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Modernizing Manufacturing: Consultancy, Advisory, and Extension Services to Improve Small Business Performance

  • Chapter
Technological Infrastructure Policy

Part of the book series: Economics of Science, Technology and Innovation ((ESTI,volume 7))

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Abstract

Small firms are an essential part of the industrial fabric of modern economies. They provide a major part of production and employment and can be highly innovative. However small firms face a variety of major competitive challenges due to: structural change in industry; the widespread impacts of the introduction of information technology and other new technologies; the shift towards more R&D-intensive activities; and international competition in domestic and foreign markets. These challenges require a variety of strategic changes in products and services, in methods of production and supply of products and services, and in marketing and international operations. Overhaul of internal organization and upgrading of management and work-force skills and competencies are necessary responses to these changes.

This chapter is a shortened version of more extensive work on the design and implementation of advisory services published by the OECD (1995). The views expressed in this chapter are not necessarily those of the OECD or of its member countries.

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Authors
  1. Graham Vickery
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Morris Teubal (Professor of Economics, Head of Industrial Policy Group) (Professor of Economics, Head of Industrial Policy Group)

  2. The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Israel

    Morris Teubal (Professor of Economics, Head of Industrial Policy Group) (Professor of Economics, Head of Industrial Policy Group)

  3. École Centrale Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France

    Dominique Foray (Senior Researcher, Professor of Economics) (Senior Researcher, Professor of Economics)

  4. Department of Economics, Ben Gurion University, Israel

    Moshe Justman (Chair) & Ehud Zuscovitch (Chair) & 

  5. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France

    Ehud Zuscovitch

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© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Vickery, G. (1996). Modernizing Manufacturing: Consultancy, Advisory, and Extension Services to Improve Small Business Performance. In: Teubal, M., Foray, D., Justman, M., Zuscovitch, E. (eds) Technological Infrastructure Policy. Economics of Science, Technology and Innovation, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8739-6_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8739-6_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4649-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-8739-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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