The Role of Property in the Portfolio of Small and Medium Enterprises

Author/s: Sussie Morrish, Deborah Levy, Zhi Dong

Date Published: 1/01/2009

Published in: Volume 15 - 2009 Issue 3 (pages 261 - 277)

Abstract

Previous published academic property research has tended to focus on the optimal allocation of real estate from the perspective of large institutions. Little attention has been given to mixed business portfolios of small to medium enterprises. This study seeks to address this imbalance by examining the perceptions of entrepreneurs who own more than one distinct business at any given time. Using in-depth interviews, this paper explores the role of property within the portfolio of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of 15 successful entrepreneurs. The results suggest that property or property-related businesses feature prominently in these portfolios. The importance and differing roles of property during the life cycle of the portfolio is also highlighted and further indicate that property plays a strategic role in business decisions and often dictates the direction of individual businesses and the portfolio as a whole.

Download Full Article

Download the Full Article PDF

14445921.2009.11104281.pdf 14445921.2009.11104281.pdf (221kB)

Keywords

Portfolio Entrepreneurship - Property Assets - Smes (Small to Medium Enterprises)

References

  • Bradley, M., Jarrell, G.A., Kim, H. (1984). “On the existence of an optimal capital structure: Theory and evidence”, The Journal of Finance 39(3): 857-878.
  • Bygrave, W., & Hofer, C (1991). “Theorizing about entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 16(2): 13-22.
  • Carter, S., Tagg, S. and Dimitratos, P. (2004). “Beyond portfolio entrepreneurship: multiple income sources in small firms”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 16: 481-499.
  • Cooperman, L.G., Einhorn, S.G. and Melnikoff, M. (1984). Property Revisited: The Role of Property in Pension Fund Investments. New York: Goldman Sachs.
  • Creswell, J. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. London, Sage.
  • Ennis, R., and Burik, P. (1991). “Pension fund real estate investment under Simple Equilibrium Pricing Model”, Financial Analysts Journal 47: 20-30.
  • Fama, E.F. (1970). “Efficient capital markets: A review of theory and empirical work”, Journal of Finance 25(1), 383-417.
  • Gartner, W. (1989). ““Who is an entrepreneur?” Is the wrong question?”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 13(4): 47-68.
  • Gartner, W., & Birley, S. (2002). “Introduction to the special issue on qualitative methods in entrepreneurial research”, Journal of Business Venturing 17: 387-395.
  • Gilliberto, S.M. (1992). “The allocation of real estate to future mixed-asset institutional portfolios”, Journal of Real Estate Research 7(4): 423-432.
  • Goetzmann, W.N. and Ibbotson, R.G. (1990), “The performance of real estate as an asset class”, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 3(1): 65-77.
  • Gyourko, J., and Linneman, P. (1988), “Owner-occupied homes, income-producing properties, and REITs as inflation hedges: Empirical findings”, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 4: 347-372.
  • Hall, P. (1995), “Habitual owners of small businesses”, Small firms: partnership for growth. F. Chittenden, M. Robertson, & I. Marshall. London, Paul Chapman. 217-230.
  • Hartzell, D., Hekman, J. and Miles, M. (1986), “Diversification categories in investment real estate”, AREUEA Journal 14(2): 230-254.
  • Heywood, C. and Kenley, R. (2008), “The sustainable competitive advantage model for corporate real estate”, Journal of Corporate Real Estate 10(2): 85-109.
  • Ibbotson, R.G., and Siegel, L.B. (1984), “Real estate returns: A comparison with other investments”, Journal of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association 12: 219-242.
  • Kallberg, J.G., Liu, C.H. and Greig, D.W. (1996), “The role of real estate in the portfolio allocation process”, Real Estate Economics 24(3): 359-377.
  • Katz, J. (1995), Which track are you on? Inc., Boston. 14: 27-28.
  • Liu, C.H., Hartzell, D.J., Greig, W. and Grissom, T.V. (1990), “The integration of the real estate market and the stock market: Some preliminary evidence”, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 3(3): 261-282.
