This text chronicles a change in epistolary persuasion in the 1230's, crystallized at the imperial chancery of Frederick II, Emperor from 1220-1250. There, traditional appeals, premised on authority and harmony, were challenged by letters in which historical circumstances functioned as an integral part of the strategy of persuasion. Based on the close reading of "Artes Dictandi", as well as a series of letters issued from the papal and imperial chanceries, this book explores the theory and practice of medieval letter-writing. Letters are evaluated as verbal acts intended to persuade, with the public as the ultimate arbiter of success. The author argues that the form, proportion and style of letters were contoured by ideology.

In Small Business and the City, Rafael Gomez, Andre Isakov, and Matt Semansky highlight the power of small-scale entrepreneurship to transform local neighbourhoods and the cities they inhabit. Studying the factors which enable small businesses to survive and thrive, they highlight the success of a Canadian concept which has spread worldwide: the Business Improvement Area (BIA). BIAs allow small-scale entrepreneurs to pool their resources with like-minded businesses, becoming sources of urban rejuvenation, magnets for human talent, and incubators for local innovation in cities around the globe.

Small Business and the City also analyses the policies necessary to support this urban vitality, describing how cities can encourage and support locally owned independent businesses. An inspiring account of the dynamism of urban life, Small Business and the City introduces a new "main street agenda" for the twenty-first century city.

Focusing on international entrepreneurship, this research book explores the accelerated internationalization of young firms. Known variously as international new ventures (INVs) or "born globals," such firms have come to be viewed as legitimate actors on the global stage alongside large multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, the current approach taken by scholars - studying large MNEs and born globals separately - is questionable. This book explores the crucial MNE/INV interface - a fascinating, yet under-researched relationship in international entrepreneurship. Drawing upon a decade of case-based research, the author argues that the MNE influence on born globals must be considered more carefully and suggests how new ventures can leverage MNE networks in the pursuit of their rapid internationalization. Furthermore, it demonstrates that, as firms enhance their levels of innovation, new pathways emerge via multinational corporation networks, a phenomenon vividly demonstrated in the emerging economy context of the Bangalore software industry. This innovative research text will be of interest to academics, researchers, and advanced students with an interest in international entrepreneurship and business, strategy, innovation, and new ventures.

For years the small-firm sector of the economy remained an enigma. However, recently researchers have assembled a far better understanding of the economic role of small firms. One of the surprising findings is that small and medium-sized firms, and entrepreneurship, have become increasingly more important to the economies of both developed and developing countries than previously acknowledged. The purpose of these volumes is to bring together for the first time this diffuse and rich literature on the whole subject of small firms and economic growth. This volume will provide a basic resource for all those engaged with the subject as students, teachers and researchers.

For many, small firms are everyday realities of the economy and visible in every high-street and industrial estate. Their existence and importance is unquestionable. Such beliefs are understandable, but the authors of this new book would suggest they are misguided. The Political Economy of the Small Firm challenges the assumptions regarding small firms that pervade society and political representation. Small firms are not organised into a homogenous sector that has a clear constituency or political influence. In fact, the small firm is shown to be an inconstant political construct that is discursively ethereal and vulnerable to political exploitation. Fusing theories from political science, management and linguistics, Dannreuther and Perren assert that the idea of the small firm is an important discursive resource used by political actors to legitimise their actions, influence their citizens and help sustain regimes of accumulation. On top of this, the authors also empirically test their claims against 200 years of UK parliamentary debate, from the Industrial Revolution to the Blair government. The political construction of the small firm is shown not only to provide rhetorical mechanisms to maintain periods of capitalist accumulation, but also to increase the relative autonomy of the state and to centralise power to elite politicians. For a period of 150 years up to the 1970s, the small firm was an unexplored presence, below the political radar and resonant with poor working standards and extreme forms of competition. During the so-called Fordist period from the 1930s, the small firm was seen as the dirty, out-dated, contrast to the clean, modern future represented by mass production and corporations. The perceived failure of Fordism led to the invention of the small firm and its presentation as an ideal political construct. By fabricating assertions of what small firms are and what they want, frequently out of conjecture, the authors of this book show how political elites have been able to advocate radical reformist agendas since the 1970s in the name of a phantom constituency.

The Routledge Companion to Family Business offers a definitive survey of a field that has seen rapid growth in research in recent years. Edited by leading scholars with contributions from the top minds in family business from around the world, this volume provides researchers and scholars with a comprehensive understanding of the state of the discipline. Over 25 chapters address a wide variety of subjects, providing readers with a thorough review of the key research themes in the modern family firm, such as corporate social responsibility and bank debt rationing. International examples cover a wide range of economies including China, Europe, and Latin America. The book will appeal to undergraduates, postgraduates and business instructors seeking a definitive view of the issues and solutions that affect and support family business.

