/features relating to the use of business advice, which need to be better integrated into policymaking for the future assistance of small businesses. Originality/value – This article focuses on an important issue and is unique partly because few studies have examined the relationship between gender and external business advice. By explicitly and empirically examining this issue, this article makes a contribution to the small- and medium-sized enterprises’ literature.

Background: Health and safety regulation has been identified by the UK government as an area of over-regulation; a burden to business; and hindering economic growth. In response, recommendations have been made to government to reduce this regulation. While this seems to be the view held by government, many sources indicate that health and safety regulation has a role to play in supporting business and that 'good regulation' can actually help businesses and aid in their growth and economic prosperity. Guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to Local Authorities has left Local Authority regulatory departments unable to undertake proactive inspections in medium- and low-risk workplaces, relying on intelligence to trigger reactive investigative visits. Such visits effectively only allow the prevention of future repetitions rather than preventing harm in the first place. At the same time, spending cuts have seen reductions of 28% to Local Authority funding that has forced a re-examination of how to deliver services including health and safety regulation. Method: An empirical qualitative methodology was applied to test the health and safety compliance advice required by SMEs. Semistructured interviews (n-10) were carried out with selected SME owners/managers across a range of sectors with varying exposures to health and safety regulatory interventions, in the City of Peterborough. The interviews were conducted face-to-face at the business premises, recorded and transcribed. The data were coded in order to establish themes that were used to develop emergent theory. Results: Ten themes emerged from the data. One of the strongest themes that emerged was that businesses did not feel deregulation or reduced inspection would be beneficial either at the individual business level or across the sector. Of significant note was that participants wanted to continue to have inspections on a frequent basis. They felt that fewer inspections would lead to lower compliance levels and increased accidents. In addition, SMEs indicated that they do not have the skills or capacity to self-regulate and thus wish for tailored business advice to aid in protecting their workforce. Recommendations: The presumption, which regulatory visits are negative, is questioned by the research and indeed all interviewees welcomed the support that they gain from such visits. With this in mind, it is suggested that a more business advisory approach is adopted to meet SME needs and aid growth while still protecting the workforce. A number of recommendations are made including a risk-based proactive intervention strategy based on responsive regulation principles, improvement of communication and business engagement and focus on advice provision for SMEs. The recommendations are designed to meet businesses needs and also to contribute to business growth.