The role of business networking has become an important area of research and government strategy within the SME sector, and is equally important for GPs. Describing them as ‘self de­signing’ partnerships, Eccles & Crane (1998 cited in Dennis, 2000), observe that business networks, within the SME sector are dynamic arrangements evolving and adjusting to accommodate […]

The literature surrounding gender differences and management style in the SME sector provides disparate results. While early studies (Maupin, 1990; Powell, 1993) suggest that there are few real differences in leadership styles between men and women, others have identified a number of important differences. Carter & Cannon (1992), for example, found that female owner managers […]

Studies of finance and finance availability have provided very different findings, depending on whether they were undertaken in Europe or North America. European studies undertaken by Carter (2000) and Sandberg (2003) found that males were more likely to make use of bank loans and overdrafts than females. In fact females were less likely to use […]

As most general practices in Australia are spe­cialised small businesses, it is appropriate to ex­amine the findings from this ‘wider’ perspective, before examining medical practices or the use of ICT. It is also appropriate to note the observations of BakerAldrich, & Liou (1997) and Carter (2000) who found that research into gender differences in the […]

As might be expected, the driving forces can be aligned with the perceived benefits. However, one additional driving force needs to be added — pressure to adopt ICTs. Pressure to Adopt ICTs Fors & Moreno (2002) suggest that where once ICT adoption and use might have been considered an optional addition to practice, today, access […]

While the link between ICTs and communications in medical practices might seem obvious, a number of studies have examined the precise role of ICTs. Qavi et al. (2001) and Baldwin et al. (2002) sug­gest that ICTs can improve patient care through communication with other clinicians. Brunn et al. (2002) suggest that increased communications can bring […]

A number of authors suggest that the use of ICTs in healthcare substantially improves its effec­tiveness. As already noted, ICTs provide a more timely sharing ofinformation. However, a number of studies (Ray & Mukherjee, 2007;Waring & Wainwright, 2002) take this further suggesting that ICTs allow frameworks to be developed that reduce complex social, organisational and […]

A number of authors (Ray & Mukherjee 2007, Pan & Pokharel 2007) suggest that the use of ICTs in any business setting improves the cur­rent ways business is transacted (improvement to efficiency); new ways that business might be transacted (improvement to effectiveness); and communication. It is appropriate to consider these separately. Improvement to the Efficiency […]

The nature of ICT in medical practice differs widely in the literature. At the ‘cutting edge’ the use of ICT involves functions such as knowledge management and knowledge translation (Ho et al 2004) , video and audio components and the use of imaging equipment (Baldwin et al 2002), multiple site education (Kuruvilla, Dzenowagis, Pleasant & […]

Rob Macgregor University of Wollongong, AustraliaPeter Hyland University of Wollongong, AustraliaCharles Harvey University of Wollongong, Australia ABSTRACT Like other Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), medical practices can gain a great deal by adopting and using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Unlike other SMEs, little is known about General Practitioners’ (GPs) perceptions of the benefits ofICT […]