We were back at University of Warwick – Warwick Business School‘s offices at The Shard on December 2nd 2025 for the 10th annual ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference… and what a day! The focus this year was on small business support, inclusion and growth. Earlier this year, the government published a new small… Read more
The LSBS is an annual telephone survey of UK SMEs led by the DBT, which has been running since 2015. It covers a broad range of topics around the factors that affect SME performance, including ambition, innovation, exporting, training, access to finance and business support. The LSBS is a large-scale survey with official statistics status…. Read more
Several members of the ERC team took part in the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference in Glasgow on 5th and 6th November. The conference theme this year was “Collaborating across Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: opportunities for inclusion, innovation, sustainability, resilience and growth” ERC staff presented papers on a range of themes receiving a nomination… Read more
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM ) UK National report 2024/25 is being launched today as part of the “Entrepreneurial Insights in a Turbulent World: Headline Findings from the GEM Survey” event hosted by Warwick Business School. Mark Hart, UK GEM lead will present findings from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 UK survey. Highlights from… Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the succession of lockdowns, social distancing rules and restrictions on businesses pushed many small businesses to the brink. While various forms of government support were available, corporate insolvencies in England and Wales rose in 2023 to the highest level in thirty years, according to the Insolvency Service. To be better… Read more
Striking new research findings from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) at Warwick Business School show that while three quarters of UK firms acknowledge that they have responsibilities to address employee mental health, only half actually have any initiatives in place. What’s more, this ‘attitude to action’ gap is widest in the smallest firms, which are… Read more
Imagine two businesses. One is a tech start-up that has developed new AI software. Another is a well-established restaurant in a small town serving their local community. Both count as ‘micro’ businesses, yet their needs will be worlds apart, and no single policy could serve them both well. Micro businesses are often bundled into the… Read more
In the world of small businesses, innovation often hinges not on internal R&D budgets, but on the ability to learn from others. Haldane (2018) observed that a major productivity problem for 99% of UK firms is the failure of diffusion—the inability of good ideas and practices to spread from the leading firms to the rest…. Read more
On 12th June, we joined forces with the National Enterprise Network to hold a Micro Business Roundtable event at The Shard. In 2024, there were over 1.2 million micro businesses in the UK, employing around 4.2 million people. Despite their significance to the economy and society, micro businesses are often excluded from national and international… Read more
The long-anticipated UK–EU Reset Summit, held in London on 19 May 2025, marked a significant, despite cautious, turning point in the post-Brexit relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. As the first structured political dialogue since the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2021, the summit offered a new platform… Read more
ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference 2025
We were back at University of Warwick – Warwick Business School‘s offices at The Shard on December 2nd 2025 for the 10th annual ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference… and what a day! The focus this year was on small business support, inclusion and growth. Earlier this year, the government published a new small… Read more
ERC Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) research showcase event.
The LSBS is an annual telephone survey of UK SMEs led by the DBT, which has been running since 2015. It covers a broad range of topics around the factors that affect SME performance, including ambition, innovation, exporting, training, access to finance and business support. The LSBS is a large-scale survey with official statistics status…. Read more
ERC @ISBE 2025
Several members of the ERC team took part in the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference in Glasgow on 5th and 6th November. The conference theme this year was “Collaborating across Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: opportunities for inclusion, innovation, sustainability, resilience and growth” ERC staff presented papers on a range of themes receiving a nomination… Read more
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor UK National report 2024/25
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM ) UK National report 2024/25 is being launched today as part of the “Entrepreneurial Insights in a Turbulent World: Headline Findings from the GEM Survey” event hosted by Warwick Business School. Mark Hart, UK GEM lead will present findings from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 UK survey. Highlights from… Read more
Did digital technology help SMEs survive the Covid-19 pandemic?
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the succession of lockdowns, social distancing rules and restrictions on businesses pushed many small businesses to the brink. While various forms of government support were available, corporate insolvencies in England and Wales rose in 2023 to the highest level in thirty years, according to the Insolvency Service. To be better… Read more
Mind the (Support) Gap: SMEs and the Mental Health Disconnect
Striking new research findings from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) at Warwick Business School show that while three quarters of UK firms acknowledge that they have responsibilities to address employee mental health, only half actually have any initiatives in place. What’s more, this ‘attitude to action’ gap is widest in the smallest firms, which are… Read more
Time to Think Differently About Micro Firms
Imagine two businesses. One is a tech start-up that has developed new AI software. Another is a well-established restaurant in a small town serving their local community. Both count as ‘micro’ businesses, yet their needs will be worlds apart, and no single policy could serve them both well. Micro businesses are often bundled into the… Read more
Mavens and the missing link: Unlocking innovation diffusion in small firms
In the world of small businesses, innovation often hinges not on internal R&D budgets, but on the ability to learn from others. Haldane (2018) observed that a major productivity problem for 99% of UK firms is the failure of diffusion—the inability of good ideas and practices to spread from the leading firms to the rest…. Read more
ERC/NEN Micro Business Roundtable
On 12th June, we joined forces with the National Enterprise Network to hold a Micro Business Roundtable event at The Shard. In 2024, there were over 1.2 million micro businesses in the UK, employing around 4.2 million people. Despite their significance to the economy and society, micro businesses are often excluded from national and international… Read more
Post-Brexit Pragmatism? What the UK–EU Reset Summit Means for SMEs
The long-anticipated UK–EU Reset Summit, held in London on 19 May 2025, marked a significant, despite cautious, turning point in the post-Brexit relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. As the first structured political dialogue since the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2021, the summit offered a new platform… Read more
Interesting links
Here are some interesting links for you! Enjoy your stay :)Pages
Categories
Archive