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Research study has outlined the understandings of influencing factors and challenges of start-ups of Australia

Home, - Startup and the Factors Encouraging

Introduction

Startups are young companies that are beginning to develop. These are small and initially operated and financed by few persons.  Such companies are founded based on certain objectives. Their aim is to produce and offer new products and services in the market. In Australia, startup culture is growing exponentially each year. Thousands of small businesses are contributing towards the economic development of the country. Some popular start-ups of Australia are Spacer, Institchu, Shippit, Canva, and others (Businessinsider.com.au, 2018). However, start-ups in Australia are facing many challenges in terms of funding their businesses. The report will focus on developing objective, scope, literature review and methodologies for the research topic. 

Project Objective

• To identify the influencing factors of small business startups

• To identify the hindrances facing by small business startups 

Project Scope

The report will focus on identifying influencing factors of small business startups. It will focus on identifying various challenges that are preventing start-ups from expanding their business operation. The project will provide an overview of start-ups in Australia and the factors influencing these companies. 

Literature Review

The citizens of Australia are rich in their ideas. As opined by Burns & Dewhurst (2016), entrepreneurs are investing in innovation in order to develop new products and services, new job opportunities, high standard of livings and others. The country has fundamentals to encourage innovators to start their own business. Educational facilities, resources, and technologies are allowing Australian to boost business activity through innovation. According to Pmc.gov.au (2018), around 280,000 companies were established in the country during 2014-15. National innovation and Science Agenda is helping Australians to convert their new ideas into the development of new product and service. Australian Government is working with other agencies like the Department of education and training and Department of industry, innovation, and science to develop initiatives that would help in increasing innovation. 

The Government is encouraging entrepreneurs to access the funds and make proper utilization resources. It is trying to promote stronger and competitive market in the country to support start-ups. The influencing factors of startups in Australia are financial supports, advanced technology, and plenty of resources. Budget.gov.au (2018) stated the common challenges facing by start-ups are high-level competition, changing needs of consumers, high-interest rate and fluctuation in the country’s economy. As per a report of PWC, Australia may lose its economic position by 2050. This would affect the recent innovations made by entrepreneurs. The reason behind such prediction is lack of cooperation from the Government. This may affect the ecosystem of startups in the country.  

According to Abc.net.au (2018), the ecosystem of startups in Australia has grown in the last three years. However, this growth rate is low as compared other developed countries in the world. The Australian Government is taking initiatives in collaboration with start-up companies to improve the economic condition of the country. As per Smartcompany.com.au (2018), the startup company Aus is encouraging this effort taken by the Government and supporting in various initiatives. According to the chief executive officer of the startup board in Australia, confidence is one of the critical success factors in the case of small business startups. Many entrepreneurs are lacking in confidence and this is leading to the failure of small business start-ups. The Government and other agencies should take the necessary steps to develop confidence among the entrepreneurs of small start-up companies.

Start-ups have an important role in the economy of Australia. Such companies are contributing to the field of generation of employment and share capital. According to Hoffman & Casnocha (2013), due to the presence of several influential factors, many start-ups are facing challenges due to high competition in the global market. In addition to this, lack of funding is resulting in the failure of the small businesses as compared to large and medium scale businesses. However, several factors are encouraging small businesses to expand their business and earn a profit. Such factors include abundant venture capital, relatively low-cost labor, and others. Start-ups are highly fashionable in Australia and many agencies are sponsoring initiatives in order to provide core infrastructures to start-up companies. According to Smartcompany.com.au (2018), small business startup companies are getting capital funds from companies like Trimantium, BlackBird, and Airtree. Workers are cost-effective to employ in the country, which is an added advantage for startup companies.    

It is essential for startup companies to make optimum utilization of resources and raise capitals from time to time. The year 2016 was one of the successful years for the start-up companies due to high economic growth in Australia. Due to changing organizational culture and leadership style, many start-up companies have witnessed success in recent years. As opined by Haines (2016), Australasian Government should focus on identifying the needs of small businesses and the challenges facing by them. This would help them to deal with changing business culture and devise strategies to bring improvements in business operation. 

The Australian Government is supporting companies with loans and grants for which startups can rely on the Government support. New South Wales is considered as the startup capital of the country with 48% of all newly established business. In addition to this, Sydney is regarded as a primary hub with 12% of new businesses. As per the research conducted by the International Labor Organization, Australian entrepreneurs require motivation for the success of their business. It is found that 86% of businesspersons want to become rich through business, whereas 37% of them focus on developing new products and services for consumers. Therefore, motivation is the key success factor for next-generation businesses.     

