The role of small business enterprise in a mature market economy is one of the major issues in contemporary industrial organization, and is the focus of this book. Small Business Enterprise brings new standards of rigour and insight into the study of small firms by importing contemporary ideas from industrial economics and by using up-to-date statistical and econometric techniques. Based on a uniquely rich set of data, Small Business Enterprise focuses on the early period after start-up of the small firm. It investigates competitive niches and how they are established, determinants of growth and profitability, the factors fostering survivial, and many other central issues. This core of economic analysis is complemented by an innovative case profile approach, which considers the real behaviour of small firms in a competitive environment; and a section on the political economy of small firms, which looks at the ethics of competition and the enterprise culture.
Author(s): Gavin Reid
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 1993
Language: English
Pages: 352
Book Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 16
1 Analysing the small business enterprise......Page 20
2 The small firms relational database......Page 39
3 The typical small business enterprise......Page 68
4 Cost curves and scale economies......Page 75
5 Rankings data on financial inception......Page 87
6 Enterprise profiles......Page 100
7 Competitive and defensive strategies......Page 131
8 The forces of competition......Page 152
9 Staying in business......Page 176
10 Pricing asymmetries......Page 189
11 Growth and its determinants......Page 204
12 Small firms and fair trade......Page 228
13 Perceptions of the enterprise culture......Page 233
14 A small firms research agenda......Page 242
Appendix Instrumentation......Page 264
Notes......Page 311
References......Page 329
Index......Page 338
