Hasil untuk "Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades"

Mainak Singha

Financial markets exhibit an apparent paradox: while directional price movements remain largely unpredictable--consistent with weak-form efficiency--the magnitude of price changes displays systematic structure. Here we demonstrate that real-time order-flow entropy, computed from a 15-state Markov transition matrix at second resolution, predicts the magnitude of intraday returns without providing directional information. Analysis of 38.5 million SPY trades over 36 trading days reveals that conditioning on entropy below the 5th percentile increases subsequent 5-minute absolute returns by a factor of 2.89 (t = 12.41, p < 0.0001), while directional accuracy remains at 45.0%--statistically indistinguishable from chance (p = 0.12). This decoupling arises from a fundamental symmetry: entropy is invariant under sign permutation, detecting the presence of informed trading without revealing its direction. Walk-forward validation across five non-overlapping test periods confirms out-of-sample predictability, and label-permutation placebo tests yield z = 14.4 against the null. These findings suggest that information-theoretic measures may serve as volatility state variables in market microstructure, though the limited sample (36 days, single instrument) requires extended validation.

Elizabeth Ankrah, Stephanie Nyairo, Mercy Muchai et al.

Small and medium sized businesses often struggle with data driven decision making do to a lack of advanced analytics tools, especially in African countries where they make up a majority of the workforce. Though many tools exist they are not designed to fit into the ways of working of SMB workers who are mobile first, have limited time to learn new workflows, and for whom social and business are tightly coupled. To address this, the Dukawalla prototype was created. This intelligent assistant bridges the gap between raw business data, and actionable insights by leveraging voice interaction and the power of generative AI. Dukawalla provides an intuitive way for business owners to interact with their data, aiding in informed decision making. This paper examines Dukawalla's deployment across SMBs in Nairobi, focusing on their experiences using this voice based assistant to streamline data collection and provide business insights

Oluwatosin Agbaakin

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transitioned from a futuristic concept reserved for large corporations to a present-day, accessible, and essential growth lever for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). For entrepreneurs and business leaders, strategic AI adoption is no longer an option but an imperative for competitiveness, operational efficiency, and long-term survival. This report provides a comprehensive framework for SME leaders to navigate this technological shift, offering the foundational knowledge, business case, practical applications, and strategic guidance necessary to harness the power of AI. The quantitative evidence supporting AI adoption is compelling; 91% of SMEs using AI report that it directly boosts their revenue. Beyond top-line growth, AI drives profound operational efficiencies, with studies showing it can reduce operational costs by up to 30% and save businesses more than 20 hours of valuable time each month. This transformation is occurring within the context of a seismic economic shift; the global AI market is projected to surge from $233.46 Billion in 2024 to an astonishing $1.77 Trillion by 2032. This paper demystifies the core concepts of AI, presents a business case based on market data, details practical applications, and lays out a phased, actionable adoption strategy.

Putri Wicaksari, Asep Rokhyadi Permana Saputra, Aminah Nur Rahmah

One of the biggest challenges for employers is retaining employees, who are crucial for enhancing company performance, especially in SMEs. This research aims to determine the influence of Green Quality of Work Life, Green Employee Engagement, and Green Rewards on Green Employee Retention. The study employs a quantitative approach, sampling 204 SME employees in Indonesia, determined using the Slovin formula with a 7% margin of error. Quota sampling techniques and questionnaires distributed via Google Forms were used for data collection. The analytical tool used is SEM PLS version 4, incorporating validity and reliability testing, Fornell-Larcker Criterion, Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio, and hypothesis testing, with responses measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The results indicate that Green Quality of Work Life does not significantly affect Green Employee Retention. However, Green Employee Engagement and Green Rewards have a significant impact on Green Employee Retention. The theoretical contribution of this research lies in the application of financial motivation theory, particularly regarding the lowest mean of the first indicator. This theory could be valuable as a moderator in future research models. Practically, the study suggests that increasing salaries and providing knowledge and training as forms of additional expertise can enhance employee retention.

