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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of organisational culture (OC) on organisational innovation performance (OIP) in family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It seeks to establish the type of culture that lead to high innovation performance in family firms.

A postal survey of family SMEs across sectors in the UK is conducted. The study employs multiple regression analyses to test which family business culture has an effect on OIP. Among the family business cultures tested are: an external cultural orientation, a flexible and open OC as well as an organisational climate based on open communication and trust, the founder culture, and a long-term cultural orientation.

The findings show that a paternalistic and founder culture type do not have a positive effect on family firm innovation performance, but an entrepreneurial-like culture does, i.e. one that is externally oriented, flexible, proactive (refer to an open culture) and long-term oriented. Similarly, an inward focus culture such as, the founder culture impedes innovation; while an outward focus culture such as, an external orientation culture has a positive effect on family firm innovation performance.

This study makes valuable contributions to the understanding of theory and practices of innovation in family businesses. It provides future research directions.

This study examines organizational innovation in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and develops an extensive framework of how innovation occurs, its end results in terms of positive, negative outcomes, and its impacts on business financial performance; using grounded methodology; interviews with entrepreneurs and executive experts from across industries. The study aims to fill gaps in the literature. Despite extensive research conducted on innovation, most focus on factors behind innovation and a company's innovativeness. The framework is useful to SMEs considering company-wide innovation. Transparent inputs and outputs enable companies to understand innovation processes, and its outcomes better as well as help monitor and implement individual innovation activities. The framework has a wide application, particularly, in an industry where innovation is hard to capture and understand. Using the model, we can determine innovation drivers, practices, and barriers as well as innovation inputs/outputs in different industries, thus promoting better management of innovation across a wide range of applications. Governments also require a better understanding of innovation, productivity, and operational efficiency to plan their policies in the promotion of innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine innovation in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), and develop a comprehensive theoretical framework of how innovation occurs, the end result, and impact on business financial performance, focusing on three types of innovations.

The study uses a grounded methodology. Interviews with entrepreneurs from across industries inform the development of the research propositions.

Besides market environment, business and quality aspects, for SMEs innovation is driven by a desire to be successful, and improve working conditions. Positive outcomes of innovation include an enhancement of SMEs' reputation and image, an increase in operational efficiency and cost benefits, resulting in a better business financial performance, recruitment of a more skilled workforce, and greater in‐house expertise leading to further innovation. The negative outcomes of innovation relate to management, operational issues, and financial risks; including costs, uncontrollable business growth, companies' image and reputation loss, employees and customers' issues as well as health, safety, and environmental impacts. Further hypotheses emerge from executives' interviews, regarding specific outcomes of new product development, process innovation, and new ways of working.

Future research is required to examine how negative outcomes can be managed overall, and specific to types of innovation, as well as determining the financial cost and benefit of having a company‐wide innovation.

This study contributes to the theoretical basis for understanding organisational innovation in SMEs. The proposed framework is focused and comprehensive, enabling a better understanding of innovation.

The British Government instituted a new direction for small business support in 1992 with the establishment of Business Links. These are intended to coordinate assistance through locally integrated business support services. Business Links have been the subject of several evaluative studies, one of which was particularly critical, besides being the focus of comment in the business press. In particular, Personal Business Advisers (PBAs, who are usually employees of BLs) have been subjected to scrutiny; concern being expressed about the extent to which PBAs’ recommendations are acted upon. Much of the specialist consultancy is provided by self‐employed persons under contract for particular projects. This paper focuses on the self‐employed consultants who undertake specialist Business Link‐supported work within SMEs. While most business Links have role and job descriptions for PBAs, this is rarely the case for consultants. Self‐employed consultants are generally accredited by BLs themselves or by third parties. Accreditation procedures could be improved; clear criteria are required for monitoring consultancy processes and outcomes, and consultants need to receive feedback. There are opportunities for closer contact between self‐employed consultants and Business Links which would improve the quality of the service to SMEs, the learning of individuals and the organisational learning and public accountability of Business Links.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the effects of size, strategic orientation and market orientation on innovation.

A mail survey was conducted on a random sample of 60 South Yorkshire non‐high‐tech small, medium‐sized manufacturing enterprises. A hypothesised model, stating company size, strategic and market orientation affect innovation was tested using multiple linear regression analysis.

The results confirm customer orientation has a positive effect on innovation at product, process and organisational level. While it was found size and strategic orientation have an effect on process innovation. Size also has an impact on strategic orientation and strategic orientation on market orientation. Overall, medium‐sized firms are prospectors and small firms, defenders. Prospectors are customer focused while defenders are competitors and environmental/technology‐led. Process innovation is important to defenders. The findings reiterate that customers are the drivers for organisational innovation; while firms' strategic orientation determines their market orientation.

