How Advice and Its Source Characteristics Prompts Changes in Investment Decisions

People are using the Internet for financial planning assistance. Yet those seeking advice on the Internet rarely tend to question the advice source. Little research has examined the unique aspects of online financial advice taking. Online advice offers a unique setting which does not mirror offline advice . This paper addresses the research questions (1) What kinds of people are more likely to change their investment decisions given different online source characteristics, (2) How do people change their investment decisions given the disclosure of human vs. computer advice sources, and (3) How do people change their investment decisions given the disclosure of source credibility? This study finds that users with higher levels of task-specific self-efficacy are less likely to take advice and certain online design features influence changes in investment advice taking

SME Access to Finance: An exploration into the demand and supply contraints around SME access to finance

In March 2011, the Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University was commissioned by North East Access to Finance (NEA2F) to undertake a major piece of independent academic research to explore both the demand and supply sides of SME access to finance in the North East of England. The aim of the research was to gain insight and understanding into the challenges faced not only by the SME sector but also by the key suppliers of finance to that community, specifically the banking sector and Business Angels. Thus we do not take a position on what we think is right or what a best practice approach might be but rather reflect, as accurately as possible, the information that was shared with us. The research project commenced in May 2011 and was completed at the end of March 2012

The Wider Social Impacts of Changes in the Structure of Agricultural Businesses

Agricultural restructuring is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, recent decades have seen substantial changes, not only to the number and types of farmers and farm businesses, but also to ownership structures and to the relationship between land holding and management control. The Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), together with the UK Countryside Agencies, has commissioned a body of research in recent years which, taken together, offer important insights into the nature, speed and extent of restructuring in the UK and of the potential for further, accelerated change in the years to come. From this body of work it is clear that a prolonged and difficult process of disengagement from agriculture as a mainstream income source is beginning to take place, with evidence of both adaptation and resistance to change by a land management community which is becoming increasingly diverse in its social composition and behaviour. The adjustment to farming practice, living standards and lifestyles which all of this implies is not without personal cost and, while claims of an agricultural crisis may be exaggerated, it is clear that large numbers of farmers are finding they have to make difficult adjustments against a shifting background of policy reform and market change. Moreover, given the traditional centrality of farmers in rural communities, both as employers and as participants in many of the key institutions of rural life, there may be wider social implications of agricultural restructuring which now deserve to be more closely investigated. What, for example is the nature, extent and wider significance of the personal costs and social implications of agricultural restructuring.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Neighbors Matter: Causal Community Effects and Stock Market Participation

This paper establishes a causal relation between an individual's decision of whether to own stocks and average stock market participation decision of the individual's community. We instrument for the average ownership of an individual's community with lagged average ownership of the states in which one's non-native neighbors were born. Combining this instrumental variables approach with controls for individual and community fixed effects, a broad set of time-varying individual and community controls, and state-by-year effects, rules out alternative explanations. To further establish that word-of-mouth communication drives this causal effect, we show that the results are stronger in more sociable communities.

Realizing Potential: The Impact of Business Incubation upon the Absorptive Capacity of New Technology Based Firms

This article explores the potential of university technology business incubators to enhance the absorptive capacity of new technology-based firms. The research pursues three critical themes: it employs the absorptive capacity construct to analyse and evaluate the potential of incubation to strengthen the business model of new technology firms. It then explores the interaction between founders and incubator directors, mentors and business advisers to assess how this might enhance absorptive capacity. Finally, it indicates how such interactions can facilitate the transition from potential to realised absorptive capacity. The article interrogates the incubation process by using the absorptive capacity framework to evaluate how it might strengthen the business model of new technology firms. The qualitative findings suggest that where founders, advisers, mentors and incubator directors engage collaboratively to create an iterative dialogue which informs the development of a viable business model, the process by which potential absorptive capacity can be fully realised is substantially strengthened

Understanding Social Investment Policy: evidence from the evaluation of Futurebuilders in England

The concept of social investment has attracted interest from policy makers, financial markets and not for profit organisations. It is an emergent notion which is multi-faceted and includes different market forms, policy responses, and institutional configurations. There is relatively little empirical evidence on the design, implementation and impacts of the various initiatives which have been perceived as falling within the field of social investment. This paper begins to address this gap. It draws on the national evaluation of Futurebuilders in England which was undertaken between 2005 and 2010. At the time Futurebuilders was one of the largest examples of a public policy initiative to support social investment; based on a policy model of government seeking to promote the use of loan funding to third sector organisations as part of a wider agenda of expanding the sector's role in the delivery of public services. The paper explores the effects of the programme on the third sector, on public service delivery and on service users. In conclusion the paper challenges some of the assumptions of this policy model, as well as the potential for 'impact investing' to become a framework for welfare provision

