This paper links the economist's analysis of free trade with the business strategist's analysis of the forces behind the globalization of competition. It argues that, although the drive to globalization may seem different from the seeking of superior outcomes in competitive markets, this may be...

A dynamic theory of the small firm is expounded, assuming entrepreneurs maximise business value over a finite time horizon. Its predicted trajectories for key financial variables depend on which of debt and equity are cheaper. The predictions are compared with empirical evidence constructed from...

This paper argues that the informational requirements for good decision making in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are complex and adaptive. It identifies the basic information needs of the SME, and considers how information is used to guide decisions. It argues that accounting...

This work concerns the development of new methods of accounting for risk in high-technology ventures. The paper enquires into attitudes to risk and skills at risk management, in the relationship between high-technology firms and their venture capital backers. The basic prescription behind the...

The theme of this paper is developed in three parts. The first is concerned with methodology. The case is argued for a 'grounded' approach to the analysis of business economics. The second is concerned with intellectual history. It argues that the great economists, such as Smith, used this...

This paper examines the financial structure and performance of a sample of 150 young micro-firms. Their average age is one and a half years; and their average size is three full-time employees. Short-run performance is measured over one year, in terms of continuing to trade, and the evidence is...

This paper is designed to explore the nature of information system development in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), by appeal to three theories: contingency, agency and markets vs hierarchies. To address these theories empirically, use is made of new data which have been gathered from a...

This study examines the origins and characteristics of information systems of entrepreneurial firms going through that stage in their life cycle when serious growth ambitions are fuelled by an infusion of external capital. It does so by investigating the consequences of venture capital...

This study reports results from an empirical investigation of business services sector firms that (start to) export, comparing exporters to firms that serve the national market only. We estimate identically specified empirical models using comparable enterprise level data from France, Germany,...

While the role of exports in promoting growth in general, and productivity in particular, has been investigated empirically using aggregate data for countries and industries for a long time, only recently have comprehensive longitudinal data at the firm level been used to look at the extent and...