Talking trademarks

We are all familiar with trademarks from “Google” to ‘McDonald’s”. But who are the UK’s most active trademarkers? And, how is the profile of trademarking changing in the UK? Some data recently published by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on domestic trademark applications in the UK suggests some of the answers. Before looking at the… Read more

Latest Insight paper from the ERC

The latest Insight paper from the ERC is published today. Authored by ERC Director ,Stephen Roper. Recent trends in the digital creative sector in Coventry and Warwickshire. The digital creative sector plays a key role both a provider of jobs in its own right and also as an enabler of digital innovation in other sectors. In… Read more

SMEs are losing out in the innovation race

SMEs are losing ground to larger UK firms in terms of innovation. This is one of the key messages in new innovation data recently published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The data taken from the UK Innovation Survey (UKIS 2017) provides the first robust benchmark for levels of business innovation… Read more

ERC PhD Studentships

We welcome applications for 3 PhD studentships in the general area of SME performance which will be based at both Warwick and Aston Business Schools. Interested applicants are asked to provide a brief (3-4 page) project proposal outlining their proposed PhD research topic. This should include references to key literature and research gaps, an overview… Read more

‘Micro-business Britain’ Research

The ERC has received some additional funding from the UK Government as a part of a broader £2 million programme of work to support the implementation of the industrial strategy. The programme, which is involving four ESRC-funded research investments, will lead to new insights on business growth, pay, skills and place. The ERC’s contribution will… Read more

Aiming high on R&D – Is the UK’s 2.4 % target achievable?

ONS figures published this week suggest that the UK spent 1.67 per cent of GDP on R&D in 2016 ranking the UK 11th in the EU. These latest figures put the UK well adrift of the ambitious target of 2.4 per cent R&D spending spelt out in the Industrial Strategy. So, is the 2.4 per… Read more

Publication news

All grown up? The fate after 15 years of a quarter of a million UK firms born in 1998.  Authored by Michael Anyadike–Danes , Mark Hart and published in the Journal of Evolutionary Economics.  All grown up? The fate after 15 years of a quarter of a million UK firms born in 1998 is the latest paper from the ERC helping… Read more

ERC Engagement

Mark Hart and Stephen Roper participated in a BEIS-ESRC invited workshop on ‘Business Support and SME Productivity’ in BEIS on Friday 16th February which was the first in a series of events in the review signalled in the Industrial Strategy.

Thought Experiment seminar

ERC Directors Mark Hart and Stephen Roper were guest speakers of the Open Innovation Team in the Cabinet Office on Thursday 15th February to kick off their Spring ‘Thought Experiment’ seminar series.  They discussed SME growth and productivity and presented new data and ideas on business support and innovation to officials from Cabinet Office, HMT… Read more