Search Results

The UK has seen rapid growth in the number of microbreweries but a concurrent decline in public house numbers raising concerns about the sustainability of this growth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of funding upon competition in the sector and the entrepreneurial characteristics of microbrewers. With an emphasis on rural-based businesses, the local economic impacts are also examined.

The research is informed by analysis of trends in both the brewing and public house sectors in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with microbrewers, including five who had received funding to support their development. These were supplemented with three days of participant observation at collaborative brewing events with 26 microbrewery owners and three microbrewery managers.

The findings indicate that the value attached to microbreweries extends beyond their economic contribution with wider outcomes including training and job creation, the preservation of listed buildings and the enhancement of rural tourism. Funding stimulated entrepreneurial responses but support for these wider outcomes ran the risk of distorting competition.

As competition increases in the sector, microbrewery owners need to become more entrepreneurial to maintain their market position. Competition is heightened by a number of lifestyle enterprises that can survive with lower profit levels while routes to market are limited by a decline in the public house sector. In such a pressured market, there is a need for clearer assessments of the impacts on local economies and entrepreneurship when grant funding is provided.

In a period of rural economic change, knowledge and skills transfers and the generation of new economic opportunities are seen as essential for promoting rural development. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of the impact of educated in‐migrants establishing new business activity in rural areas.

The research employs qualitative interviews with rural business owners informed by an earlier postal survey of rural microbusinesses in the North East of England. The interview data are used to explore the implications of owners' past education and work experience for the development of their businesses. The attitudes and networking behaviour of business owners are also explored in order to assess the extent to which social capital facilitates the exchange of valuable knowledge and opportunities between rural businesses.

Data indicate that rural in‐migrants, defined as having moved at least 30 miles as adults, arrive with significantly higher education qualifications than their local business‐owning counterparts. It also indicates that those with higher levels of education are most likely to engage with networking groups and business advice providers. This leads to the conclusion that as well as bringing higher levels of human capital, the integration of in‐migrants into local economies is indirectly increasing the potential levels of human and social capital across the rural economy.

The research highlights important data concerning the levels of education among in‐migrants and local business owners. It continues by developing theoretical explanations about the way that a business owner's background can influence their business activity. This raises awareness of the diversity of skills and networks among rural business owners that are enhancing the stocks of human and social capital in the rural economy.

The purpose of this paper is to challenge calls for a monolithic rural home‐based business (HBB) sector and instead propose meaningful sub‐sectors of HBB that fit within contemporary rural economic development theory. This informs business support and policy objectives.

Survey analysis of rural microbusinesses in the North East of England compares home‐based and other rural microbusinesses to illustrate their defining characteristics. Case study interviews are then used to test theory development and provide greater understanding about the motivations and aspirations of HBB owners.

The research demonstrates that the rural HBB sector is not homogenous. For some, the home is the business, for others it is a convenient location and for others it is not the place of work, simply the registered business address. This has significant implications for the needs of each type of business and their prospects for growth.

This paper introduces the concept of sub‐sectors of HBBs but more detailed survey work can establish whether these are fully inclusive. With a changing economic climate, further research might also examine the resilience of these businesses in recession and their ability to react to growth opportunities in a period of upturn.

As an emergent area of study in the fields of small business and rural economy, HBBs are potential vehicles for both social and economic development. With large numbers of HBBs in rural areas, this paper illustrates the need to understand both their potential and their limitations in order to maximise their contribution to vibrant and sustainable rural economy.

This paper aims to consider the challenges facing small rural businesses in Mexico in their efforts to be enterprising and sustainable when confronted with severe exogenous pressures. Extant literature on farm diversification has a developed economy focus (Pyysiäinen et al., 2006; McElwee, 2008; McElwee and Smith, 2013), but relatively little has been published in developing economies.

This paper considers diversification activities of Mexican farmers. It uses case studies, workshops and interviews to determine the barriers facing farmers and farm advisors.

Farm businesses, particularly those located in drought-prone regions, have benefited from government-sponsored support, but this support needs to now be targeted to develop the entrepreneurial potential of individuals and collectives.

Carried out in one region of Mexico only, and thus, the findings may not be transferable to other regions.

Recruitment of well-qualified, honest farm advisors with entrepreneurial skills is necessary. Farmers need to be given additional training and support to develop both technological and entrepreneurial skills.

Encouraging and supporting rural enterprises in Mexico helps to provide opportunities for regions to be economically and socially sustainable.

A first attempt to look at farmers ' diversification strategies using an entrepreneurial framework.

The author examines the historical and political background to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, identifying the use made by its architects of earlier English company legislation to define its regulatory remit; before making a detailed evaluation of its structure and powers. The paper continues by setting out the major procedural functions of the Commission before ending with a comparative analysis of its regulatory functions and effectiveness.

Research on emergent behavior has been a significant topic within disaster studies. Through a detailed review of the literature we provide background information about this particular branch of disaster sociology. Following a brief discussion of the process by which literature was selected, important trends and areas of debate are discussed. These include the validation of previous findings, an expansion of the discussion on emergent phenomena and a critique of the bureaucratic approach. We conclude with implications for the theory and practice of emergency management.

Focuses on the approach to interpreting earnings equality found in the writings of a variety of economists and in particular, technological change and its effects on the demand skill resulting in earning inequality. Argues that the evidence in favour of the technological effect is weak and presents some alternatives for further consideration.