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Understanding the Caribbean Enterprise pp 1–19Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Introduction: The Context of the Caribbean Enterprise

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Abstract

This chapter sets the context for the rest of the book by providing a rationale for the study of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and family-owned businesses (FOBs). This is from both global and English-speaking Caribbean (ESC) perspectives. An overview of the data used in the subsequent analysis is also provided, as is the overall purpose of the book, which is to gain an understanding of the Caribbean enterprise, through insights gleaned from MSMEs and FOBs in the ESC, with the objective of finding context-specific solutions to issues such as family business succession, business financing, and marketing.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although the discussions throughout the book draw on the experiences of countries in the English-speaking Caribbean (ESC), they can be extended to the other countries in the Caribbean, given the relatively common historical background of these countries.

  2. 2.

    Throughout the book, the following abbreviations are used: ANT (Antigua and Barbuda), BAH (the Bahamas), BAR (Barbados), BEL (Belize), DOM (Dominica), GREN (Grenada), GUY (Guyana), JAM (Jamaica), SKN (St Kitts and Nevis), SLU (St Lucia), SVG (St Vincent and the Grenadines), and TNT (Trinidad and Tobago).

  3. 3.

    “Familiness” refers to the set of resources that are distinctive to the firm as a result of family involvement (Habbershon and Williams 1999).

  4. 4.

    The LN and CC survey titles refer to the main data collecting entity, which in these cases were Lawrence Nicholson (LN) and Compete Caribbean (CC).

  5. 5.

    The LN survey includes data collected via questionnaires (216 useful for analysis), focus group sessions across three countries, and discussions with owners of family businesses across the ESC. The survey covered the following areas: (i) Business Characteristics, (ii) Ownership & Control, (iii) Succession Planning, (iv) Business Governance, (v) Business & Entrepreneurship, and (vi) Religion & Business.

  6. 6.

    The full survey is titled “Productivity Technology Innovation in the Caribbean” (PROTEqIN) and we have retitled it here as we have removed Suriname from the data set. The data are publically available at http://competecaribbean.org/proteqin/ [Accessed 30 November 2015].

  7. 7.

    Suriname was part of the sample, but was eliminated in the analysis for the book.

  8. 8.

    The terms family-owned business, family business, family firms, and family enterprise are used as synonyms in the literature. In this volume, family-owned business (FOB) or family business (FB) is used interchangeably.

  9. 9.

    Family Business Review is one of the leading journals with a focus on family-owned businesses.

  10. 10.

    Interview with John Davis of Harvard Business School, the author of several books about family business.

  11. 11.

    See http://familybusinessindex.com for details of the top FOBs in the world.

  12. 12.

    The International Finance Corporation reported that of the 365–445 million MSMEs in emerging markets, only 80–100 million are formal.

  13. 13.

    On average, there were 31 MSMEs per 1000 people in the 132 countries studied (Kushnir et al. 2010).

  14. 14.

    The survey targeted formal enterprises and the response from micro-firms was minimal and only comprised 2 % of the sample. We have therefore grouped them together here.

  15. 15.

    Publicly listed companies accounted for 0.9 % of the sample and 0.1 % were categorised as “Other”.

  16. 16.

    Usually those dominated by one owner or a husband-and-wife team, with other family members working in the business.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mona School of Business and Management, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica

    Lawrence A. Nicholson

  2. Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Wanstead, Barbados

    Jonathan G. Lashley

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  1. Lawrence A. Nicholson
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  2. Jonathan G. Lashley
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Nicholson, L.A., Lashley, J.G. (2016). Introduction: The Context of the Caribbean Enterprise. In: Understanding the Caribbean Enterprise. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94879-6_1

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