The work of Scott, Bruce and Cooper on small firm growth and development is reviewed. It is shown that by adapting exponential smoothing forecasting procedures it is possible to monitor the commercial health of a small firm. This is achieved by ‘tracking’ key indicators and producing an...

In 1990/91, survey responses were gathered from 621 independent businesses located in Great Britain. A follow‐on telephone survey was conducted with 150 surviving firms in 1997. This survey gathered information surrounding the propensity of firms to export their goods or services abroad as...

Speculative hypotheses relating to firm performance and company objective differences between first and multi‐generation family firms were tested. Bivariate differences were found to be spurious. Results from multivariate multiple regression and logistic regression analyses suggest that the...

Many policy makers and practitioners view female entrepreneurs as a “special group” worthy of research and policy attention. Concern has, however, been raised surrounding the quality of the studies focusing on female entrepreneurs. The six specification decisions (i.e. purpose, theoretical...

This study explores whether there are differences between established “rural” and “urban” SMEs with regard to the decision to sell goods or services abroad. Several hypotheses were formulated and tested. In 1990/1991, survey responses were gathered from 621 independent businesses located...

Purpose – To evaluate the abilities, skills and expertise of undergraduates who participated in the UK‐based Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP) and their suitability for prospective employment in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – The...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the Medici Fellowship Scheme addressed attitudinal and resource barriers to the commercialisation of knowledge within five research‐intensive universities. The following research questions were explored: Did the Medici fellows change...

Purpose – This exploratory study aims to provide fresh insights into the ownership transfer of private family firms through internal management buy‐out (MBO) and external management buy‐in (MBI) succession routes. The paper aims to explore if flows of information impact the succession...

Purpose – This paper aims to identify four “types” of private small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) with regard to their “state” along the exporting experience spectrum. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory study explores survey information from a historic comparative...

Purpose – This paper aims to explore whether an integrated conceptual model (ICM) relating to factors drawn from entrepreneurial event theory (EET) (i.e. perceived desirability and perceived feasibility) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (i.e. attitudes toward the behaviour, subjective...