The primary objective of this study is to critically examine the effect of strategic orientation on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Three most comprehensive constructs, namely, entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and interaction orientation were adopted to present a holistic picture of the effect of strategic orientation on firm performance. This study adopts a cross-sectional design and uses the stratified random sampling method to select the potential respondents. The complete data were collected from 473 entrepreneurs who operate in the service sector in Malaysia. Findings of this study show that entrepreneurial and market orientations have a positive effect on superior firm performance. As entrepreneurial orientation is shown to be the construct sharing a positive relationship with all the other constructs in the model, it has been identified as the most significant strategic orientation. SMEs in Malaysia should therefore focus on adopting strategies in market orientation by appropriate marketing efforts, and in entrepreneurial orientation where the entrepreneur needs to adopt a proactive stance to counter challenges in the market of new products and changing customer preferences.

ABSTRACTDifferences are identified between the preferred information and learning channels of small and medium‐sized tourism enterprise (SMTE) proprietors, who have an interest in business operations (growers) or who have relatively less interest (lifestylers). Lifestylers sign up frequently to tourism industry associations, whereas growers have a tendency to join generic business groupings. The most common information for both groups is marketing related, and intensive use is made of online information to support day‐to‐day business operations. In aggregate, SMTE proprietors are avid information seekers, attaching importance to the advice provided from experienced and trusted sources. Growers proactively gather information about general management as well as tourism‐specific knowledge. Adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach to providing information for the SMTE sector is unlikely to be effective. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Important steps in developing reliable bioindicators for soil quality are characterising soil biodiversity and determining the response of its components to environmental factors across a range of land uses and soil types. Baseline data from a national survey in Ireland were used to explore relationships between diversity and composition of micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, mycorrhiza), and micro-, meso- and macro-fauna (nematodes; mites; earthworms, ants) across a general gradient representing dominant land uses (arable, pasture, rough-grazing, forest and bogland). These diversity data were also linked to soil physico-chemical properties. Differences in diversity and composition of meso- and macro-fauna, but not microbes, were clear between agriculturally-managed (arable and pasture) and extensively-managed (rough-grazing and bogland) soils corresponding to a broad division between 'mineral' and 'organic' soils. The abundance, richness and composition of nematode and earthworm taxa were significantly congruent with a number of the other groups. Further analysis, using significant indicator species from each group, identified potential target taxa and linked them to soil environmental gradients. This study suggests that there is potential surrogacy between the diversity of key soil taxa groups and that different sets of bioindicators may be most effective under agricultural and extensive land use.

This research investigated the website use of Australian accounting practices in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia in the period 2006-2010. This occurred through an investigation of the websites of 100 practices and interviews involving selected practices at the start of the period and a further investigation of the websites at the end of the period. The analysis revealed a heavy emphasis towards website features that identify the businesses and the services that they offer, which is consistent with other website studies involving professional services. More than other businesses, accounting practices rely on keeping their clients up to date and thus the provision of information such as taxation news updates, changes to superannuation and regular newsletters to clients through their websites was identified as being an important tool for many practices. None of the accounting practices offered online order or payment features over the period. Again this is consistent with other studies of similar professional services businesses. Although some of the practices had log-in features in 2006, only two contained features that could perhaps be classed as ‘e-services’. However, the 2010 review found an increase in the number of accounting practices with a log-in feature on their website. This suggests that the issues of trust in the technology are being addressed and that they could be moving towards a situation where e-services may become more commonplace in the future.

Research by Global Entrepreneurial Monitor (GEM) states that around 12% of the world's adult population aged between 18 and 64 are active entrepreneurs (GEM, 2002). In global terms the number of minorities entering the entrepreneurial arena has increased significantly (Levent et. al., 2006). These minority groups are a significant contributor to the economic growth and development at all levels of the world economy. Research also reveals that 98% of the businesses in Australia are small to medium enterprises that have contributed significantly to the economy of Australia. Around 33% of these small to medium enterprises are owned by first generation immigrants, either English or Non-English speaking background (ABS, 2006). Croatians form one of the larger ethnic communities in Australia (Kipp, Clyne and Pauwels, 1995; Collins, 1989), but are often left out in Australian migration research in particular when it comes to their involvement in entrepreneurial business activities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with small to medium business operators at the beginning of this year (2011) and case studies were prepared describing entrepreneurial motivations and successes of small business owners of Croatian descent in Australia, the impact of such behaviours on business performance, and reports on applicability of existing social theories of ethnic entrepreneurship to Croatian entrepreneurial involvement. Specific questions have been explored such as, whether Croatian business start-ups stem from observing others in business, and if professional, more skilled migrants, arriving here in the 1990s, have greater or lesser propensity towards self-employment than less skilled migrants, arriving as Displaced Persons in the 1960s.

