Official statistical surveys do not sample small firms to the same extent as large firms. It is widely recognised that R&D activity measured by R&D expenditure or employment under-estimates the R&D performance of small firms. The purpose of this study is to unravel aspects of the management of...

New Zealand provides a special case for a developed country where innovation and R&D levels are comparatively low in SMEs, yet, paradoxically, it is also a nation of high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In attempting to explain these low rates of innovation activity, a number of conjectures...

Empirical evidence suggests that improving the management skills of owner-managers of SMEs contributes to their survival and growth, and that there is considerable scope for further improvement in skills and competences of owner-managers. In particular, small firm owner-managers’ capability to...

Does the global recession impact on all small firms in the same way? Are small firms vulnerable with regard to a downturn in the economy because of the their limited resources, customers and product range across which to spread their risk or are they resilient because of their flexibility to...