Special issue introduction: Business support for entrepreneurs and small firms: access, design, and impacts: A research agenda

Governments and non-governmental organisations commit substantial resources to a range of business support interventions for small firms and entrepreneurs. A substantive body of research has investigated such support interventions over recent decades. While important progress has been made, the literature remains fragmented, and critical questions and long-standing concerns remain unaddressed. This article develops a research agenda around access, design, and impacts, focusing the impacts dimension on questions of effectiveness. We also bring attention to novel themes around start-up mobility, artificial intelligence, and risk aversion, which we believe have important implications across the domains of business support research. Consequently, we advance ongoing business support debates and invite new inquiry that can inform the development of more effective and accessible business support interventions.