This article examines how the services offered by sector business associations are used and the impact that they offer. A large-scale survey of small- and medium-sized businesses is used to infer how association services operate. An important focus is to determine the level at which the fixed...

This paper provides a large scale analysis of the influence of location on the extent of use and impact of external advice and collaboration on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Britain. The analysis indicates that for private sector advisors (accountants, consultants etc) and...

Business Link is a government-financed support body for small firms in England in which local franchisees provide a range of business advice services. Franchisees must act as independent bodies with the franchise as their 'only line of business'. Yet franchisees are of various types: some are de...

This paper examines the external advisors used by small businesses to help them solve their problems, focusing on distance between client and advisor. The analysis is based on a new stratified random sample survey of small businesses in manufacturing and services in five representative locations...

This paper seeks to assess advice and information support for firms provided by the Small Business Service (SBS) Business Link. It uses a new survey of client use, satisfaction and experience of service fees. The general level of satisfaction with, and use of, the service is high: 28% of all...