Publication

The Role of Innovation in Small Business Performance: A Regional Perspective.

Published: 6 February 2020

ERC Policy Briefing

Associated Themes

• 
  Innovation
• 
  Productivity and performance

The Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) allows for more consistent SME analyses for the UK than ever before by tracking the same firms over time. Our research looks at the regional context, as well as firm specific variables, that are associated with labour productivity outcomes for SMEs. The paper considers the role of City-Region characteristics, as defined in terms of labour market, business dynamics, R&D spend and City-Region agglomeration on labour productivity, alongside firm-level associations.

The paper addresses a research gap in our understanding of how City-Region characteristics support the SME community in Britain by seeking to tease out the channels through which the benefits might accrue. Improving our knowledge of these channels could potentially enable more effective support provision from a policy perspective.

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