This paper aims at showing how the state may be an example in evaluation firms' quality. We develop this idea referring to a concrete experimental tool developed by the French Small Business Administration.

This paper aims at showing how the Research and innovation Act of July 1999 modifies (stimulates?) the role of the local governments, this question being declined in several sub-interrogations dealing with the articulation between the legal framework, the local centres of competence and the...

The article substantiates the hypothesis that the profitability of small firms is above all determined by qualitative variables. In this respect a low standardization of goods and even more importantly, the high significance of governance structures play a crucial role rendering the quality of...