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From the Editor
Journal of Small Business Strategy; Spring/Summer 2007; 18, 1; ABI/INFORM Complete
pg. 0_6

From the Editor 

In this issue, we continue moving toward our goal of gently nudging up the quality of the 
papers published in the Journal of Small Business Strategy while keeping the overall thrust 
of the papers applied. In this issue, for example, you will see some articles in which the 
authors have used somewhat more advanced statistical analysis in reaching their 
conclusions while ending the articles with an applications focus. While the use of factor 
analysis or structural equation modeling is certainly not required for articles, we encourage 
authors to do more than simple data description. Do keep in mind, however, that JSBS is 
an applied research journal. So while we look for quality research, we also insist on an 
applications focus. I might note, too, that we accept empirical, conceptual, and theory 
building papers. Perhaps above all, the papers need to be interesting to our readers -
academics, consultants, and practitioners. 

Speaking of interesting and high quality, the papers in this issue fit both descriptors. Two 
of the papers are award winners. The paper by Pett and Wolff, "SME performance: A case 
for internal consistency," won the JSBS Editor's Choice award for best empirical paper at 
the 2007 USASBE conference. The paper by Fiore and Lussier, "The development and 
statistical testing of a nascent organizational structure sequence model," won the Coleman 
Foundation Best Empirical Paper award at the 2006 USASBE conference. An excellent 
article by Morris, Kocak, and Ozer, is "Coopetition as a business strategy: Implications for 
performance". For those thinking coopetition was a typographical error, strategies for 
smaller companies that combine competition and cooperation - hence coopetition - are 
shown to have high potential for success. Murphy, Celluch, and Callaway looked at 
internet use and strategic flexibility and found quite interesting results. They concluded 
that the internet is much more valuable in a dynamic environment than in a more static 
one. One of the most interesting papers in this issue is by Burpitt and Fowler. In 
"Entrepreneurial strategies in a declining industry," they study the furniture industry, 
which has been hard hit by foreign competition. He shows that even in a hostile 
environment entrepreneurial strategies can lead to success. Tower, Gudmundson, 
Schierstedt, and Hartman delve into a topic of interest to many and show that who is 
included in family business meetings is more important than simply having the meetings. 
Finally, Allred, Addams, and Chakraborty look at Inc. 500 firms' use of informal versus 
formal planning. All in all, I am pleased with this lineup of articles. I offer my thanks to 
the authors and to the reviewers for bringing this collection of research to you. 

Some of you reading this issue may be reading the Journal of Small Business Strategy for 
the first time. Members of the Small Business Institute® receive the journal as part of 
their membership. We are also sending this issue gratis to all members of the U.S. 
Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). In addition, we are 
making JSBS available to all ICSB members, domestic and international, at a 400/o 
discount off the cover price. We hope you find value in the Journal of Small Business 
Strategy and include it as an outlet for your high quality applied research work. 

Fred L. Fry 
Turner Chair of Entrepreneurship 
Editor