Partnerships between small and medium enterprises and universities that add value Available to Purchase

Investigates the premises that small businesses need marketing expertise in order to grow and that undergraduates need more experience of studying small business marketing problems. There is increasing interest in, and importance of, sustainable small business and a move away from the traditional graduate recruitment route into well‐established large businesses. These developments suggest that an opportunity exists for developing new methods of marketing teaching that will aid both graduates and small businesses to gain added value from their marketing knowledge. Two areas area looked at, that small business sustainability and growth potential are enhanced by an increased understanding of marketing, and that business undergraduates’ employment potential will be enhanced by exposure to small business owner/managers and their specific marketing problems. These are looked at in the context of the author’s long involvement in higher marketing education. The conclusion is reached that developing small business consultancy/case studies around specific marketing problems develops new teaching materials, provides the forum for interaction between SME owner/managers and business undergraduates and helps change existing perceptions.