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The Role of the Small Business Within the Economy

  • Tim Mazzarol
  • Sophie Reboud
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Part of the Springer Texts in Business and Economics book series (STBE)

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of small business within the economy as well as government policy toward the small business sector. It provides an overview of the small business sector while considering the specific nature of management within a small firm and the policy responses available to governments. Small businesses typically make up the majority of firms within most economies. While the concept of a ‘typical’ small business may be difficult to define, most have few, if any, employees and are owned and operated by owner-managers who usually provide all the risk capital associated with the firm. Despite their numbers and relative importance to the economy, the level of attention and general understanding of the small business sector remains low. Academic research into small business management is less developed than for larger organisations. Government policy relating to small business can often be fragmented and problematic due to the lack of adequate understanding of the sector and its needs.

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© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

Authors and Affiliations

  • Tim Mazzarol
    • 1
  • Sophie Reboud
    • 2
  1. 1.University of Western AustraliaCrawleyAustralia
  2. 2.Burgundy School of BusinessDijonFrance

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