... (F 1998; C and W, 1999), and of choice), social club (eg the local football or g... more ... (F 1998; C and W, 1999), and of choice), social club (eg the local football or golf policy studies (I 2000). It has become, from ... 1 (115.5) London 8ó (97.7) 4 (103.2) 2 (106.0) 7 (100.9) 2 (110.8) 12 (16.1%) 2 (105.6) South East 7 (99.4
In the UK, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now provide more employment and business tur... more In the UK, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now provide more employment and business turnover than large firms and public organisations together. Statistically, firms with under 250 employees in 1998 employed 57% of the workforce and accounted for 54% of turnover. This fits in with government policies to promote small businesses and self-employment more generally. Small size, however, creates problems as well as opportunities. Whereas large firms may operate with special departments to look after innovation, marketing and training needs, for example, small firms lack these resources. This can be a barrier to expansion.<br> However, by collaborating with other SMEs on certain business functions such as joint marketing to get into or extend export markets, or by sharing non-confidential knowledge to enhance innovation capacity, they can together overcome barriers caused by small size in a relatively costless manner.<br> The survey and interviews for this project sought to identify firms that engage in formal and informal partnerships based on mutual trust, exchanging favours, and judging reliability, credibility and reputation to be a safeguard against opportunistic behaviour.<br> The key question asked in this research was whether firms that make use of these kinds of 'social capital' display superior or inferior business performance compared to those that do not, holding everything else as far as possible constant. By exploring different types of social capital, some based on cultural identity, ethnicity or religion, some arising from membership of a specific, perhaps geographically defined economic community or particular industry, the research aimed to show the extent to which social capital may influence economic performance and draw policy lessons accordingly.<br> In order to investigate relationships between SME performance and social capital, operational measures of these two variables were developed and employed. The former were measured by turnover, profitability, employme [...]
Innovation intermediaries are gaining greater importance for productivity in Wales and across the... more Innovation intermediaries are gaining greater importance for productivity in Wales and across the United Kingdom as "innovation…accounts for 25-50% of labour productivity growth (Baughan, 2015). Especially as the Welsh economy has historically lower figures of productivity continue to leave the country lagging behind the UK productivity average.
Organising Effective Local Business Networks and Inter-firm Collaboration for Improved Firm Produ... more Organising Effective Local Business Networks and Inter-firm Collaboration for Improved Firm Productivity Performance
This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the followi... more This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source:
Introduction: Companies, Cultures, and the Region: Interactions and Outcomes Nick Clifton, Stefan... more Introduction: Companies, Cultures, and the Region: Interactions and Outcomes Nick Clifton, Stefan Gartner and Dieter Rehfeld 1. A Virtuous Circle? Co-evolution of Regional and Corporate Cultures Peter Prud'homme van Reine and Ben Dankbaar 2. Open Innovation and Regional Culture-Findings from Different Industrial and Regional Settings Franz Todtling, Peter Prud'homme van Reine and Steffen Dorhofer 3. Path Dependence and New Paths in Regional Evolution: In Search of the Role of Culture Philip Cooke and Dieter Rehfeld 4. Corporations and Regions: Capturing Multiple Vicinity Spaces in European Regions Stefan Gartner 5. Contrasting the Footloose Company: Social Capital, Organizational Fields and Culture Steffen Dorhofer, Christoph Minnig, Ulrich Pekruhl and Peter Prud'homme van Reine 6. Regional Culture in the Market Place: Place Branding and Product Branding as Cultural Exchange Nick Clifton 7. Continuity and Discontinuity in the Interaction of Regional and Corporate Culture...
PurposeCoworking (shared flexible working spaces) grew exponentially before the COVID-19 pandemic... more PurposeCoworking (shared flexible working spaces) grew exponentially before the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis led to spaces closing but demand is likely to increase as homeworking/remote working levels remain permanently higher post-pandemic. Previous studies largely focused on ‘satisfied customers’ – freelancers and entrepreneurs in the urban core; but these are a poor guide to future preferences given an increasingly diverse set of potential users. Understanding these preferences is of significant value to future providers, investors and real estate operators.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ a mixed-methods approach, observing self-organised coworking sessions and online platforms, and a questionnaire of the coworking networks/groups. The authors address the research questions: i) how do individuals' make decisions about how and where to engage in shared working and ii) do they consider locational characteristics (beyond accessibility) and social and physical (env...
Women Entrepreneurs and Strategic Decision Making in the Global Economy, 2019
The aim of the chapter is to increase the knowledge regarding the methods and styles of learning ... more The aim of the chapter is to increase the knowledge regarding the methods and styles of learning used by women entrepreneurs in general, and in South East Wales and Malaysia in particular. The research question is What methods and styles of learning do women entrepreneurs employ in their businesses, in general, and specifically in SE Wales and Malaysia? The chapter is a theoretical study with a small empirical extension with two samples of women and men entrepreneurs in the South East Wales. The findings of this chapter support the constructive perspective on learning, adult and social learning, demonstrating the role of social interaction for women entrepreneurs' learning and experiential learning. Through a gender perspective with accent on andragogy, and by designing a model of women entrepreneurial learning, the study shapes a new direction within the research field of women entrepreneurship and constitutes an original contribution to knowledge.