G. A. Buntoro, Indah Puji Astuti, Wahna Widhianingrum et al.

Reog is one of the distinctive cultural practices of Ponorogo. Typically, this art is performed in an open space with many entertainers. Reog Ponorogo enthusiasts will primarily purchase trinkets and handicrafts. Numerous artisans in Reog Ponorogo are members of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). However, because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, Reog Ponorogo artisans have encountered numerous challenges, beginning with the procurement of raw materials, and continuing through the production process and marketing. This even put them out of business with the Reog artisans. A knowledge Management System (KMS) is one of the technologies that can be utilized to surmount the problem under these conditions. Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a centralized database utilized to organize, store, and disseminate organizational knowledge with employees and customers. In this study, the KMS was developed to assist MSME actors in acquiring information and knowledge concerning MSME Products in Reog Ponorogo Handicrafts. Currently, information about Reog Ponorogo is widely available in print and digital media, but it is not governed by a comprehensive information management system. Therefore, building KMS for Reog Ponorogo Handicraft MSMEs is still necessary. In this research, a modified variant of the Knowledge Management System Life Cycle (KMSLC) was used to develop the KMS. This research was conducted in multiple phases, including infrastructure evaluation, team formation, knowledge capture, and KMS design. This study contributes to the creation of a knowledge management system for MSME Reog Ponorogo artisans based on the life cycle of knowledge management systems. This study's findings serve as the basis for the Reog Ponorogo craft knowledge management system. Further research can concentrate on developing the Reog Ponorogo UMKM KMS on Android and iOS mobile phones, enhancing the KMS user interface, and granting both experts and UMKM administrative access to the KMS.

Amy Whitaker

This paper redefines hybrid practice as a form of creative institutional design rooted in the problems of dealing with multiple forms of value, an area in which the arts offer pioneering cases for general theory-building around external amalgamation of existing legal forms, internal design within hybrid legal forms, and field-building across communities and economic systems. Informed by, but distinct from, implicitly neoliberal and social-impact literatures on institutional entrepreneurship, hybridity, and agency, this framework extends theories of effectuation to argue for a view of arts entrepreneurship as a laboratory for complex problem-solving both within and well beyond the arts.

Karikari Amoa-Gyarteng, Shepherd Dhliwayo, Victoria Adekomaya

This study aims to provide valuable insights into the containment challenges faced by Ghanaian SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these challenges impacted key performance indicators (KPIs). Utilizing the partial least square approach of structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), data collected from a sample of 152 Ghanaian SMEs are examined. The findings underscore the adverse influence of pandemic-related containment measures on financial performance, sales performance, employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction, while revealing an increase in online engagement as SMEs adapted their business models. Thus, this study highlights the significance of bolstering dynamic capabilities, with a particular focus on digital transformation and leveraging online platforms, as a means to enhance resilience and adaptability for SMEs amidst challenging containment conditions. Theoretical implications emphasize the crucial role of dynamic capabilities in navigating uncertainty and volatility during crises, while the practical implications offer valuable guidance for small business owners in developing economies as they strive to mitigate the impacts of containment measures during public health emergencies on their businesses

Megan Jordan

The conceptual framing of artist activists as arts entrepreneurs is pivotal to this study’s analysis of artists’ political organizing during the overlapping moments of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Trump presidential era. However, artist activism as a form of arts entrepreneurship is underexplored in the arts entrepreneurship literature. To address this gap, I conduct a side-by-side comparison of key principles in the arts entrepreneurship and social movement literatures to establish a transdisciplinary theoretical baseline that supports my argument that artist activism is a vital form of arts entrepreneurship. I then analyze interviews with twenty-seven artist activists who cultivated and exercised actions for “changing the future” (Koppl & Minniti, 2008a, 17) during this period and apply my findings to further expand the taxonomy of arts entrepreneurship first developed by Chang and Wyszomirski (2015) beyond management process to vehicle for institutional change. In addition to connecting arts entrepreneurship to the social movement literature and conceptualizing artist activism as a form of arts entrepreneurship, I identify strategies and tactics employed by US artist activists in their creation of both economic and social value in the 2020-2022 period.