This report was published as part of the Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for the Environment (STRIVE) Programme 2007-2013. The programme is financed by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2007-2013. It is administered on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government by the Environmental Protection Agency which has the statutory function of co-ordinating and promoting environmental research.

Ants are important ecosystem engineers and can be abundant in extensively managed grassland ecosystems. Different ant species create nests varying in structure and size, and tend to have a variety of feeding strategies. Differences in food imported to the nest and contrasting nesting behaviour may control soil microbial community structure in nest soil, with cascading effects on nutrient cycling, but this has not been tested in grassland ants. Soil and ants were sampled from nests of three ant species: two formicines; Lasius flavus (aphid farmer/scavenger, mound builder) and Formica lemani (scavenger/hunter, non-mound builder), and a myrmicine; Myrmica sabuleti (hunter/scavenger, non-mound builder), in an extensively grazed temperate grassland and compared to similar soils without ants. Microbial assemblages were determined using molecular approaches (terminal restriction length polymorphism and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis). Both aboveground (vegetation diversity) and belowground (soil physico-chemical properties) components were measured to assess the potential of the different ant species to modify the environment. Stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) of ant tissues and nest soil organic matter confirmed differences in trophic distances. Significant changes in soil pH, moisture content, total C and total N, and in vegetation composition, demonstrated ant ecosystem engineering effects. In turn, nests of L. flavus, M. sabuleti and F. lemani had different microbial activities and harboured significantly different microbial assemblages (total bacteria, total fungi, ammonia-oxidising bacteria and nitrogen-fixing bacteria), but the diversity was similar. These findings suggest that grassland ants can control microbial assemblages via changes in physical and biological soil characteristics in their nests, and as such, different ant species harbour unique microbial assemblages in nests.

Despite their economic importance, home-based businesses (HBB) are not well understood and are under researched. This is particularly true in the context of women-owned HBBs, which are often associated with hobby businesses and short-term life spans. To address the scarcity of research in this domain this paper presents the findings of a gender-comparative quantitative study of HBB characteristics. The results indicate that women-owned HBBs are a legitimate form of business with serious intentions. While the primary impetus for women is often about flexibility and work life balance and they work fewer hours, their attention to detail in preparation for their business is much more systematic. A number of implications for research and policy are presented.

Home-based business (HBB) growth and expansion has been approached from the perspective of the increase in numbers of HBBs and the economic multiplier effect. However, little is known concerning the actual growth and expansion of the individual HBBs in terms of increase in turnover and sales, number of employees, increase in products and services, return on investment and market share. This is particularly true when narrowed to a specific demographic group, such as women-owned HBBs. This paper explores the growth aspirations and actual growth experiences of women-owned HBBs, as well as the factors both influencing growth and retarding growth amongst women-owned HBBs in Victoria, Australia. We found that over half of female owned HBBs have experienced growth and almost three quarters aspire for future growth. A factor analysis and subsequent correlation and one-way Anova revealed the significant factors associated with growth and retarding growth. We found that prudent business management and external factors in the form of government support and securing a major contract are important factors contributing to growth. Concerning future growth the most important factors were business management and market opportunities such as achieving exports and conducting business over the Internet. HBBs that planned to grow also placed more importance on the barriers to growth. The paper expands knowledge in the domain of women-owned HBBs and challenges the view of women-owned HBBs as less formal organisations with an indifferent attitude towards growth.

The varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is an ectoparasite of the western honeybee Apis mellifera that reproduces in the brood cells. The mite will generally kill colonies unless treatment is given, and this almost universally involves the use of chemicals. This study was undertaken to examine the effect of small cell size on the reproductive success of the mite, as a method of non-chemical control in the Northern European honeybee Apis mellifera mellifera. Test colonies with alternating small and standard cell size brood combs were sampled over a three-month period and the population biology of the mites evaluated. To ensure high varroa infestation levels, all colonies were infested with mites from a host colony prior to commencement. A total of 2229 sealed cells were opened and the varroa mite families recorded. While small-sized cells were more likely to be infested than the standard cells, mite intensity and abundance were similar in both cell sizes. Consequently, there is no evidence that small-cell foundation would help to contain the growth of the mite population in honeybee colonies and hence its use as a control method would not be proposed.