Three Decades of Enterprise Culture
Latest press releasesDavid Storey, Francis Greene and Kevin Mole of the Warwick University Business School research group Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises are about the publish the results of a thirty year study of entrepreneurship, regeneration and public policy.
During the course of their work they have interviewed over 1000 entrepreneurs comparing Buckinghamshire, Shropshire and Teesside.
Although access to finance and advice for new business start-ups have improved, the research has asked the question: Has the quality of new businesses improved - the answer is no.
The research also shows that attempts to close the gap between what appears to be a more entrepreneurial environment in the South has failed. Business start-ups per 10,000 of the population remains stubbornly lower in Teesside than in Buckinghamshire.
The detailed and lengthy research also demonstrates that there is more of an enterprise culture in Buckinghamshire than in Teesside; 70% of new business start-ups in Bucks are begun by entrepreneurs from outside the county, whereas the figure for Teesside shows that 70% of new business start-ups are begun by those from the area. People simply do not head for Teesside to start new businesses.
The research shows that the type of new business in Teesside is more related to the service sector than in Bucks, with traditional small businesses such vehicle repair shops, hairdressers and general 'white van man' related businesses being far more prevalent amongst new enterprises than in Bucks.
Professor Storey recalls the news footage from the eighties of the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, standing amidst the industrial desolation in the North East and vowing to 'change all of this'. Nearly a quarter of a century later his research shows that not much has changed at all.
During the course of their work they have interviewed over 1000 entrepreneurs comparing Buckinghamshire, Shropshire and Teesside.
Although access to finance and advice for new business start-ups have improved, the research has asked the question: Has the quality of new businesses improved - the answer is no.
The research also shows that attempts to close the gap between what appears to be a more entrepreneurial environment in the South has failed. Business start-ups per 10,000 of the population remains stubbornly lower in Teesside than in Buckinghamshire.
The detailed and lengthy research also demonstrates that there is more of an enterprise culture in Buckinghamshire than in Teesside; 70% of new business start-ups in Bucks are begun by entrepreneurs from outside the county, whereas the figure for Teesside shows that 70% of new business start-ups are begun by those from the area. People simply do not head for Teesside to start new businesses.
The research shows that the type of new business in Teesside is more related to the service sector than in Bucks, with traditional small businesses such vehicle repair shops, hairdressers and general 'white van man' related businesses being far more prevalent amongst new enterprises than in Bucks.
Professor Storey recalls the news footage from the eighties of the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, standing amidst the industrial desolation in the North East and vowing to 'change all of this'. Nearly a quarter of a century later his research shows that not much has changed at all.
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