Student-friendly and international in scope and relevance, this book provides an accessible introduction to the economics of small business for those with little knowledge of economics. Economics, alongside other disciplines and interacting with them, has some important insights to offer and it is in this context that The Economics of Small Firms examines the formation, survival, growth and financing of small businesses, spatial variations in business formation, the economic role of small businesses, and key policy issues. This informative text is an essential purchase for anybody studying business and management who is eager for an easy-to-use and engaging overview of economics, entrepreneurship and small business.
Here Peter Johnson has put together a collection of his groundbreaking research. Now in one volume for the first time, it will be of great interest to those in every area of business and economics.
The volume provides rich accounts on the enforcement of core issues but also on theoretical and methodological advances of the frontier of the research field. Areas of study that are meritoriously included are business closure and characteristics of the present knowledge economy. New sectors of the research frontier include societal entrepreneurship and the diversity of entrepreneurship in emergent market economies as well as methodologies such as discourse analysis and narrative approaches. This anthology certainly contributes to the crafting of a European identity in the field of entrepreneurship research. Bengt Johannisson, Växjö University and Jönköping University, Sweden Many of the world s leading experts on entrepreneurship and economic growth explore important issues that impact new venture creation; the influences of the knowledge-based economy on economic development; factors that govern exit from entrepreneurship, and a variety of critical social influences on entrepreneurship and economic development. Like the previous three volumes in this series from the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, this is a significant contribution to entrepreneurship scholarship that has important insights for scholars and public policy-makers. William B. Gartner, Clemson University, US This state-of-the-art book provides a window on contemporary European entrepreneurship and small business research. The papers selected demonstrate the applied nature of entrepreneurship research as well as the various contributions that entrepreneurship can make to local, regional and national development. Written by international experts, the book reveals the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship in terms of substantive content and the methodologies employed. With both quantitative and qualitative approaches well represented, Entrepreneurship and Growth in Local, Regional and National Economies covers topics such as regional perspectives on entrepreneurship, new venture creation and growth, business exits, knowledge-based entrepreneurship and social inclusion. Furnishing the reader with rich and leading entrepreneurship research, this book will be invaluable for entrepreneurship and small business researchers as well as postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students of entrepreneurship. Policy makers will also find much of great interest to them.
First published in 1992, the aim of this volume is to provide an introduction to the range of UK published statistical sources now available to business users. It is not a comprehensive review of UK statistical publishing but a guide to key sources of information in selected subject areas of particular relevance to business users. The coverage, content, methods of collection and limitations of major titles and services in each subject area are described. Published statistics are important sources of information for business and industry and most statistics either come from official sources, produced by central government, or non-official sources such as trade associations, professional bodies, market research organizations and economic research institutes. Examples are used to show the strengths and weaknesses of statistical sources and to compare different sources. A bibliography of all the sources mentioned is included at the end of the book; Appendix 1 gives the names and addresses of contacts for further information and Appendix 2 is a list of selected abbreviations and acronyms.
