Understanding the Caribbean Enterprise : Insights From MSMEs and Family Owned Businesses

This engaging book fills a substantial gap in the understanding of Caribbean enterprises, focusing upon FOBs (family-owned businesses) about which, despite accounting for 70% of private sector employment in the region, very little is known. Concentrating on MSMEs which represent the majority of FOBs in the English-speaking Caribbean, the authors compare and contrast their experiences to those in developed countries, focusing in particular on areas such as family business succession, business financing and marketing. __Understanding the Caribbean Enterprise__ provides context-specific lessons from a historical perspective of business and entrepreneurship, which in turn provide an understanding of the current issues facing MSMEs and FOBs in the English-speaking Caribbean. Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction: The Context of the Caribbean Enterprise -- Introduction -- Context -- What Are Family-Owned Businesses? -- What are MSMEs? -- Why FOBs and MSMEs -- A Global Perspective -- Family-Owned Businesses -- Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises -- Current Landscape -- The Endgame -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- Chapter 2: A Historical Perspective on Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in the English-ƯSpeaking Caribbean -- Introduction -- Families: Racial/Ethnic Link -- Sanctioned Enslavement: 1640-1838 -- The Post-Emancipation Economy -- The Indentured and Immigrants -- East Indians -- The Chinese -- The Syrian-Lebanese -- The Debate -- The Entrepreneurial Spirit on Display -- The Emergence of the Masses: The 1960s and 1970s -- What Have We Learnt from History? -- Myths -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- Chapter 3: Succession Planning: The Caribbean Approach -- Introduction -- A Global Context -- Influencing Factors -- The Case of the ESC -- Education, Ethnicity, and Gender -- Context-Specific Approach -- The "When Factor"--The "Who Factor"--The "How Factor" -- The "Where [What] Factor" -- The "Why Factor" -- Conclusions: The Verdict -- References -- Chapter 4: The Financing Reality of the Caribbean Enterprise -- Introduction -- Theories of Financing MSMEs and FOBs -- The Theory of Practice of Enterprise Lending -- Theory and Practice of Enterprise Borrowing -- Eyes on the Caribbean -- A Brief History of the Financing Infrastructure in the Caribbean -- Contemporary Enterprise Financing in the Caribbean -- The Financial Behaviour of Borrowers and Lenders in the Caribbean -- The Financing Choices of Caribbean MSMEs and FOBs -- Determinants of MSMEs Access to Formal Credit -- Summary of the Financial Behaviour of Caribbean MSMEs and FOBs -- Conclusions: Insights and Misunderstandings Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction: The Context of the Caribbean Enterprise....Pages 1-19 A Historical Perspective on Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in the English-Speaking Caribbean....Pages 21-44 Succession Planning: The Caribbean Approach....Pages 45-66 The Financing Reality of the Caribbean Enterprise....Pages 67-95 Market Orientation and the Caribbean Enterprise....Pages 97-118 Unfinished Business, Understandings, and Insights into Caribbean Enterprises....Pages 119-137 Back Matter....Pages 139-142