A literature review highlighted problems in entrepreneurship education: too much emphasis on knowledge and not enough on competence, not using small group methods, lack of evaluation of effectiveness, lack of research on the development of competence and its transfer, and lack of comparative research. (SK)

This article shows how the Norwegian Small Business Research Center and the Alabama International Trade Center have set goals and established procedures to bridge gaps and correct misconceptions between academics and entrepreneurs. Keys to formation of both organizations were involvement of well-thought of universities, a willingness to take a…

Pyong Gap Min and Edna Bonacich have both written about Korean Americans' immigration and occupational adjustment. Their variant findings are a result of individual philosophical differences. Discusses the practical implications of both writers' conclusions. (DM)

A survey of British small businesses (n=394) found that formative evaluation was used less than needs assessment. Managers had responsibility for evaluation, using informal feedback and questionnaires. Training was evaluated more often for operational than strategic purposes. Evaluation data were used for feedback and training more than return on…

Over 2,000 interviews and 74 case studies with small business owners, employees, and policymakers in Britain indicated that owners' attitudes to vocational education were positive, but actual provision significantly failed to meet their needs. They suggested that national training policy lacks coherence and continuity. (SK)

Reviews management training strategies used by small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy. Discusses solutions offered by distance learning, especially training delivered via satellite. (SK)

Business management students in a graduate entrepreneurship course diagnosed and researched problems for clients of the Small Business Development Center and presented findings to clients, the class, and evaluators. The model gives students conducting experience and develops closer ties to the business community. (SK)

Includes "Introduction"; "Impact of Research on Manufacturing SMEs"; "Technology Acquisition and the Changing Face of Manufacturing Industry"; "Enabling Continuous Improvement of New Product Development Processes"; "Innovation and SMEs"; "A Decision Support System for the Initiation of…

A nonprofit community action agency, BusinesStart, provides business training and small loans to entrepreneurs in 18 rural counties in southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. The entrepreneurs, many with no previous business experience, cite the agency's basic business training as key to their success. (SV)

The dual system of vocational education and apprenticeship in Germany originated in the crafts sector, with predominantly male participation. As the services sector rapidly expands, the question arises whether small businesses in this sector will be able or willing to follow the dual system. (Contains 55 references.) (JOW)

The paper draws on analysis of industrial economic development to contrast two models of internationalisation in universities. The first is based upon copying and serving large corporations. The suggestion is that adopting this approach would imply significant failures in the educational process. In the extreme, it would result in a world with a…

The authors were the principals in the evaluation of the Prince's Trust's Young People's Business Start-up Programme, 1994?1999, as it operated nationally in the UK and in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. In this paper they report the methodologies used in the evaluation and the key findings. They then use their reflections on both…

While the process and practices of retail product development in developed countries have been documented, a void exists in descriptive analysis regarding retail product development in an international setting. The primary purpose of this study was to explore small business apparel retailing, and specifically the retail product development process…

Purpose: This paper seeks to investigate the provision of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Small Ethnic Minority Businesses (SEMBs) operating in the West Midlands region of the UK. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach is employed, involving in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 66 owner/managers of small ethnic minority…

A major obstacle to the diffusion of management development learning technologies from Higher Education Institutions to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is a lack of understanding about how SME learners learn. This article examines the nature of learning in SMEs and considers the incidence of informal support for informal learning.…