ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE, COMPETITIVENESS AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN EUROPE

Is it the case that more competitive SMEs have greater capacity to adopt environmental initiatives? The answer is no, according to this study which tried to link small firm environmental performance to factors such as profitability, growth, skills and research and development. This study focuses on three interrelated propositions that are concerned with the impact of environmental initiatives on firm competitiveness; the relevance of management's awareness to environment: the availability of external information and expertise to aid management, and the competitiveness of the firm. The firm's competitive strengths measured variously as above average profitability, firm growth and R&D, skills and modernity of plant and equipment, there was only scattered evidence to suggest any of these was importantly associated with the firm's environmental performance. The study showed that firms with an average economic performance were just as likely to adopt environmental initiatives as their high-performing competitors. Moreover, regardless of managers voicing personal concerns about the environment, most small firms do relatively little about the environment in practice and are reluctant to seek advice about it. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.

LEGAL SERVICES IN THE REGIONAL ECONOMY: EVIDENCE FROM WALES

Using data provided by The Law Society of England and Wales, the paper attempts to evaluate the quantity and quality of legal services provided by private solicitors in Wales. Both are found wanting compared to England as a whole and to an appropriate comparator region (South West England). Moreover, the distribution of services within Wales is extremely uneven with remoter rural areas and areas of recent industrial decline showing the acutest difficulties. The results raise questions about whether Wales can confront the challenges posed by devolution and the emergence of a distinct jurisdiction and by the Welsh Assembly's strategy for economic regeneration. New technology and impending policy reforms give grounds for cautious optimism. Copyright (c) 2007 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.