Recently I visited a company that had performed rather well during the lockdown. One of the lucky ones, its sales grew because they were focused on a domestic market concerned with people’s homes. In the lockdown, this market performed well as fewer people have been commuting to work and have been spending a larger proportion… Read more
The Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference in Cardiff, October 2021, was a joyous occasion that brought researchers together face-to-face for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The paper awarded ‘Best in Conference’ analysed UK policy to protect the income of small traders and microbusiness directors during COVID19, asking whether the policy… Read more
The importance of human resource (HR) practices to firm productivity is a hardy perennial in academic and policy commentary. Bafflingly absent from this discourse is an important segment of the small firm population: ethnic minority microbusinesses (EMMBs), which consist of firms with between 1 and 9 employees. This omission is surprising given the economic and… Read more
Mental health issues have received a high profile in recent months, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence suggests that the crisis provoked by the pandemic has led to an inexorable increase in mental ill-health, and that this in turn has implications for productivity and employee wellbeing. Yet research carried out by the ERC indicates… Read more
BEIS invites proposals for secondary analyses of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. Proposals are especially welcome on productivity and place, long term indicator trends, COVID-19 impacts and geographical disparities between firms in capabilities, attitudes or performance. Other topics will also be considered. Proposals are due 17th December 2021. For any queries please contact the Centre… Read more
A new working paper co-authored by ERC colleagues Mark Hart , Stephen Roper and Jun Du has been published by The Productivity Institute, outlining the ‘Organisational Capital’ research theme. The central theme of this programme of work is the need for greater understanding of heterogeneity in terms of the drivers of productivity and the role different types… Read more
Social enterprises could be critical to achieving a more environmentally sustainable business landscape, according to a report published today by The Enterprise Research Centre [ERC] and The Women’s Organisation. State Of The Art (SOTA) Review 53: Social Enterprises and Environmental Sustainability, researched and written by Dr Emma Folmer and Dr Anna Rebmann, emerges as… Read more
In episode 5 of the Exploring Enterprise Podcast series ERC Director Professor Stephen Roper is joined by Dr Anastasia Ri, Research Fellow at the ERC; Jonathan Withey, Head of Business Development and Planet Mark; and Catherine Westoby, Senior Policy Adviser, Public Behaviour Change on Net Zero at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy… Read more
On the eve of COP26, attention is firmly focused on the climate challenge and the need for action by governments, big business, and households. Yet there will be no transition to net zero without small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Why would small business leaders adopt net zero practices? Many SMEs are still reluctant to… Read more
The Department of Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Social Innovation in the Faculty of Business and Communication Studies at Mount Royal University ( Calgary, Canada) invites applications for a tenure track position at the rank of Assistant Professor. This position will commence ideally on July 1, 2022 (we are seeking an individual available for Fall 2022). The Department of… Read more