This paper addresses a gap in the literature by that showing size, strategic orientation and market orientation are interrelated and, that customer orientation has a direct impact on innovation the most.

This study aims to examine consumer fit perception, risks and brand trust in retail brand extension in financial services.

A total of 324 respondents living in Sheffield, UK were involved in the survey. The survey was conducted on three major British supermarkets. Mean scores for each supermarket were compared between four groups of respondents: store loyal vs non‐loyal, users vs non‐users of the store's financial services, aware vs non‐aware and intend‐to‐buy vs no‐intention‐to‐buy groups on fit, risks, trust dimensions. A factor analysis was performed on the dimensions' items. Discriminant analysis was used to determine the dimension(s) distinguishing the retailers.

The study found that retailers A and B were perceived as trusted brands with respect to financial services. Retailer A was perceived as a trusted brand regardless of the product category. Retailer B was seen as a trusted brand when product performance and financial risks were low. In contrast, retailer C was perceived unfit and risky by the non‐users and no‐intention‐to‐buy groups. Age, gender, income influenced fit, risks and trust perception. Existing customers, including those aware and intending to buy the store's financial services, tended to trust the store; whereas those new to the store and its products perceived no fit and lacked confidence in the store's expertise in their brand extensions.

The article assists retailers and the like in their brand extension decision making and implementations.

The article contributes to retail/brand extension/corporate branding literature, brand extension in high/low‐involvement product, perceived fit, risks and trust relationship in brand extension.

The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics and factors affecting innovation in young and old family‐owned businesses. The research focuses on three important factors to innovation: organisation type, age and size; covering gaps in existing literature.

A postal survey of 500 small family‐owned businesses across sectors in the UK is conducted. The study uses regression analysis to test effects of environment, innovation strategy, family culture, family involvement, owners' background and learning on innovation in young and old family businesses as well as innovation effect on their financial performance.

The findings suggest social capital theory to be extended to include non‐family employees in the innovation process of family firms, and formal learning has a positive impact on young firms' innovation. Market condition, industry sector, business goal and long‐term orientation positively affect family firm innovation.

This paper makes valuable contributions to the understanding of theory and practices of innovation in family businesses. It has policy implications.

The purpose of the paper is two‐fold: one, to focus on a specific industry – the manufacturing industry. In response to recent criticisms research in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SME) is not sector/industry‐specific, consequently the advice for these companies was too general and not of any particular help. Two, the research addresses innovation management in terms of the interrelationship among the three elements of a business: product, process and ways of working, which were often explored in isolation in the literature. Similarly, a definition of innovation was established and a systematic approach to company innovativeness was adopted.

A survey of 1000 West‐Midlands‐based manufacturing SMEs (SMMEs) was conducted. Ten indicators were used to measure company innovativeness. The top 20 per cent firms were compared with bottom 80 per cent firms in terms of product innovation management, process and work organisation. Means of responses were compared for two sets of companies. T‐tests were performed to draw some conclusions on the results. Discriminant analysis was used to determine the factors distinguishing more and less innovative companies.

The results showed SMEs in the manufacturing industry are similar to SMEs in other industries. The drivers of SMME innovativeness were: market anticipation, customer focus and commitment of CEO/owners in NPD, processes and new ways of working. Innovation was part of the business strategy and goal‐oriented. However, innovation in SMME was based more around developing new ways of working than new product innovations. The use of systems/technology and process innovation was not uniform amongst more and less innovative companies. The main constraints of SMMEs were customer dependency, skills and knowledge acquisition through training, poor learning attitude and networking because of their tradition of being insular and autonomous.

The paper provides useful information on innovation management in small manufacturing firms.

The aim of this study is to investigate the market status for online/mobile banking in China. With the recent and forecasted high growth of Chinese electronic banking, it has the potential to develop into a world‐scale internet economy and requires examination.

The demographic, attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of online and mobile bank users were examined. Respondents from six major Chinese cities participated in the consumer survey.

The results showed Chinese online and mobile bank users were predominantly males, not necessarily young and highly educated, in contrast with the electronic bank users in the West. The issue of security was found to be the most important factor that motivated Chinese consumer adoption of online banking. Main barriers to online banking were the perception of risks, computer and technological skills and Chinese traditional cash‐carry banking culture. The barriers to mobile banking adoption were lack of awareness and understanding of the benefits provided by mobile banking.

This study offers an insight into online/mobile banking in China, which has not previously been investigated. Distinct differences and common trends between Chinese and other countries were observed with clear indication of marketing strategy to be deployed by the service providers.