... (F 1998; C and W, 1999), and of choice), social club (eg the local football or g... more ... (F 1998; C and W, 1999), and of choice), social club (eg the local football or golf policy studies (I 2000). It has become, from ... 1 (115.5) London 8ó (97.7) 4 (103.2) 2 (106.0) 7 (100.9) 2 (110.8) 12 (16.1%) 2 (105.6) South East 7 (99.4
In the UK, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now provide more employment and business tur... more In the UK, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now provide more employment and business turnover than large firms and public organisations together. Statistically, firms with under 250 employees in 1998 employed 57% of the workforce and accounted for 54% of turnover. This fits in with government policies to promote small businesses and self-employment more generally. Small size, however, creates problems as well as opportunities. Whereas large firms may operate with special departments to look after innovation, marketing and training needs, for example, small firms lack these resources. This can be a barrier to expansion.<br> However, by collaborating with other SMEs on certain business functions such as joint marketing to get into or extend export markets, or by sharing non-confidential knowledge to enhance innovation capacity, they can together overcome barriers caused by small size in a relatively costless manner.<br> The survey and interviews for this project sought to identify firms that engage in formal and informal partnerships based on mutual trust, exchanging favours, and judging reliability, credibility and reputation to be a safeguard against opportunistic behaviour.<br> The key question asked in this research was whether firms that make use of these kinds of 'social capital' display superior or inferior business performance compared to those that do not, holding everything else as far as possible constant. By exploring different types of social capital, some based on cultural identity, ethnicity or religion, some arising from membership of a specific, perhaps geographically defined economic community or particular industry, the research aimed to show the extent to which social capital may influence economic performance and draw policy lessons accordingly.<br> In order to investigate relationships between SME performance and social capital, operational measures of these two variables were developed and employed. The former were measured by turnover, profitability, employme [...]
Innovation intermediaries are gaining greater importance for productivity in Wales and across the... more Innovation intermediaries are gaining greater importance for productivity in Wales and across the United Kingdom as "innovation…accounts for 25-50% of labour productivity growth (Baughan, 2015). Especially as the Welsh economy has historically lower figures of productivity continue to leave the country lagging behind the UK productivity average.
Organising Effective Local Business Networks and Inter-firm Collaboration for Improved Firm Produ... more Organising Effective Local Business Networks and Inter-firm Collaboration for Improved Firm Productivity Performance
This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the followi... more This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source:
Introduction: Companies, Cultures, and the Region: Interactions and Outcomes Nick Clifton, Stefan... more Introduction: Companies, Cultures, and the Region: Interactions and Outcomes Nick Clifton, Stefan Gartner and Dieter Rehfeld 1. A Virtuous Circle? Co-evolution of Regional and Corporate Cultures Peter Prud'homme van Reine and Ben Dankbaar 2. Open Innovation and Regional Culture-Findings from Different Industrial and Regional Settings Franz Todtling, Peter Prud'homme van Reine and Steffen Dorhofer 3. Path Dependence and New Paths in Regional Evolution: In Search of the Role of Culture Philip Cooke and Dieter Rehfeld 4. Corporations and Regions: Capturing Multiple Vicinity Spaces in European Regions Stefan Gartner 5. Contrasting the Footloose Company: Social Capital, Organizational Fields and Culture Steffen Dorhofer, Christoph Minnig, Ulrich Pekruhl and Peter Prud'homme van Reine 6. Regional Culture in the Market Place: Place Branding and Product Branding as Cultural Exchange Nick Clifton 7. Continuity and Discontinuity in the Interaction of Regional and Corporate Culture...
PurposeCoworking (shared flexible working spaces) grew exponentially before the COVID-19 pandemic... more PurposeCoworking (shared flexible working spaces) grew exponentially before the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis led to spaces closing but demand is likely to increase as homeworking/remote working levels remain permanently higher post-pandemic. Previous studies largely focused on ‘satisfied customers’ – freelancers and entrepreneurs in the urban core; but these are a poor guide to future preferences given an increasingly diverse set of potential users. Understanding these preferences is of significant value to future providers, investors and real estate operators.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ a mixed-methods approach, observing self-organised coworking sessions and online platforms, and a questionnaire of the coworking networks/groups. The authors address the research questions: i) how do individuals' make decisions about how and where to engage in shared working and ii) do they consider locational characteristics (beyond accessibility) and social and physical (env...
Women Entrepreneurs and Strategic Decision Making in the Global Economy, 2019
The aim of the chapter is to increase the knowledge regarding the methods and styles of learning ... more The aim of the chapter is to increase the knowledge regarding the methods and styles of learning used by women entrepreneurs in general, and in South East Wales and Malaysia in particular. The research question is What methods and styles of learning do women entrepreneurs employ in their businesses, in general, and specifically in SE Wales and Malaysia? The chapter is a theoretical study with a small empirical extension with two samples of women and men entrepreneurs in the South East Wales. The findings of this chapter support the constructive perspective on learning, adult and social learning, demonstrating the role of social interaction for women entrepreneurs' learning and experiential learning. Through a gender perspective with accent on andragogy, and by designing a model of women entrepreneurial learning, the study shapes a new direction within the research field of women entrepreneurship and constitutes an original contribution to knowledge.
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