Introduction and overview: 1. The linkages between entrepreneurship, SMEs and the macroeconomy Zoltan J. Acs, Bo Carlsson and Charlie Karlsson; Part I. Entrepreneurship, Industrial Dynamics and the Macroeconomy: 2. Entrepreneurship and the theory of the firm Mark Casson; 3. Entrepreneurship, and economic restructuring: an evolutionary view David Audretsch; 4. Business volatility: source or symptom of economic growth? Paul D. Reynolds; 5. Industry structure, entrepreneurship, and the macroeconomy: a comparison of Ohio and Sweden, 1975–1995 Pontus Braunerhjelm and Bo Carlsson; Part II. Financing Entrepreneurship and SMEs: 6. Small business cessation: failure to learn by doing? Robert Cressey; 7. Capital structure at inception and the short-run performance of micro firms Gavin C. Reid; 8. Resource allocation, incentives, and control: the importance of venture capital in financing entrepreneurial firms Paul A. Gompers; Part III. Job Creation and Destruction: 9. Job creation and destruction by employer size and age: cyclical dynamics John Haltiwanger; 10. SMEs and job creation during a recession Per Davidsson, Leif Lindmark and Christer Oloffson; 11. Job flows of firms in traditional services Luuk Klop and Roy Thurik; Part IV. Innovation, Productivity and Growth: 12. Innovation in UK SMEs: causes and consequences for firm failure and acquisition Andy Cosh, Alan Hughes and Eric Wood; 13. Productivity growth and firm size distribution Zoltan J. Acs, Randal Morck and Bernard Yeung.

Review of the hardback: 'While recent years have seen a welcome growth of research into small companies and business start-ups, acadmeics still face the problem of getting a clear mental image of what exactly is under consideration … Research in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also faces some daunting problems of collecting and interpreting data … this collection of 13 papers is an impressive indication of the value of systematic analysis in this field … the substantive contributions [are] consistently well-written and often insightful … the key lesson that emerges is the need for caution when attempting grand generalisations … the volume is a testament to the principle that goos research should focus on interesting problems, even it the domain is complex and defies simplistic conclusions.' The Times Higher Education Supplement