When this book was first published in 1991, political ideology had thrust small-firm issues to the forefront of attempts to revitalize the British economy. In the Thatcher years the emphasis had been on individual enterprise and initiative with the number of small firms increasing rapidly. This was reflected in the growth in the number of specialist studies analysis small-firm revivalism. Small Business and Society clarifies the issues and debates that surround the small business and its place in society. In particular, the complex nature of its social role is examined: on the one hand, the entrepreneur can be seen as the innovator exploiting free-market capitalism to strengthen the economy; on the other, employment conditions and industrial relations are said to suffer. Moreover, the growing importance of 'green' issues now brings into question the extent to which the small firm benefits the environment. This book will be of interest to students of business and sociology.

Does Information Technology matter? This book argues that even as Information Technology hardware, software, data and associated processes are becoming more of a commodity, it has never been more important to manage Information Technology as a strategic asset. However, managing Information Technology as a strategic asset is notoriously difficult, as is studying the impact of Information Technology on firm performance. This book sets out to identify, explain and critically evaluate current research in this area. A unique feature of this book is the use of economic theory to explain management theory and its consequences in professional practice. Beginning with a thorough introduction to Schumpeterian economic theory, the authors re-cast the pre-eminent theory in strategic management research (the Resource Based View) in the light of a Schumpeterian analysis and identify Dynamic Capabilities as an extension of, but also a radical departure from, RBV. The role of Information Technology as an endogenous technology is discussed and it is argued that how we define Information Technology determines not only how we study it but also how we use it and benefit from it. The book is aimed primarily at the academic research market, but should also be of some interest to managers. It is useful more specifically for all those studying business, Information Technology, strategy, management and innovation.

Recent development experience points to the way business can be the key to a dynamic small business sector, especially where those links are built on high trust co-operative relations. This book reviews different types of small business network, illustrated by an international selection of case studies, including: * Chinese family business networks * ethinic minority business networks * Japanese and South Korean business group networks * Taiwan's subcontracting networks * European industrial districts Network promotion initiatives in Singapore, New Zealand, Scandinavia and the UK are each discussed to provide a comprehensive comparative assessment of small business networks.

Food processing is a valuable way of preserving food to increase food security, minimize waste and generate extra income. This makes it an important area for agricultural development projects and income-generation schemes which often require careful preparation and planning as the raw materials can be highly perishable or seasonal and supplies unpredictable. This guide provides development workers and small-scale entrepreneurs with the basic information and advice that they need to set up a small-scale food processing enterprise. Part one considers the food processes that are suitable for different crops, including: fruit and vegetable products, cereal and pulse-based products; milk and milk products, and meat and fish products. Part two is an annotated directory giving the appropriate equipment needed to process a particular food, an index of manufacturers, the approximate costs and the names and addresses of manufacturers. The potential uses of various equipment is examined and much of the equipment is clearly illustrated.; In this new edition, the main text which guides the reader through the stages of food processing activities has been reorganized and clarified and the catalogu

This book presents a review of the role of overconfidence in small firms and explores how biased judgment and decision-making can affect business performance. Whilst the overconfidence construct has been studied in detail, there are no systematic reviews of its role in SMEs as of yet. Examining the decisions made by entrepreneurs, this study offers clear solutions on how to improve business accuracy, reduce disadvantageous investments and prevent bankruptcy. Providing an empirical analysis of overconfidence in the sport industry, this new book will not only be of interest to academics of entrepreneurship and small enterprises, but also to sport managers.

Many professionals today, in a wide variety of fields, find themselves in need of the knowledge and skills that will permit them to build and maintain a successful practice. The current economic climate, changes in the rules of competitive advertising and client relations, and an overabundance of professionals have led to the need for improved skills in practice development. Professional Practice Development gives both practitioners and newcomers the practical information they need to compete for new clients and retain existing ones. With particular focus on traditional and non-traditional channels of communication, this step-by-step guide shows how to develop and implement strategies that lead to a flourishing practice.

Brody begins his study with a discussion of the unique situation professionals find themselves in today. Next, the book discusses planning, the importance of information, and the role of decision-making in building a practice. Further chapters explore the many kinds of communication that make a successful practice. The study addresses office environments, client communication, marketing strategies, envronmental assessment, and professional networking, and concludes with an overview on managing the entire process.

You can try self-employment! Successfully self-employed autistic author Robyn Steward shares her keen insights about the valuable skills and unique visions self-employed autistic people bring to the job market. This book will teach you how to bring these strengths into the world of self-employment, so that you can follow your passions as part of the community. Featuring first-hand accounts from self-employed autistic people in businesses ranging from arts and crafts to web developer and book shop owner, this book outlines the common challenges you may encounter and ways to overcome them. Based on a survey of over 100 self-employed autistic people all over the world and peer reviewed by experts, it covers everything you need to get started, from networking and marketing products to managing tax and business records and more. It also includes details about benefit systems, getting work and bookkeeping. Written specifically for autistic people, people with learning / intellectual disabilities, and the people who support them, this book is the essential guide to starting your own business.

