Spatial variations in markets served by UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

This paper considers the existence of spatial variations in the geographical markets served by UK-based SMEs. This topic has largely been ignored within the existing literature and there is little evidence on how the dependence of SMEs on local, national and international markets varies spatially. In dealing with this weakness a standardized postal questionnaire was distributed to SMEs in two study areas: one economically peripheral and, the other, an economic core area. The results show that peripheral firms supply a significantly higher percentage of goods and services to local markets (when controlling for life-cycle and sectoral differences). In contrast, core firms are more oriented to the whole region to which they belong and to national markets, but rather surprisingly there are no significant statistical differences with regard to exporting.