  • Liu, C.H. and Mei, J. (1992), “The predictability of returns on equity REITs and their co-movement with other assets”, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 5(4): 401-418.
  • Low, M., & MacMillan, I. (1988). “Entrepreneurship: Past research and future challenges”, Journal of Management 14(2): 139 - 161.
  • MacMillan, I. C. (1986). “Executive forum: To really learn about entrepreneurship, let’s study habitual entrepreneurs”, Journal of Business Venturing 1: 241-243.
  • May, T. (1997). Social Research: Issues, Methods, and Process. Buckingham, Open University Press.
  • Mei, J. and Lee, A. (1994), “Is There a real estate factor premium?”, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 9(2): 113-126.
  • Miles, M., and Michael Huberman (1994), Qualitative Data AnalysiAn Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications.
  • Morrish, S. (2008), Portfolio entrepreneurpathways to growth and development. Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management in the University of Canterbury
  • Mueller, G.R. and Ziering, B.A. (1992), “Real estate portfolio diversification using economic diversification”. Journal of Real Estate Research 7(4): 375-386.
  • New Zealand Business Who’s Who (2005 Published annually). Auckland, New Zealand Financial Press Ltd.
  • Rajan, R.G. and Zingales, L. (1995), “What do we know about capital structure? Some evidence from international data”, The Journal of Finance 50(5): 1421-1460.
  • Rasila, H.M. and Gersberg, N.F. (2007), “Service quality in outsourced facility maintenance services”, Journal of Corporate Real Estate 9(1): 39-49.
  • Ronstadt, R. (1988). “The corridor principle”, Journal of Business Venturing 3: 31-40.
  • Rosa, P. (1998). “Entrepreneurial processes of business cluster formation and growth by ‘habitual’ entrepreneurs”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 22(4): 43-61.
  • Rosa, P., & Scott, M. (1999a). “The prevalence of multiple business owners and directors in the SME sector: implications for our understanding of start-up and growth”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 11: 21-37.
  • Rubens, J.H., Bond, M.T. and Webb, J.R. (1989), “The inflation-hedging effectiveness of real estate”, Journal of Real Estate Research 4: 45-55.
  • Sarasvathy, S. (2001). “Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency”, Academy of Management Review 26(2): 243-263.
  • Sarasvathy, S. (2004a). “Making it happen: Beyond theories of the firm to firm design.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice Winter: 519 -531.
  • Seiler, M.J., Webb, J.R. and Myer, F.C.N. (1999), “Diversification issues in real estate investment”, Journal of Real Estate Literature 7(2): 163-179.
  • Sekaran, U. (1992), Research Methods for Business - A Skill Building Approach, Wiley: USA.
  • Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). “The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”, Academy of Management Review 25: 1217-226.
  • Singer, B.P., Bossink, B.A.G., Putte, H.J.M.V. (2007), “Corporate real estate and competitive strategy”, Journal of Corporate Real Estate 9(1): 25-38.
  • Taylor, S. J., and Robert Bogdan (1998). Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods. New York, NY, John Wiley and Sons.
  • Titman, S. and Wessels, R. (1988), “The determinants of capital structure choice”, The Journal of Finance 43(1): 1-19.
  • Webb, J.R., Curcio, R.J. and Rubens, J.H. (1988), “Diversification gains from including real estate in mixed-asset portfolios”, Decision Sciences 19: 434-452.
  • Westhead, P., & Wright, M. (1998a). “Novice, portfolio and serial founders in rural and urban areas”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 22(4): 63-100.
  • Westgaard, S., Eidet, A., Grosas, T.C. and Frydenberg, S. (2008), “Investigating the capital structure of UK real estate companies”, Journal of Property Research 25(1): 61-87.
  • Wills, P. (2008), “Corporate real estate practice in Australia”, Journal of Corporate Real Estate 10(1): 40-53.
  • Wright, M., Robbie, K., Ennew, C. (1997). “Serial entrepreneurs”, British Journal of Management 8: 251-268.
  • Wurtzebach, C.H., Mueller, G.R. and Machi, D. (1991), “The impact of inflation and vacancy on real estate returns”, Journal of Real Estate Research 6: 153-168.
  • Ziobrowski, B.J., and Ziobrowski, A.J. (1997), “Higher real estate risk and mixed-asset portfolio performance”, Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management 3(2): 107-115.