Antecedents to the Utilisation of the Government Business Support Services: A Literature Review

The Government Business Support Services (GBSS) plays important role in fostering economic development in Malaysia. With the aim to strenghten SME’s performance the government has spent a substantial amount of money on SME support programs via their various agencies. The paper begins with brief explanation on the concept of business support services which, covering the supplier of services, type of services offered and services coverage. The study further discussed about factors identified to influence SMEs in utilising business support services. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, bureaucracy, location, advisors’ knowledge and length of service are among the factors to influence the decision. Most of the findings were result of the studies which were conducted in western side of the globe among developed countries. There are dearth literatures in Asian countries in particular among developing countries. Therefore, the gap was identified to include cultures and local environment as factors to moderate the usage of business support services beside the owners’ characteristics for future study.