Studying the Evolution of Knowledge Within Small and Medium-sized Firms : A Systematic Review

The role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK economy has attracted both significant research andsignificant policy support in recent years. Research has explored many different aspects of SMEs, ranging from theattributes of owner-managers to the wider economic contribution of this sector to the UK economy. One area which isachieving increasing recognition is the question of what kinds of knowledge are important to the performance of smallfirms. This area is important because a number of studies have highlighted the important relationship between theknowledge deployed within a business, and its overall performance. A variety of studies have been produced eachhighlighting different aspects of the way in which knowledge is applied by the owners and managers of small firms.These studies have been important in highlighting the contribution which knowledge makes to small businesscompetitive performance. However, these previous studies have necessarily been partial and fragmented, giving usdifferent pieces of the jigsaw but not the whole picture. What has been missing has been a systematic effort to reviewand synthesise this previous work...