Yanzhi Huang, Bidyut Baruah, Anthony Ward

Founder-entrepreneurs in SMEs tend to have an active role in shaping the business and the direction and management of their innovation strategies. During COVID-19, their understanding of risks and approach towards decision making has become very crucial as the market sensitivity changed drastically with various levels of challenges such as travel restrictions, national lockdown, reduced market demand and operational uncertainty. So far, there are very limited studies on the role of the founder-entrepreneurs from Chinese high-tech software SMEs in managing the business risks from the pandemic. This paper will address some of these gaps by presenting case studies of 9 successful high-tech software SMEs in China and discuss how their founder-entrepreneurs have engaged with the market, identified COVID-19 related risks and how they have made critical decisions to survive and explore new market opportunities for growth. As part of a longitudinal study, in-depth interviews were conducted with the founder-entrepreneurs at various stages of the pandemic to explore their progress with the business operation and management. The paper will discuss the role of the founder-entrepreneurs from SMEs in risk analysis and decision-making. It makes an important contribution to the growing literature on Chinese SMEs, and COVID-19.

Salim Chouaki, Islem Bouzenia, Oana Goga et al.

Facebook and other advertising platforms exploit users data for marketing purposes by allowing advertisers to select specific users and target them (the practice is being called micro-targeting). However, advertisers such as Cambridge Analytica have maliciously used these targeting features to manipulate users in the context of elections. The European Commission plans to restrict or ban some targeting functionalities in the new European Democracy Action Plan act to protect users from such harms. The difficulty is that we do not know the economic impact of these restrictions on regular advertisers. In this paper, to inform the debate, we take a first step by understanding who is advertising on Facebook and how they use the targeting functionalities. For this, we asked 890 U.S. users to install a monitoring tool on their browsers to collect the ads they receive on Facebook and information about how these ads were targeted. By matching advertisers on Facebook with their LinkedIn profiles, we could see that 71% of advertisers are small and medium-sized businesses with 200 employees or less, and they are responsible for 61% of ads and 57% of ad impressions. Regarding micro-targeting, we found that only 32% of small and medium-sized businesses and 30% of large-sized businesses micro-target at least one of their ads. These results should not be interpreted as micro-targeting not being useful as a marketing strategy, but rather that advertisers prefer to outsource the micro-targeting task to ad platforms. Indeed, Facebook is employing optimization algorithms that exploit user data to decide which users should see what ads; which means ad platforms are performing an algorithmic-driven micro-targeting. Hence, when setting restrictions, legislators should take into account both the traditional advertiser-driven micro-targeting as well as algorithmic-driven micro-targeting performed by ad platforms.

Yang Shi, Guannan Liang, Young-joo Chung

In this paper, we study item advertisements for small businesses. This application recommends prospective customers to specific items requested by businesses. From analysis, we found that the existing Recommender Systems (RS) were ineffective for small/new businesses with a few sales history. Training samples in RS can be highly biased toward popular businesses with sufficient sales and can decrease advertising performance for small businesses. We propose a meta-learning-based RS to improve advertising performance for small/new businesses and shops: Meta-Shop. Meta-Shop leverages an advanced meta-learning optimization framework and builds a model for a shop-level recommendation. It also integrates and transfers knowledge between large and small shops, consequently learning better features in small shops. We conducted experiments on a real-world E-commerce dataset and a public benchmark dataset. Meta-Shop outperformed a production baseline and the state-of-the-art RS models. Specifically, it achieved up to 16.6% relative improvement of Recall@1M and 40.4% relative improvement of nDCG@3 for user recommendations to new shops compared to the other RS models.

Jonathan Gangi

This article tells the incredible story of Austin Classical Guitar, provides empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of Sarasvathy’s Effectual Entrepreneurship principles within an arts context, and contributes to theory development for the field of entrepreneurship and the subfield arts entrepreneurship. Individuals and organizations can utilize the concepts, principles, and method illustrated in the organizational history of Austin Classical Guitar to launch and sustain successful arts ventures. Arts entrepreneurship educators and scholars are encouraged to consider effectuation a foundational building block for the subfield and incorporate it into their work.

