Small Firms

Abstract

Recent years have seen a considerable revival in interest in the small-firm sector, both by academics and politicians. There has been a considerable growth in importance of the small firm in the UK and elsewhere since the 1960s (Curran and Blackburn, 1994). However, the position of the small firm in the UK economy is also important for ideological reasons, as the small firm is seen by some as epitomising the enterprise economy. The promotion of an enterprise culture has been a central plank of government policy since the end of the 1970s. Whilst governments have shown an antipathy to intervention in the operations of markets in recent years (Sugden, 1993), the small firm sector has been subject to a variety of policies which have been intended to promote its growth and strength.