A study of small business owners' perceptions and experiences of government policies in Suzhou, China

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the Chinese government policies towards small businesses and the perspectives of the business owners on the implemented policies. The research adopts an in-depth interview with five business owners in Suzhou, China and the data collected from the interview are analysed by the SWOT method. Our findings reveal that businesses are satisfied with government intervention. However, over intervention may cause discouragement and may lead to the failure of businesses in China. In addition, the analysis of the findings reveals that most businesses require policy changes and policymakers should consider the weaknesses and opportunities for the future growth of the economy. Our paper provides a contribution to the literature of Chinese businesses and government policies, and helps the owners to understand the business context and challenges. The inability to investigate more entrepreneurs all over the country is the limitation of the study.