Veronica A. Garrett

<p>This study investigates the successful implementation of social media by small and medium-sized New Zealand businesses. The reasons for selecting social media as the focal innovation were twofold. Firstly, it is vital that marketers embrace it. Social media has revolutionised the way in which marketers can communicate and promote to customers. Fundamentally, message control has passed from the marketer to the customer. Secondly, it provided an opportunity to explore innovation implementation from a business perspective early on in its diffusion cycle. Although businesses were only recently invited to join social media platforms, it was anticipated that many businesses would have adopted it within the last three years. This research contributes to the sparse literature on social media. It also contributes to the growing body of literature on innovation implementation, businesses as the unit of analysis, and research which uses implementation success as its outcome variable. Additionally, it contributes to the body of research for businesses that have less than 20 employees, defined as either small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or micro-organisations, depending on the country. The objectives of this research were to identify which characteristics were most significant in influencing the successful implementation of social media and to propose a conceptual model. Due to the scarcity of literature on social media, constructs and measures were developed from other disciplines and innovation types. Research was grounded in innovation and implementation theory. The Organisational Innovativeness theory and the Variance theory (particularly the Technology-Organisation-Environment or TOE framework) were found to be of particular relevance. Marketing theory was also referred to, with the outcomes being marketing-based measures. The research was conducted in three steps. Firstly, in the pre-test phase senior managers from the New Zealand Retailers Association and academics provided feedback on the questionnaire. The Association then sent a pilot survey to their members, generating 53 usable responses. Secondly, the main survey was distributed via Facebook to businesses operating in that medium. Following analysis, the third phase involved interviews which further explored themes identified from the quantitative stage. Theoretical, methodological and managerial contributions were made from the research. Theoretical contributions included the development and empirical testing of a conceptual model for successful social media implementation. Significant predictor variables identified included complexity, a clear strategy, resources, access to training and education, and competition. These were measured by a number of dependent variables including use, overall management satisfaction and newly-developed scales for net benefits (including increased profit and increased brand loyalty). Methodological contributions included the timing of the survey. As social media has only been implemented relatively recently, information was easily recalled and bias as to whether it was likely to be a successful innovation or not was reduced. Additionally, the survey was distributed through Facebook, a new channel with viral opportunities and subsequent response rate measurement limitations. Managers will also find the results of interest not only in the implementation of social media but also for other strategic types of computer-mediated communication innovations.</p>

A. R Baghirzade

An important area of anti-crisis public administration is the development of small businesses. They are an important part of the economy of developed and developing countries, provide employment for a significant part of the population and tax revenues to budgets, and contribute to increased competition and the development of entrepreneurial abilities of citizens. Therefore, the primary task of the state Federal and regional policy is to reduce administrative barriers and risks, time and resources spent on opening and developing small businesses, problems with small businesses ' access to Bank capital [8], etc. Despite the loud statements of officials, administrative barriers to the development of small businesses in trade and public catering are constantly increasing, including during the 2014-2016 crisis.

Sachithra Lokuge, Sophia Xiaoxia Duan

Even though, digital transformation has attracted much attention of both academics and practitioners, a very limited number of studies have investigated the digital transformation process in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the findings remain fragmented. Given the accessibility and availability of digital technologies to launch digital transformation initiatives and the importance of SMEs in the economy, a profound understanding of enablers of the digital transformation process in SMEs is much needed. As such, to address this, in this paper we conducted a comprehensive review of related literature in information systems, management, and business disciplines, to identify key enablers that facilitate the digital transformation process in SMEs.

Michael Small, Orlando Porras, Michael Little et al.

We develop an agent-based model of disease transmission in remote communities in Western Australia. Despite extreme isolation, we show that the movement of people amongst a large number of small but isolated communities has the effect of causing transmission to spread quickly. Significant movement between remote communities, and regional and urban centres allows for infection to quickly spread to and then among these remote communities. Our conclusions are based on two characteristic features of remote communities in Western Australia: (1) high mobility of people amongst these communities, and (2) relatively high proportion of travellers from very small communities to major population centres. In models of infection initiated in the state capital, Perth, these remote communities are collectively and uniquely vulnerable. Our model and analysis does not account for possibly heightened impact due to preexisting conditions, such additional assumptions would only make the projections of this model more dire. We advocate stringent monitoring and control of movement to prevent significant impact on the indigenous population of Western Australia.

