SME Policy, Academic Research and the Growth of Ignorance, Mythical Concepts, Myths, Assumptions, Rituals and Confusions

PROFESSOR ALLAN A. GIBB IS chairman of the Foundation for SME Development at Durham University, England. This paper focuses upon the value of academic research to policymakers and stakeholders in Small and Medium Enterprise Development. It argues that alongside the substantial growth in SME research and publication in the past two decades there has been a parallel growth of ignorance. As exemplars of this the paper examines a number of 'mythical concepts' and 'myths' that are used as a basis for key areas of policy development. It seeks to demonstrate how these have arisen. It also shows how these have led on to certain kinds of priorities being established and certain assumptions about development processes implicitly adopted. Finally, the paper explores three key issues which it is argued are at the core of this problem: first, the way in which academe interfaces with the SME, its stakeholders and policymakers; second, the assumptions that are made about the processes by which policy is arrived at; and, finally, academic approaches to research in the social sciences.