What really happens to small and medium-sized enterprises in a global economic recession? UK evidence on sales and job dynamics
Abstract
This article uses UK data to consider how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)1 coped during the recent financial crisis. This is important, as SMEs are major contributors to job creation, but are vulnerable to falling demand. It finds that 4 in 10 SMEs experienced a fall in employment during the recession, and 5 in 10 experienced a fall in sales. Within 12 months of the recession, three-quarters of entrepreneurs had a desire to grow. This suggests that while the immediate effects of recession are severe, entrepreneurs recover quite quickly. Importantly, the analysis found that recessionary growth is hugely concentrated among entrepreneurs with the highest human capital.Citation
Cowling, M., Liu, W., Ledger, A. and Zhang, N., (2015). 'What really happens to small and medium-sized enterprises in a global economic recession? UK evidence on sales and job dynamics'. International Small Business Journal, 33(5), pp.488-513. DOI: 10.1177/0266242613512513Publisher
SageJournal
International Small Business Journal: Researching EnterperneurshipDOI
10.1177/0266242613512513Additional Links
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0266242613512513Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
2662426EISSN
17412870ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1177/0266242613512513