A traditional question in local economic development is whether it is better to take work to the workers or workers to the work. The widespread use of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) to support Australia’s mining industry raises a variant to this question: is it...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use case study evidence to explain that enterprise agglomeration in itself may not advantage business development. Agglomeration has the potential to bring enterprise advantage but whether this occurs depends on additional supportive conditions....

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to consider empirical evidence on the strategic behaviour of rural SMEs compared to urban SMEs in times of difficult economic conditions. The authors build the paper from a theoretical discussion that suggests that there will be distinctive differences in...

Examines the Baldrige criteria and their use in New Zealand. Government development agencies and private industry groups have recently promoted models of best practice in business organization and strategy. Across these initiatives there is a remarkable unanimity in the version of best practice...

Purpose – Through the dual analysis of small business‐owner relations with their banks and accountants, this paper aims to address conflicting interpretations of how small business owners may optimise their banking relationships. Design/methodology/approach – Site visits were made to 49...

Purpose – Despite the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) internationally, the limited research available on the subject indicates that few SMEs consider the existence of these agreements as a reason to engage in international markets or expand their existing international...