New Business, New Life; A Perspective on Business and Economics, with Ilustrations from Small Business Inception

The theme of this paper is developed in three parts. The first is concerned with methodology. The case is argued for a 'grounded' approach to the analysis of business economics. The second is concerned with intellectual history. It argues that the great economists, such as Smith, used this method, and that the best business economists have followed this lead. The third is concerned with displaying how the method espoused and justified is applied to the theme of 'new business, new life'. It appeals to an empirical model of small firm survival, emphasising the complex of decisions undertaken by the entrepreneur.