This paper argues that a definition of small business is important for both research and governmental policy. A chronological history of definitions is discussed along with their limitations. A new definition of small business is advocated when a business has personal guarantees and has no...

A fundamental understanding of small businesses begins with an adequate definition of what constitutes a small business. Often the definition of a small business incorporates the definitions employed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) which, in part, uses the number of employees as the...