University of Sussex
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Evaluating the effect of soft business support upon small firm performance

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 10:05 authored by Colin Wren, David Storey
The paper applies robust econometric techniques to assess the impact of publicly-provided subsidised 'soft' business support on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It considers the assistance for consultancy advice provided towards marketing under the UK Enterprise Initiative, looking at its effect on sales turnover, employment and survival, and making explicit allowance for selection effects. It is found that the policy has no impact on the survival of smaller SMEs, and that it is most effective in the mid-range SMEs, where it raises survival rates by about 4% over the longer run and growth rates in surviving firms by up to 10% per annum. Overall, the scheme has a substantial impact, but the paper draws attention to the possible displacement effects.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Oxford Economic Papers

ISSN

00307653

Issue

2

Volume

54

Page range

334-365

Department affiliated with

  • Business and Management Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC