The paper presents findings from recent research on the policy role and experience of a number of Regional Technology Initiatives (RTIs) aimed at supporting innovation and technology transfer, particularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the English regions. The findings are...

Recent writings on the factors influencing the competitiveness of regional and local economies have emphasized the importance of innovation in SMEs. This paper discusses the findings of a study of the innovation process in a sample of SMEs located in rural environments. Adopting a broad,...

Using empirical data drawn from two studies of manufacturing SMEs in ‘remote’ rural areas in northern England, the paper examines some of the ways in which firms have adapted to the characteristics of their local external environment over a 16-year period. The evidence presented suggests...

North D. and Syrett S. Making the links: economic deprivation, neighbourhood renewel and scales of governance, Regional Studies. A policy focus of the New Labour Government in the UK has been upon attempts to tackle problems of concentrations of deprivation at the neighbourhood scale. This paper...

NORTH D. and SMALLBONE D. (2000) The innovativeness and growth of rural SMEs during the 1990s, Reg Studies 34 , 145-157. The paper summarizes the results of a study of innovation in rural small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in England over the 1991-96 period. It is based on a survey of 330...

Although much attention has focussed on the determinants of firms' innovation performance, the relationship between innovation and business performance is less well defined. In this paper we use data from identical plant level surveys conducted in six regions of the UK, Germany and Ireland to...

Based on an empirical investigation of the development of a group of manufacturing SMEs comparing the characteristics and strategies of firms achieving high growth between 1979‐90 with the weaker performing companies. Shows that high growth can be achieved by firms with a variety of size,...