WA small business owners invited to participate in BCEC research

A random selection of small business owners and managers in Western Australia will be invited to take part in a survey that will provide valuable insights to inform the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre’s upcoming report The Engine Room for Growth? The Role, Performance and Future Prospects of Small Business in Western Australia.

The report is the next in the Focus on Western Australia series and will examine the history of WA’s small business sector, its current contribution to the WA economy, and the future prospects for small businesses in the State given the changing industrial landscape.

BCEC is sincere in developing a new kind of research partnership – one where stakeholders are engaged at all stages of the process, from the framing and conceptualisation of research questions, through the conduct of research, to the communication and implementation of research findings.

The BCEC Small Business Survey 2017 will provide meaningful insight into the opportunities and challenges faced by the sector and will help frame policy discussions aimed at supporting the sector and the owners/managers of small businesses.

Small businesses (defined as having between 0-19 employees) make up approximately 97 per cent of all businesses in WA, with important presence across all industries and across the regions. The data obtained from this survey will go towards bridging a gap that exists in currently available data on the sector, ensuring that the diverse nature of this sector, particularly at the regional and industry level is sufficiently captured.

In addition to looking at the health and wellbeing of small business owners/managers, this report will look at the general characteristics of small business owners in WA, their general business outlook for the year ahead, and their succession plans. It will also look at the level of innovation amongst small businesses in WA, the geographic markets they service, and the extent of regulation and compliance costs for the sector.

This survey has received approval from Curtin University’s Ethics/Research Integrity Office, and all data collected will be anonymised and stored in a safe and secure manner.

For more information about the survey or the report please contact the report lead, Dr Daniel Kiely, BCEC Senior Research Fellow, via daniel.kiely@curtin.edu.au or 08 9266 5675.