Micro-enterprises’ participation in a constructed learning network through the lens of personal and organisational change and innovation

Abstract

Despite their significance for many economies, there is a common view that micro-enterprises do not innovate, although there is little evidence to demonstrate this. This may be because the forms of innovation undertaken by micro-enterprises are “hidden” from official statistics and do not correspond to “conventional” expectations. If innovation is occurring in micro-enterprises it is likely to involve the personal change of owner-managers and the organisational change of their business and teams. This thesis examines to what extent personal and organisational change can enable innovation in micro-enterprises and the role of constructed learning networks in supporting this. The empirical research examined 4 learning networks in South-East England encompassing 14 case studies with 21 interviews at both the start and end of the programme, and 30 real-time observations of network meetings.

Date of Award	Jun 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton