摘要：The empirical research presented in this article examines data gathering activities and processes of small businesses and compares those activities and processes in family and nonfamily firms. MANOVA and t-test analyses were used in analyzing questionnaire data from 1245 respondents in 89 small businesses. For these small firms, the results indicated differences in the relative use of types of information gathered and processes used. Further, the study found differences between family and nonfamily firm data gathering activities and processes used. Finally, the study indicated that the type of customer to whom a firm sold had an impact on the data gathering activities of a small business and impacted family and nonfamily firm data gathering differentially.
