2 Key Characteristics of Small Businesses in Scotland
In this first chapter, data relating to a number of key features of small businesses in Scotland are presented. This is done for two reasons: firstly, in themselves these data provide a good description of some of the more important features of small businesses; and secondly, in the remainder of the report, these features are used as the main analytical variables against which small businesses' responses to more substantive questions about their policies, practices, experiences and beliefs will be evaluated.
The chapter is divided into two parts, each focusing on a different set of these characteristics. The first set reflect the key variables used in the substantive text of this report, and the second reflect the variables used to provide further insight in the appendix tables.
Accordingly, the main variables discussed first are:
- the size of the business in terms of the number of staff employed
- the industrial and commercial sectors in which small businesses are found
- whether or not the businesses anticipate growth in the next two or three years, and
- age of the business.
The chapter then moves on to consider other characteristics of small businesses, most of which are used as cross breaks in the appendix tables. These cover the location of the businesses, whether or not they export outside the UK, their financial turnover, legal form of the businesses, the composition of the management team (in terms of women-led businesses, and businesses led by people from minority ethnic groups [ MEG led]), recent experiences of employment and business growth, and finally the physical characteristics of the main location of the business (in terms of whether or not located in a rural area; whether or not located in a socially and economically disadvantaged area).