... of competitive differentiation; limited resources; perceived inappropriateness; and short‐termism. The latter has, since 1993, been echoed by Carson (1993, cited in Carter and Tzokas, 1999) who claims that, small firms embark upon marketing in such a general and inappropriate way that it does...

... studies amongst small firms; a series of large‐scale qualitative studies undertaken for a blue chip company and a mixed study on the Business Link network. The emphasis is based on – using qualitative research – getting to grips with the emotion, ambiguity and complexity that characterises this market...

... of these, and reports on ethnographic research conducted in the Kyrgyz Republic. The article concludes with a discussion of qualitative methodology and its relevance. © MCB UP Limited 2000 Market research Qualitative techniques Entrepreneurialism Small firms Economic conditions The area known...

... business owners. For example, when asking about customers and the marketplace, the interviewer probed for incidents through the following preamble: © MCB UP Limited 2000 Entrepreneurship Marketing research Qualitative techniques Small firms Focus groups Marketing...

...Jimmy Hill; Pauric McGowan Demonstrates how a single case study/action science methodology was applied by the researchers in assisting the lead entrepreneur and management team in a small firm to develop marketing planning competencies, thereby ensuring company growth and hopefully survival...

...Jimmy Hill; Pauric McGowan; Paula Drummond Outlines a qualitative methodology for researching in entrepreneurial small firms and through an application of this methodology to a group of five entrepreneurs, illustrates its appropriateness in explaining how such firms manage and develop...

...Wai‐sum Siu; David A. Kirby Though the authors propose the use of an integrative approach ‐ blending the process model and the contingency approach ‐ to build and advance small firm marketing theory, they do not describe the research methodology issues in detail. Thus, this paper reviews...

...Eleanor Shaw Provides a detailed description of the qualitative research process experienced by the author when undertaking doctoral research. Recognising that there are few articles to guide the qualitative small firm researcher, it is the intention to provide a detailed account of the process...

...Malcolm Robert Victor Goodman Offers a positive example of how small firms can benefit from low cost qualitative market research techniques to determine achievable advantageous marketing strategies. The issue of identifying “customer perceived value” was chosen as the prime focus. The experimental...

...Sean Ennis Examines the issue of growth within the small firm and considers the main influences that impinge on the evolution of the enterprise. An interpretative methodological technique, causal mapping, is examined, evaluated and used to analyse the decision‐making processes made by the owner...