Michael Small, David Cavanagh

We show that precise knowledge of epidemic transmission parameters is not required to build an informative model of the spread of disease. We propose a detailed model of the topology of the contact network under various external control regimes and demonstrate that this is sufficient to capture the salient dynamical characteristics and to inform decisions. Contact between individuals in the community is characterised by a contact graph, the structure of that contact graph is selected to mimic community control measures. Our model of city-level transmission of an infectious agent (SEIR model) characterises spread via a (a) scale-free contact network (no control); (b) a random graph (elimination of mass gatherings); and (c) small world lattice (partial to full lockdown -- "social" distancing). This model exhibits good qualitative agreement between simulation and data from the 2020 pandemic spread of coronavirus. Estimates of the relevant rate parameters of the SEIR model are obtained and we demonstrate the robustness of our model predictions under uncertainty of those estimates. The social context and utility of this work is identified, contributing to a highly effective pandemic response in Western Australia.

Christopher Small, Andrew J. MacDonald, Daniel Sousa

Zipfs Law states that rank-size distributions of city populations follow a power law with an exponent of -1. The assertion of a universal power law is controversial because the linearity and slope appear to vary over time and among countries. We compare census enumerations and night light luminance as proxies for population density and intensity of development in the contiguous United States. Treating population density and development intensity as continuous quantities allows for the definition of spatial networks based on the level of spatial connectivity. The resulting distributions of spatial network components (subsets of connected nodes) vary with degree of connectivity, but maintain consistent scaling over a wide range of network sizes. At continental scales, spatial network rank-size distributions obtained from both population density and night light brightness are well-fit by power laws with exponents near -1 for a wide range of density and luminance thresholds. However, the largest components (10,000 - 100,000 sq.km) are far larger than individual cities and represent spatially contiguous agglomerations of urban, suburban and periurban development. Projecting county-level numbers of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 for the US onto spatial networks of population and development allows the spatiotemporal evolution of the epidemic to be quantified as propagation within networks of varying connectivity.. The results show an abrupt transition from slow increases in confirmed cases in a small number of network components to rapid geographic dispersion to a larger number of components before mobility reductions occurred in March 2020.

