Economic Models

In order to conceive of how the Small Business Community may develop out to 2020, we need to have a model to explain small business development. There are a number of models that we have encountered in our research and which we find persuasive. These are reported on the following pages.

It is held that, in the Knowledge Society, the key to business development is the ability to leverage knowledge creatively. To do this, an area will need to encourage the development of a Creative Class, and that policy ought to focus on encouraging the development of that group of people.

How will technology shape the small business environment in the future? We can be fairly certain about the technological futures out to 2010. Beyond that, our view becomes more speculative. However, because it is speculative does not mean that we ought not to give the subject our consideration.

If nothing were to change in the world economy, and if current trends were to play out to 2020, what would the business world look like? Of course, we cannot expect this to happen, as we can reasonably expect some paradigm shifts between now and then. However, this exercise is of interest, as it provides a baseline against which we can measure other trends.

What will customer care mean in the future? How will technology allow us to enhance our service offerings? Are we entering a new phase of consumer capitalism? Taking current trends and extrapolating them into the future, we can find that there are grounds to suspect that we are currently in another paradigm shift for small business that will play out to 2020.

What comes after the Information Society? With industrial work automated and sent off-shore, and the likelihood that knowledge work set to follow, how will those left earn a living? What is there to sell in the western economies? One answer is the onset of the Dream Society, an economy in which we shall buy the story rather than the product.

The Creative Economy

The Support Economy

Business 2020

The Technological Future

The Dream Society

Economic Models

THE SUFFOLK SMALL BUSINESS PROJECT

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