Using a longitudinal database, this paper compares the employment performance over the 1979-90 period of mature SMEs in three contrasting geographical environments—i.e. London, outer metropolitan locations in the South East, and remote rural locations in northern England. The performance...

China’s rapid growth in recent decades can be attributed in large part to the emergence of a vibrant private sector, which now accounts for around three quarters of the economy. Despite government pronouncements in support of private small businesses, public policy and institutions to support...

The paper contributes to the discussion on the nature of embeddedness of simple forms of entrepreneurial activity in a context which is extremely hostile to entrepreneurship. It draws on 30 case studies with individuals involved in informal cross border entrepreneurial activity in three border...

In this paper we analyse the role of government in relation to the development of entrepreneurship in countries where private business activity was illegal until the beginning of the 1990s. By focusing on Estonia and Belarus we are concerned with countries with an ostensibly similar political...

The advent of the Small Business Service (SBS) has been accompanied by a renewed interest in ethnic minority enterprise. The content, nature, and efficacy of engagement processes with ethnic minority business (EMB) are likely to be important criteria for the granting of local SBS franchises, if...

Poland's membership of the EU will involve economic integration across a variety of fields, with important potential implications for the external environment in which business is conducted in Poland. These implications stem first from the need to adapt Polish legislation, regulatory systems,...

Innovation support for SMEs is considered from the point of view of the "needs" of SMEs in the context of a specific regional economy--London's Lee Valley region. As identified in the literature and, more specifically, in a survey of 100 innovating SMEs in the study region, attention is focused...