Small business and society Book

Political ideology has thrust small-firm issues to the forefront of attempts to revitalize the British economy. In the Thatcher years the emphasis has been on individual enterprise and initiative with the number of small firms increasing rapidly. This has also been reflected in the growing number of specialist studies analyzing small-firm revivalism. This work discusses the issues and debates that surround the small business and its place in contemporary 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, green issues have emerged to question the extent to which the small firm benefits the environment.