This book provides a guided deep dive into the early stages of venture development of social entrepreneurship. It introduces concepts that provide important insights necessary for social venture success. It introduces a set of entrepreneurial tools designed for the unique set of challenges faced in selecting and designing social entrepreneurial ventures. With this book as a guide the reader can develop a feasible venture concept and communicate it effectively. A passion to address social or environmental issues is the motivation for a growing number of entrepreneurs. Yet, effective approaches addressing these societal issues can be difficult to discern. Approaches cannot be well formulated using the traditional market placed based framework of traditional entrepreneurship. For example, traditional market and target market analyses miss important aspects of potential customer behavior. Cultural traditions, family structures and community norms significantly influence human behavior. Without the knowledge about a specific community the missing perspective is too often discovered too late in the process. Undiscovered competitors, cultural practices that block adoption and home-made alternatives can result in the demise of a start-up. This book introduces concepts that frame new ways to approach information gathering and analysis for social entrepreneurial ideas. The book provides the reader guidance on: How to move from heart tugging issues to social entrepreneurial opportunities with high potential How to understand and assess the societal and policy environment in which the opportunity would be implemented How to analyze and select the best approaches for that circumstance How to frame a results focused approach And how to communicate the product or new approach to gain investors, grants and community engagement

Public policy interventions aimed at encouraging, supporting and developing small businesses are an important factor in understanding entrepreneurship and small business management. This textbook is the first to provide teachers and students with a resource that gives an overview of how institutional and policy structures interact with small firm start-ups, continuation and succession/failures. Beginning with a brief introduction to policy processes, the book also covers the scope for different intervention at different scales: macroeconomic (international, national) and regional/local. The author then applies four lenses to provide different contexts to understand the theory and practice of public policy for small business management: The UK is used to cover long-term historical evolution of small businesses and how this has stimulated different policy approaches. The USA provides greater emphasis on varied approaches within a federal system and the specifics of the SBA. The EU is used as a case to engage with international and varied policy approaches.Emerging economies are used to provide insights into radically different ways of combining understanding of small firm start-ups, continuation and succession/failures with policy approaches within the context of globalization. Written by a pre-eminent scholar of public policy and entrepreneurship, this textbook provides a concise but thorough introduction to the subject for Master's students internationally.

The GCBME Book Series aims to promote the quality and methodical reach of the Global Conference on Business Management & Entrepreneurship, which is intended as a high-quality scientific contribution to the science of business management and entrepreneurship. The Contributions are the main reference articles on the topic of each book and have been subject to a strict peer review process conducted by experts in the fields. The conference provided opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and implementation of experiences, to establish business or research connections and to find Global Partners for future collaboration. The conference and resulting volume in the book series is expected to be held and appear annually. The year 2019 theme of book and conference is "Creating Innovative and Sustainable Value-added Businesses in the Disruption Era". The ultimate goal of GCBME is to provide a medium forum for educators, researchers, scholars, managers, graduate students and professional business persons from the diverse cultural backgrounds, to present and discuss their researches, knowledge and innovation within the fields of business, management and entrepreneurship. The GCBME conferences cover major thematic groups, yet opens to other relevant topics: Organizational Behavior, Innovation, Marketing Management, Financial Management and Accounting, Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship and Green Business.

Public policy interventions aimed at encouraging, supporting and developing small businesses are an important factor in understanding entrepreneurship and small business management. This textbook is the first to provide teachers and students with a resource that gives an overview of how institutional and policy structures interact with small firm start-ups, continuation and succession/failures. Beginning with a brief introduction to policy processes, the book also covers the scope for different intervention at different scales: macroeconomic (international, national) and regional/local. The author then applies four lenses to provide different contexts to understand the theory and practice of public policy for small business management: The UK is used to cover long-term historical evolution of small businesses and how this has stimulated different policy approaches. The USA provides greater emphasis on varied approaches within a federal system and the specifics of the SBA. The EU is used as a case to engage with international and varied policy approaches.Emerging economies are used to provide insights into radically different ways of combining understanding of small firm start-ups, continuation and succession/failures with policy approaches within the context of globalization. Written by a pre-eminent scholar of public policy and entrepreneurship, this textbook provides a concise but thorough introduction to the subject for Master's students internationally.

