Cambridge Centre for Business Research SME Dataset, 1987-1995

The research programme had five objectives:<br> to draw upon and develop recent theoretical contributions to the study of industrial organisation, firm behaviour and organisational change in a way which enabled them to be applied to the study of small firm creation, growth and development;<br> to employ this framework to analyse empirically the determinants and constraints upon small business birth, growth and survival in a range of industries including hi-tech sectors, knitwear, printing and publishing;<br> to employ the theoretical framework to analyse empirically the role of interfirm relationships and industrial districts in small firm creation, growth and development; <br> to provide a detailed empirical analysis of the role of acquisition activity in the growth of small firms;<br> to use the results of the theoretical and empirical research programme to evaluate policy proposals at a local, national and European level on a range of issues affecting the creation and growth of small firms.<br> The methodology included econometric and case study analysis. Individual projects were conducted against a background analysis derived from a national postal survey of 2000 businesses and official statistics on the small business sector.<br> The aim of the study was to create a longitudinal panel of small to medium enterprise (SME) data relating to a wide range of non-financial and attitudinal characteristics, and also including a limited number of financial variables not normally available in modified company accounts, from the national postal survey mentioned above. The initial survey was conducted in 1991 (covering 1987-1990). A first recall survey of the same population took place in 1993, and a second in 1995.<br> The initial deposit of this study included only the results of the first survey. For the second edition of February 2002, the data and documentation were updated to include the 1993 and 1995 recall surveys.