In a free market economy the importance of small business as a major job supplier, innovator and source of growth is widely recognized. Given the importance of small business for an economy, the survival, success and performance of these firms is an issue of continuous concern. Research that can lead to the identification of those factors associated with small business performance is of great interest to policy makers, owner-managers and their advisors. This article aims at detecting predictors of small business profitability. Our objective is to distinguish internal factors of small construction companies that enhance firm profitability. Based on the data of an empirical survey in the construction industry to which certified financial data has been added, this paper investigates the influence of owner-manager human capital characteristics and selected management practices on the profitability of small construction companies. For this purpose, we develop and test a structural model. Results indicate that industry experience and level of education of the owner-manager and management practices such as avoidance of cash credit and the use of actual costing systems contribute to higher profitability. Furthermore, owner-manager human capital characteristics influence profitability both directly and indirectly. Keywords: small business profitability, management practices, owner-manager human capital, structural model

The aim of the paper is to explore the learning mode of small business owners, from a theoretical stance, and based on empirical evidence. We distinguish between the required learning mode, the actual learning mode and the supported learning mode. Data were collected using the focus group method in a very heterogeneous sample of Belgian small business owners. The results indicate several gaps between the required, actual and supported learning modes, of which many are due to unawareness of learning needs and lack of reflective learning among small business owners. The data also indicate among others that solutions to fill learning gaps proposed in the literature are not applicable to all owners, e.g. not all owners are able to learn through networks. Keywords: Belgium, learning capability, learning mode, learning gaps, learning process, learning support, reflective learning, research paper, small business owners, focus groups

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cognitive styles and values. Cognitive styles and values are both frequently studied domains, but the relationship between these concepts has been investigated rarely. Individuals increasingly become points of reference in the shaping of values and attitudes. Moreover, people are confronted with more alternatives. Hence, cognitive styles are becoming more important, since they are the vehicles for choosing relevant information and for building our value system. To study differences in cognitive styles the profoundly investigated analytic-holistic dimension was used. Examination of values was based on the theory of Schwarz (1992, 1994). 15,616 Belgian citizens filled out our self-developed questionnaire. The results revealed different value patterns for analytic and holistic thinkers, indicating that analytic people were more conservative, while holistic people were more open to change. Moreover, two types of analytic thinkers (knowing and planning style) were identified, each attaching importance to different values. As to the dimension of self-transcendence versus self-enhancement, a significant difference was found between the two types of analytic thinkers, as well as between analytic and holistic individuals. Keywords: cognitive styles, values, individual differences

In this study, we relate job motivating potential to frontline employee job satisfaction, affective commitment and performance levels and test the mediating role of psychological empowerment. Based on a sample of 1129 employee - supervisor dyads, we found that employee psychological empowerment fully mediates the relationship between job motivating potential and the outcome variables. Our findings confirm the importance of job design approaches to empowering employees. Next to proposing potential avenues for further research, we discuss some suggestions on how to put job redesign strategies into practice. Keywords: empowerment, job motivating potential, employee performance, mediation

This paper explores the information-seeking behaviors newcomers engage in relating to their psychological contract and addresses the impact of work values (Autonomy, Advancement, Group Orientation and Economic Rewards) and Work Locus of Control. We propose that these individual characteristics could explain differences in the frequency with which newcomers search for information about the promises their employer has made to them. A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted in which 527 newcomers from eight organizations (representing 3 sectors) participated. The results largely support the proposed relationships between work values and contract-related information seeking, while the relation between Work Locus of Control and contract-related information seeking is rather weak. Implications for psychological contract formation are discussed.