First published in 1973, this title examines the development patterns of small businesses. It considers why people found firms; the factors that contribute to entrepreneurial success; problems of management succession and inheritance; the strengths and weaknesses of family firms; the reasons why small firms are taken over; and the social, economic and managerial context of their growth, decline, and revival. Based on a survey of sixty-four firms, each employing fewer than five hundred people, in engineering, hosiery, and knitwear, and on the records of 370 similar organisations, a striking gap in performance and management attitudes emerges as between dynamic, mostly founder-run firms and stagnant, mostly inherited ones. Where many books are either minutely specialised or highly abstract and over-generalised, Jonathan Boswell's work is practical and diagnostic, probing the inner recesses of the small firm sector. With particular relevance to the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs in today's economic environment, this title advances selective measures to deal with old firms and inheritance, and a wide range of policies to encourage new entrepreneurship.

An updated edition of the best-selling handbook, this all-encompassing guide for jewellery entrepreneurs of all levels covers key lessons for setting up, running and growing a jewellery business. From the college graduate looking to set up a workshop, to the established maker ready to expand their business, Setting up a Successful Jewellery Business equips creative jewellers with the essential knowledge and tools to operate a professional jewellery business. Encouraging individuals to define their business objectives and strategy for the future, the guide deals with topics including: * presenting your brand; * protecting your designs; * how much to charge for your work; * selling to shops, galleries and individuals; * creating your website and driving traffic to it; * managing your time and finances plus other essential business skills. Updated with two new chapters, an expanded section on social media and a revised appendix, this is an indispensable jeweller's companion that provides the resources to take your business forward.

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For anyone looking for a practical blueprint in creating an additional stream of home-based income, "Double Your Income with Network Marketing" is for you. This book offers a fresh look at the home-based business industry, offering an original step-by-step plan for home business success that includes a detailed look at the network marketing industry. By combining specific, turnkey strategies with inspiring stories of successful home based entrepreneurs readers will move through the author's "success blueprint" learning.

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In 26 weekly steps, this unique and cleverly structured book will walk any budding entrepreneur through everything you need to know and do, in the exact order you need to do it, to get your new business up and running. Each step contains a to-do list, an explanation of what needs to be done, useful hints and shortcuts and the contact information you need.

Written by an experienced entrepreneur and updated for a new global economy, this book contains the most up to date, fresh thinking and ideas, so you can overcome the challenges of a new business start-up and turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

Business creation, or entrepreneurship, is a major source of national economic growth and adaptation as well as an important career choice for millions. In this insightful book, Paul D. Reynolds presents an overview of the major factors associated with contemporary business creation, reflecting representative samples of US early stage nascent ventures, and emphasizing the unique features of the one-third that achieve profitability. This in-depth assessment includes empirical descriptions of a broad range of relevant features of the entrepreneurial process. By using representative samples of nascent entrepreneurs and ventures in the US, it allows extrapolation to US populations of entrepreneurs, pre-profit ventures, and activity in all economic sectors. Outcomes including profitability and disengagement are identified in multiple follow-up interviews. A useful resource for scholars concerned with business creation, this book also makes an engaging supplementary course book for upper division and graduate courses in business plan creation and research methods. Policy analysts emphasizing programs and policies to enhance business creation will also find it enlightening.

Since the early 1970s, the small firm has received considerable attention from economists and politicians in the UK and the European Union, yet there has been a noticable lack of interest from the political science community. Now this has changed, and Charlie Dannreuther argues that this increased interest from political science in the institutional aspects of policy-making indicates a concern for the role of habitual and socially supported logics of action that may be a more appropriate way of explaining SME policy. He shows that the concept of legitimacy is central to recent political science writing on the New Institutionalism in Political Science.
This theoretical framework is applied to three arenas of political activity which are central to understanding policy-making in contemporary Europe: the identification and formation of societal interest; the making of national decisions and the development of policy in the European Union. Dannreuther concludes that, in addition to explaining SME policy and providing a framework for future analysis, the evolutionary approach outlined in The Political Economy of the Small Firm has much broader potential uses in the understanding of policy-making in a global society.

'Kind, realistic and genuinely helpful' Observer 'Bravo on the publication of this witty, wise guide to solo working' Alice Lascelles 'Filled to the brim with advice . . . Such a brilliant book' Emma Gannon Whether by choice or circumstance, as a freelancer or a company employee working from home, more of us are becoming solo workers than ever before. But once you've made the leap, how to do you actually work well in isolation? And how can you thrive while working alone? Picking up where the freelancer bibles stop, Solo addresses what we gain but also miss when we shift from the structure of an office environment to the solitary confines of our homes or studios. Blending the latest research in psychology, economics and social science with guided self-examination and more than ten years of freelance experience, Rebecca Seal shows you how to stay resilient, productive and focused in a company of one. Practical and inspiring, she also explores the idea of meaningful work and helps you define your own success.