K. Makhitha

The purpose of this paper was to determine the need for a marketing strategy on the part of small craft producers in South Africa. Existing literature on marketing planning and the local craft industry was used to prove that craft producers need marketing strategy planning to overcome the market access challenges they currently experience. Craft producers lack access to the market and need to formulate appropriate marketing strategies in order to overcome this obstacle. A marketing strategy impacts positively on business sales and the profitability of a business, and is the backbone of any enterprise, regardless of size. However, craft producers need an understanding of the market for them to formulate an effective and efficient marketing strategy. Corresponding author: KM Makhitha Email addresses for the corresponding author: makhikm@unisa.ac.za First submission received: 24th May 2018 Revised submission received: 15th August 2018 Accepted: 10th December 2018 Introduction Craft producers in South Africa have limited access to markets (Department of Sports, Arts, Recreation & Culture [DSARC], 2007; Hay, 2008; Makhitha, 2016; Makhitha & Bresler, 2011). They struggle to market their products competitively, and also face competition from foreign craft producers (DSARC, 2007). The local craft industry is further crippled by a lack of reliable and accessible research data (Department of Economic Development [DED], 2009), which impedes the industry’s development and competitiveness. Craft producers do not determine which products to sell to which target market. Since different markets have different needs, producers should determine the needs of each, before deciding which to focus on by offering products that can meet their unique needs (Makhitha, 2016). This requires that they do marketing planning, such that all aspects of marketing activity are carefully coordinated and integrated (Carson & Cromie, 1990). Owing to the diversified nature of the craft industry, there is no universally accepted definition for ‘crafts’. In South Africa, the craft market encompasses “the creation and production of a broad range of utilitarian and decorative items produced on a small scale, with hand processes being the significant part of the value-added content. The production of goods uses a range of natural and synthetic materials” (Department of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology [DACST], 1997). Crafts are also known as handicraft or artisanal products, which are defined as those produced by artisans, either completely by hand, or with the help of hand tools or even mechanical means, as long as the direct manual contribution of the artisan remains the most substantial component of the finished product. These are produced using raw materials from sustainable resources. The special nature of artisanal products derives from their distinctive features, which can be utilitarian, aesthetic, creative, culturally attached, decorative, functional, religiously and socially symbolic and significant. (Unesco, 1997) Craft products include a wide range of items such as home furnishings, jewellery, fashion and fashion accessories, novelties and (corporate) gifts, garden and outdoor products, curios and collectibles, one-of-a-kind high-value individually made products, and indigenous artefacts which are culturally derived products (Department of Labour [DoL], 2011; Department of Trade and Industry [DTI], 2005). Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 3 April 2019 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 148 Although research has been conducted by national and provincial governments (Cape Craft and Design Institute [CCDI], 2008; DSARC, 2007; DTI, 2005; Wesgro, 2000), the data have merely served to identify and define craft products and businesses, as well as problem areas and challenges experienced in that industry. Grobler (2005) investigated the level of understanding of consumer behaviour among people participating in community craft projects, and the findings showed that project owners/managers lack an understanding of consumer behaviour. This, in turn, leads to the formulation of ineffective and inappropriate marketing and product strategies being targeted at end consumers. Hay (2008) concurs that craft producers do not respond to market demands, which prevents them from accessing the market successfully. Marketing planning could be useful for craft producers, in that they will have plans in place on how to market their products effectively. With marketing planning, businesses formulate appropriate marketing strategies to compete in the market (Sengupta & Chattopadhyay, 2006), since they are able to respond to rapid changes in that environment (Gray & Mabey, 2005). The craft industry in South Africa The development of the craft industry is a key strategy of the South African government, as far as sustainable development and the creation of employment opportunities are concerned (DoL, 2011). The industry also contributes to economic growth and environmental stewardship (United Nations [UN], 2010), as evidenced by government initiatives, research, projects and entities that have been initiated in support of the industry: examples include the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (DACST, 1998), the Sector Development Strategy (DTI, 2005), Gauteng Creative Industries: Craft Sector and the Gauteng Craft Development Strategy (DSARC, 2007), as well as the development of the KwaZulu-Natal Integrated Craft Hub (DED, 2009). There is an increasing demand for craft products globally, especially for home accessories and décor, gifts and products for garden and outdoor living, which are used simultaneously for decorative and functional purposes (United States Agency for Industrial Development [USAid], 2006). The rise in final customers’ disposable incomes, and the tendency to accessorise and restyle homes with unique articles, are major driving factors in the surge in demand for crafts and decorative products (Frost & Sullivan, 2005). In this country, recent decades have seen the opening of many homeware stores such as PepHome, @Home, @Home Living Space and Mr Price Home, as well as Woolworths’ Artistic Collection departments, which operate from inside Woolworths branches. All these retailers sell handcrafted products, which create opportunities for craft producers who also target craft retailers. The craft industry is dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (Hay, 2008) that are often unable to achieve the economies of scale that drive competition in many markets. It is difficult to create or sustain an industry association in the sector (DoL, 2008). The industry, which contributes R2 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the craft industry value chain (Kaiser & Associates, 2005), consists of over 7 000 craft producer enterprises (DTI, 2005) and employs around 40 000 people (DED & SEDA, 2007 cited in McCarthy & Mavundla, 2009). The local market has shown strong growth of between three and four per cent annually, while the sector contributes 0.14 per cent of the GDP, of which R150 million is derived from export sales. Between 2001 and 2003, the government spent R97 million on the establishment and growth of the local craft industry (Create SA, 2004 cited in Grobler, 2005), emphasising the importance of this sector. Problem statement and objectives The craft industry, which is dominated by small and medium craft producer organisations (Hay, 2008:2), is crippled by a lack of reliable and accessible research data (DED, 2009:3), which impedes the industry’s development and competitiveness. According to the DSARC (2007:35, 67), marketing and branding are among the major challenges facing local craft producers. Craft producers experience difficulties selling to craft retailers, who purchase only 36 per cent of craft products from this country (DSARC, 2007:129). These producers have limited access to the market (Wesgro, 2000:33), since the foreign craft producers whom they compete with, are far more resourceful (DSARC, 2007:35). Craft producers therefore need to determine which marketing strategies can close the ‘lack-of-market-access’ gap that they experience. Marketing strategy is the backbone of every business, Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 3 April 2019 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 149 and this research aims to determine which marketing strategies can help to close the market access gap confronting craft producers in this country. Literature Review SMEs and marketing Traditionally, marketing has been associated with large enterprises, yet a number of studies have focused on SMEs and have illustrated the importance of marketing in their success (Gilmore, Carson & Grant, 2001; Hills, Hultman & Miles, 2008; Simpson, Padmore & Taylor, 2001; Zontanos & Anderson, 2004). Evidence shows that marketing is often underutilised and misunderstood by owner-managers of SMEs (Zontanos & Anderson, 2004) and that marketing in those enterprises tends to be restricted by resource constraints in respect of finance, personnel, perceptions of related functions, and skills and attitudes towards marketing (Opuke, Abratt, Bendixen & Pitt, 2005; Simpson & Taylor, 2002; Wong & Merilees, 2005; Zontanos & Anderson, 2004). An SME’s owner-manager is also a decision maker who manages and attends to other functions within the business (Berthon, Ewing, & Napoli, 2008). However, SMEs need to create competitive advantage by formulating marketing strategies that are different from those of their competitors (Moriarty, Jones, Rowley & Kupiec-Teahan, 2008). They have to implement marketing activities if they are to grow and survive (Van Scheers, 2011; Zontanos & Anderson, 2004). Marketing plays a leading role in SMEs in comparison with other functions pertaining to overall planning (Brooksbank, Kirby, Taylor & Jones-

