Commentary: the value and importance of the small firm to the world economy

Given the world wide predominance of the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) we should consider whether we need to segment and target our marketing knowledge, practice and attitudes towards this business type. It is argued that we need to be able to develop entrepreneurship within the context of marketing, and marketing within the context of entrepreneurship in order that we are able to understand fully that most common of business forms – the small firm. This implies that we should consider how much of our existing marketing knowledge is appropriate to the SME and how much needs to be rethought and adapted. The body of work by colleagues in what could be described as the “marketing entrepreneurship interface” demonstrates both appropriate concerns and potential solutions. As such it represents a solid start to a debate in which we hope that many of our marketing colleagues will join.