This volume is a product of the Interstratos project which brought together research teams from across Europe to study the strategic behaviour of small and medium-sized industrial firms, the determinants of their behaviour, and the impact on performance. The book uses information from annual surveys of companies in Europe during the period spanning the formation of a single European market. It addresses issues affecting small businesses such as marketing, entrepreneurship, export strategies and the single market, on an international basis. The book also contains detailed case studies of individual countries including The Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland and the UK.

First published in 1997, the authors of the present volume provide brand new insights and empirical findings in the field of entrepreneurship and small business research. The writers have highlighted three different key themes: entrepreneurship; start-ups and growth and internationalisation. The priority of most countries is growth, competitiveness and employment. In this context, the relevance of promoting the creation of new enterprises and understanding the very nature and development of newly created and existing SMEs is becoming more important today. The role of entrepreneurship and SMEs for economic and social development, welfare and well-being is going to be emphasised more than ever before. The same holds for research in these fascinating fields. This book gives an idea of the state of the art for the time being with its increasing conceptual, methodological and empirical complexity and diversity.