Ben Toscher

Increasingly, higher education has called upon arts entrepreneurship to prepare artists for sustainable careers, and to provide a platform for research on artist professional development. In response, teaching in entrepreneurship and arts entrepreneurship education has grown significantly over the past few decades (Fayolle et al., 2016), with an estimated 168 institutions with 372 offerings arts entrepreneurship courses in the US alone (Essig & Guevara, 2016). This is especially true in the field of music, where arts entrepreneurship has been readily embraced due to the entrepreneurial nature of sustaining a livelihood as a musician (Bennett, 2016; Breivik et al., 2015). The amount of research focusing on the teaching of arts entrepreneurship has followed closely behind the growth in arts entrepreneurship education – but what about research on learning arts entrepreneurship? How do arts students actually learn to be entrepreneurial? While research in arts entrepreneurship has been performed to examine curricular efforts (e.g., Beckman, 2005), the similarities and synergies of entrepreneurs and artists (e.g., Gangi, 2015), and arts entrepreneurship education as a comprehensive phenomenon of interest and study (Chang & Wyszomirski, 2015), no work has been performed to connect the field ́s body of knowledge to extant theoretical work directly related to experiential and entrepreneurial learning (Politis, 2005). Given that most arts entrepreneurship curricula include some form of experiential learning (Essig & Guevara, 2016), I propose a framework to advance the field ́s investigation of entrepreneurial learning in the arts entrepreneurship classroom. Since understanding arts entrepreneurship is context-specific (Beckman & Essig, 2012), in this article I use the specific case of music performance education in higher music education (HME) to connect empirical and theoretical literature on arts entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial competencies (Bacigalupo et al., 2016), careers in music, and social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 2002) Synthesizing these streams of literature, I propose a conceptual framework for integrating context-specific entrepreneurial learning activities within arts entrepreneurship education. The framework developed recognizes and address the importance of context, personal agency, student-centered learning, explorative behavior and definitions in arts entrepreneurship educational activities. The framework also provides the means to analyze both mini-cases and examples of entrepreneurial learning activities which may develop entrepreneurial competencies. The article concludes with promising areas and questions for future research and as well as implications for educators.