Perceptions and experience of employment regulation in UK small firms

The view that excessive regulation constrains small business growth has been a persistent theme within business and policy communities, although recent studies have demonstrated the actual effects of regulation to be relatively modest. A prior small-scale study proposed four reasons why employment legislation does 'not damage' small firms. We attempt to assess the robustness of these propositions in a large-scale survey of 16 779 small firms. Results provide empirical support for three propositions. Firstly, perceived dissatisfaction masks actual effects. Secondly, competitive conditions mediate regulatory effects; however, even resource-constrained firms reported few negative effects. Thirdly, informality eases regulatory impact. Results failed to confirm that older laws are 'routinised'. Length of time as a business owner was found to be more influential than age of regulation, with owners who have been in business for many years having a longer 'window of exposure' increasing their likelihood of experiencing negative and positive effects

Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products: Overview and recommendations for a universal nomenclature

Covering: 1988 to 2012 This review presents recommended nomenclature for the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), a rapidly growing class of natural products. The current knowledge regarding the biosynthesis of the >20 distinct compound classes is also reviewed, and commonalities are discussed

Book reveiw: Doing conversation, discourse and document analysis

This is a review of the book 'Doing conversation, discourse and document analysis' by Tim Raple

Modelling the export marketing strategy - performance relationship

Published in association with the UK Chapter of the Academy of International Business (AIB), this ninth volume in the AIB series focuses on the new challenges and developments in the field of international business. The book successfully brings together an integrated set of research concepts and results to present some contrasting views about how international business is adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that the 21st century presents

Lifting the Barriers to Growth in UK Small Businesses

This report examines lifting the barriers to growth in UK small businesses