The Myth of the Entrepreneurial Economy: Employment and Innovation in Small Firms

Abstract

Over the last three decades, modern capitalist economies have experienced significant changes in the structure of industry, the nature of production and the organisation of work. There has been a decline in traditional industries such as manufacturing, construction and mining and a growth in social, personal, financial and commercial services, as well as a stabilisation or decline in public employment (Ebbinghaus and Visser 1999:141–2). Technological changes have transformed production in modern economies by expanding the possibilities for flexible and decentralised production techniques. There has been an associated increase in the role of knowledge and the importance of product and process innovation. A set of strategies for managing the workforce has emerged in response to perceived changes in the structure of industry and the organisation of production including ‘reengineering’ and ‘de-layering’, which are thought to reflect the increased need for worker participation and autonomy in the new production regime.