The difficulties of accessing bank finance and business support by Black African and Caribbean Entrepreneurs in London

This research seeks to identify and evaluate the influences of the ‘personal characteristics’ and ‘attitudinal behaviour’ of Black African and Caribbean Entrepreneurs (BACEs) in London when seeking finance and business support from banks and other external agencies. The reason for this choice of research was to try and understand whether some of the personal characteristics of BACEs had an influence on the barriers they often reported when accessing business finance from formal sources in London, notably High Street banks. In particular, this research examines the influences of different aspects of human and social capital, cultural factors and generational differences on the attitudes of BACEs when seeking external business finance. The empirical research coincided with the onset of the ‘credit crunch’ and the tightening of credit rationing by the banks, so that BACE experiences of accessing finance need to be considered in this context. The use of mixed data sources including both quantitative and qualitative data adds a new and original dimension to this study. Thirty (30) purposely selected BACEs, five (5) main High Street banks, six (6) enterprise agencies and one (1) public sector organisation were interviewed over a two and a half year period. The field work involved in-depth interviews to obtain information from the respondent BACE owner managers. The quantitative dimension involved analysis of the London Annual Business Survey (LABS) dataset to compare the experiences of BACEs in accessing finance with those of other ethnic businesses. This study found that the ‘attitudinal tendencies’ and behaviour of BACEs were closely related to their levels and types of human capital attainment. Results also suggested that the ‘cultural orientation’ of BACEs and their concentration in certain communities described as ‘ethnic enclaves’ were significant factors influencing their behaviour and attitudes when seeking finance and dealing with mainstream business support services. The views of some of the BACEs about discriminatory practices by banks can be largely attributed to their ‘perceptions’ and ‘self-imaging’ as little empirical evidence was found to support such claims. The lack of data on BACEs is a problem which requires attention by policy-makers if the myths around perceptions are to be managed. Many of the challenges of BACEs reported in research are submerged within data relating to SMEs as a whole, thereby making it difficult to focus on the particular needs of BACEs. This research found that a small but significant number of interviewed BACEs considered themselves to be the subject of ‘discrimination’. However, these attitudes could be largely attributed to various ‘human capital’ shortcomings. Some respondents may be also using the alleged discrimination to mask their own business failures. The thesis makes recommendations for improved re-engagement between the three principal agents and areas for future research are highlighted in the concluding chapter. Some of the main recommendations are geared towards fostering a better understanding and relationships between BACEs and finance providers as well as the need to promote good practices. The need for developing a database for Black businesses is long overdue

Early Venture Boards: A Grounded Theory of Optimising for Growth

Some early boards help startups achieve exponential high growth, whereas others leave founders and shareholders perplexed on how to get any value from them. Whilst over the past ten years the research on ventures and their boards has grown considerably, very little is still known about the inner working of boards, especially during the critical early stages of startup development. What seems to be missing, is the understanding of a complex interplay between directors’ attributes and behaviours, board role and processes, and venture performance in the context of unique challenges faced by high growth early ventures. This study uses a classic grounded theory method to explore the experiences of directors on early boards of investor-backed tech startups in the UK. The investigation is done from the perspective of Venture Capital directors, which is then contextualised by looking more widely at experiences of Founders directors and independent Non-Executive directors. Altogether, data was systematically collected via interviews with 24 directors, representing experiences on boards of an estimated couple of hundreds of the UK early ventures. As a result, the study developed a substantive grounded theory of Optimising for Growth. The findings suggest that directors on early venture boards engage in a complex process of optimising of board and director attributes, such as structures, processes, mindsets and adding value behaviours, against growth performance criteria of the next investment round. This process takes place over two stages: Evaluating and Structuring Stage and Behaving Bigger Stage, transforming the founder, the board and the company from a startup into a high growth venture. The developed grounded theory has also uncovered that the process of optimising is the first step in the boards’ longer-term efforts to professionalise startups into companies capable of delivering exit to investors via Initial Public Offering, thus providing a deeper understanding of what happens on early venture boards in context. Having captured variations and the relationship between director attributes, board roles, board processes, value adding behaviours and company performance, the theory of Optimising for Growth also explains the differences in director experiences on early venture boards. The findings suggest the key differences arise when the early venture boards are fit for the purpose of monitoring as opposed to providing strategic help. This study contributes to the corporate governance literature by proposing a substantive grounded theory as a novel integrative theoretical framework of the relationship between director attributes, board roles, board processes and company performance. The offered contribution integrates previously distinct perspectives from corporate governance, corporate finance and cognition, whilst also enriching the research on venture boards. The thesis also contributes to practice by offering the theory of Optimising for Growth as a diagnostic tool for early venture directors. The tool can be used to understand, reflect and consider how to structure, align and develop the relationship between Founders and their boards