Entrepreneurship and SMEs in London (UK): evaluating the role of black Africans in this emergent sector

Purpose - The small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) development has been the subject of a growing interest among academics and practitioners, as well as multilateral institutions. However, the interest in the growth of African business evolution has been under-researched, even as developments and market dynamics are increasingly impacting this sub-sector, especially in the UK. The urgent need arises for a study that enables practitioners and educators and also lends some insight into the possibilities and limitations in the UK environment, with a view to improving entrepreneurial education that is focused on these minorities. This paper aims to fill that gap. Design/methodology/approach - This study focuses on the development of black African SMEs (BASMEs) in London by examining the various factors that impact their development. A qualitative methodological approach was used to gain a better understanding of the BASMEs. Findings - This research proceeds by developing a conceptual matrix to classify the black Africans into four but significant emergent groups. It also discusses the trend of growth in the last decade. Finally, it draws conclusions on managerial implications, by identifying the various social, economic and environmental limitations that impact (BASMEs') growth. Research limitations/implications - A substantial part of this study was based on secondary data. There appear to be several areas in need of further research. Further in-depth research is required to assess the characteristics of BASMEs. Practical implications - The study enables practitioners, policy makers and educators to have an insight into the possibilities and limitations in the UK environment. It will help to improve entrepreneurial education and policies that are focused on these minorities. It goes on to make suggestions as to how those may be improved, as well as identifying new areas of possible research. Originality/value - The study provides all interested parties, the African businesses and other ethnic businesses, with a more robust body of literature and information from which new and further research can be built and expanded

International marketing of British education: research on the students' perception and the UK market penetration

The study functions as marketing intelligence inputs for the UK Government, the British Council as well as academic marketing planners for constructing their marketing opportunities-threats audits, it investigates international students� perception about the UK education and it researches UK performance in the world markets for international education. UK education has been known to be the best in the world. For many years, the UK universities have enjoyed a high reputation and have benefited in accelerating its market penetration worldwide. Unfortunately, this superiority has begun to decline. Other countries are strongly emerging with their quality education. The study shows that UK competitors achieved a remarkable growth of their international students' enrolment while the UK achieves only a marginal growth with declining market penetration abroad. The findings confirmed the central importance of pricing, product and promotional variables in designing and marketing UK education abroad

Allying for quality excellence: scope for expert systems in supplier quality management

Over the past decade, quality managers and scholars have focused increased attention on supplier quality as a key resource for organisations. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study into how organisations rank supplier selection attributes and the extent to which use is made of decision support systems (expert systems in particular) in supplier quality management. Overall, quality was ranked the most important attribute. Paradoxically, decision-support/knowledge-based systems are not being utilized in solving the multi-criteria decision problem inherent in supplier quality management. It is speculated that the lack of robust strategy for combining both human and artificial intelligence in supplier quality integration means that many organisations are making themselves vulnerable as out-sourcing and strategic partnerships become important determinants of competitive advantage. Consequently, this paper assesses the scope for expert systems, a branch of artificial intelligence that is capable of helping organisations to co-ordinate and harness potentially diverse sources of input resources in supplier quality management