Researches the UK small business sector in order to update the landmark report of the government-appointed Committee of Inquiry on Small Firms, more commonly known as the Bolton Report of 1971. The Bolton Report was a problem-oriented analysis of this sector, focusing on the role of small firms...

Under the Thatcher Government′s “Enterprise Culture”, the size of the small business sector has frequently been taken as a key indicator of economic success in Britain. Measurement of achievement in such terms does indeed indicate a high degree of economic buoyancy. However, a deeper...

Franchising has long been seen as an avenue into small business. For some, it offers opportunities to build up franchise systems, as franchisors, by cloning small business success in exchange for a royalty. For many others, as franchisees, it offers opportunities for self‐employment, combining...

The recent revival of self-employment in the UK and other advanced industrialized economies has been viewed contrastingly as an indication of economic vitality and, alternatively, as a form of labour market deficiency. These different perceptions rest essentially on two opposing processes of...