Spatial Disparities in SME Productivity: Evidence from the Service Sector in England

Pattanapong Tiwasing*, Yoo Ri Kim, Temitope Akinremi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper identifies the key determinants of spatial variability of productivity, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service sector across England. Due to the hierarchically structured data, multilevel analysis is applied to distinguish the effects of a firm’s internal variables and (sub)regional factors on productivity. Using cross-sectional data for 10,400 SMEs from the UK government’s Small Business Survey, 2015, the results show that firm-specific determinants significantly influence productivity. The findings also indicate that location, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and where firms operate play a pivotal role in determining SME productivity. In particular, at the LEP level, increasing labour supply, promoting local funding and improving broadband speed potentially enhance firm productivity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)589-602
Number of pages14
JournalRegional Studies, Regional Science
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPrint publication - 9 Dec 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • England
  • LEPs
  • SME productivity
  • business services
  • multilevel analysis

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