Literature Gap 

The literature review section has focused on the startup companies in Australia and their influencing factors and challenges faced by them. There is no information provided regarding startup companies of other countries. Therefore, it is difficult to compare the position of Australia with other countries. The research should contain more information about startup companies of other countries, their success factors, and challenges faced by them. 

Research Questions/Hypothesis

• What are the influencing factors for a successful startup company?

• What are the major challenges faced by startup companies

Research Design and Methodology

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is the process of data collection and analysis through non-numerical activities. There are seven steps involved in qualitative research. The first step is determining the research question. This step involves designing proper research questions aligned with the research topic. The second step is to design the study. This step involves getting inputs for internal discussion of the research (Bryman, 2017). The researcher has to determine the number and types of participants for conducting the research. The third step is collecting data. This step involves collecting information from participants by taking interviews. 

The fourth step is analyzing data. Qualitative research generates more information and the researcher needs to interpret the data with proper observation. The fifth step is generating findings. The step involves synthesizing the gathered data. As participants are asked open-ended questions during the interview, a particular pattern should be adopted to generate findings from large numbers of data (Brannen, 2017). The researcher has to focus on words, sentences, and expressions of respondents when generating findings. The sixth step is validating findings. It is an important step of the qualitative research. Establishing external validity helps in improving the quality of the research (Noble & Smith, 2015). The seventh step is reporting and this involves represent the findings in a proper format to enhance the quality of the research. 

In qualitative research, reliability depends on the consistency of the data. The quality of research increases with the consistency of data. Reliability is also known as dependability and it provides legitimacy to different research methods. Internal validity of qualitative research can be checked through credibility testing. It depends on the richness of the collected data. Triangulation method is used verifying accuracy level of gathered data. It involves crosschecking data by taking multiple views. External validity is the degree to which collected data can be used in other contexts. It is known as transferability and data are used to other situations, population, and settings in a similar context.         

The preferred sampling techniques for qualitative research are quota sampling and snowball sampling. Quota sampling is a popular non-probability sampling technique and it is the process of collecting data from a particular group (Research-methodology.net, 2018). Snowball sampling technique is used, where data are difficult to find. In this research, the quota-sampling technique can be used as it ensures a specific sample group representing certain characteristics of the participants. This is the suitable sampling technique for research as it helps in collecting data in a lesser period. The application of a particular sampling technique is cost-effective. The sampling technique does not depend on the sampling frame. If the sampling frame is absent in a research, quota sampling is the best alternative to select the sample size for conducting qualitative research. 

The sample size for conducting qualitative research is two. Two managers of a start-up company will be taken as participants of the interview. Qualitative data collection method will be used in this research by conducting interview. Participants will be asked open-ended questions during the interview. There are two types of variables used in qualitative research such as the dependent variable and independent variable. Independent variable can be manipulated and controlled by the researcher. Dependent variables are responsible for changes in independent variables.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is the process of investigation of data through mathematical and statistical techniques. There are nine steps involved in the quantitative research process. The first step is stating the research problem, which focuses on formulating major research problems. The second step is defining the purpose of the research, which involves explaining the importance of research problems. The third step is a literature review, which involves studying past researches. The fourth step involves formulating variables and hypotheses. The fifth step is selecting the research design, which involves designing a systematic plan for the study. The sixth is selecting the population and sample size, which involves identifying the sources of data collection (Brannen, 2017). The seventh step is collecting data, which involves data collection through direct measurement and questionnaires. The eighth and ninth steps are analyzing the data and communicating findings respectively. 

The preferred sampling technique for conducting qualitative research is a non-probability sampling technique. It is a suitable sampling technique due to its cost and time effectiveness. The sample size for quantitative research is 100. Questionnaires will be designed based on the research topic to collect data. The research instrument for this research process will be surveyed. Reliability represents the accuracy of quantitative data by using the same research instrument several times (McCusker & Gunaydin, 2015).     

Research Limitations

The research objectives may be too broad and these need to be specific for better analysis. Due to lack of time, past researches have not been studied properly. The quality of the research will be enhanced if proper time will be given to conducting the study.   

Conclusion

The report has outlined the research objectives based on a research topic. The project would help in understanding influencing factors and challenges of start-ups of Australia. Small business start-ups are getting many opportunities such as plenty of resources, funds, advanced technologies, and infrastructures. The major challenges faced by new businesses are competition in the market, changing business environment and fluctuation in the economic condition of the country. It is concluded that entrepreneurs should devise strategies to make utilization of available resources, which would help them in getting success. The Australian Government should make plans for the growth and development of startup companies.     

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