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Despite, or perhaps even because of, the economic uncertainties of the period, the 1970s witnessed a radical transformation of the British distributive system. Most of the changes which occurred were similar to those experienced elsewhere in the Western world, and in a review of developments in EEC countries, Dawson has suggested that the impact of these changes on society could be similar to that produced by the Industrial Revolution. In Britain at least, the changes in distribution were, and remain, a result of very marked changes in society: most notably the change in consumption patterns brought about by endemic inflation, increasing unemployment and periodic world energy crises. The result has been increased competition, a search for greater efficiency and diversification of traditional product lines. Thus the British distribution system throughout the 1970s was dominated by the trend to mass merchandising, by the emergence of large firms and a consequent increase of corporate power and by the appearance of new distribution forms. While many of the conditions and developments experienced in the 1970s are expected to continue into the 1980s, it has been predicted (Distributive Industry Training Board 1980) that by the 1990s further revolutionary changes are likely to have occurred, particularly as a result of widespread automation involving new technology. The industry is, therefore, in the middle of a period of very rapid change.

As Britain's shopping provision becomes increasingly centralised, the small local shop is becoming a rare feature of the retail grocery trade. Dr David A. Kirby examines the results of a pilot survey to discover the attitudes and opinions of failed retailers. He goes on to suggest that there is a real need for efficient and convenient local stores which may require special concessions from the Government, and certainly an injection of entrepreneurial talent, to survive.

This chapter presents the findings of an extracurricular online beta test of a competition between students of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the International University of Malaya-Wales. The competition is intended to promote the concept of harmonious entrepreneurship and the creation of student-led harmonious enterprises that address the global sustainability challenge and deliver a triple bottom line in which profit, people, and planet are in harmony. It reveals that extracurricular learning can attract students from disciplines other than business and can educate the participants, both staff and students, not just about harmonious entrepreneurship but also how to identify and launch an innovative harmonious enterprise that addresses a sustainability challenge. The test identifies how the competition may be improved prior to its global launch and makes recommendations for students, educators, mentors, providers, and universities as to how it might best be implemented. Once revised and launched the competition will be further tested to better understand how extracurricular learning can help advance the delivery of both entrepreneurship and sustainability education in universities and colleges around the globe.

There is certainly an awareness in this country of the need for training in the retail sector. However, this is directed principally at the needs of the larger retailer (cf the articles on training in our May/June issue). David Kirby suggests that little attention is being given to the training needs of the small independent. In this article he outlines a training and advisory programme for village shopkeepers which took place in mid‐Wales, a programme funded in part by the EEC in response to the decline of the village shop in that area.

Within a knowledge-driven, entrepreneurial economy, an increase in a university’s importance is observed because of its significant affect on the economy. Thus, entrepreneurship is a phenomenon that could be observed among all university levels: management, academicians, researchers, and undergraduate and postgraduate students. Entrepreneurial universities could produce several externalities in terms of demography, economy, infrastructure, culture, mobility, education, and societal challenges that will later be reflected in productivity, competitive advantages, and regional capacities, networks, identity, and innovation. In this context, entrepreneurial universities have or are positioned to develop innovative pathways to reinforce entrepreneurship in their communities. This chapter explores how entrepreneurial university pathways (education and training) have had an impact on students’ start-up intentions and actions. Adopting the institutional economics approach, this research proposes a conceptual model, tested with a sample of 1,759 university students enrolled in three entrepreneurial universities (ITESM, Mexico; UNICAMP, Brazil; and UPC, Chile) in Latin America. Our findings confirm the relevant effect of entrepreneurial university pathways on start-up creation. Not only do the results provide important contributions to the literature, they also provide insights for policy-makers to design policies that further benefit society and educational organizations.

This analytical article points to the lack of retail business experience and knowledge which characterises many of the small shopkeepers across this country. It also makes clear how far the small independent retailer feels hounded by government and competition and suggests that help may be in order. Also contained here are the results of a pilot survey of prospective purchasers and vendors of small retail units and the article points to the need for further research into the birth and death of small retail businesses.

Information technology is generally accepted as an important source of competitive advantage for the small retail business, though UK research indicates that the take‐up rate has been slow. Examines the factors influencing take‐up among small food retail businesses in the UK. Based on a sample of 148 customers of one major supplier, confirms the findings from earlier research that the effective adoption of information technology is facilitated by the expertise of the owner‐manager and the influence of the large company supplier; and is retarded by the owner‐manager failing to appreciate the benefits IT can provide, particularly in terms of strategic management development and control. Concludes that, given the symbiotic relationship existing between supplier and retailer, suppliers need to ensure that their smaller firm customers receive the requisite education and training to facilitate IT adoption.

This paper reports the survey results of marketing practices of 87 Chinese small firms in Mainland China. The findings suggest that the broad small firm marketing principles, though specifically generated from the Western countries, contribute to the success of Chinese small firms in China. Interestingly, however, the specific marketing practices of these small firms are different from those of their British counterparts. Research results indicate that higher‐performing Chinese small firms adopt the customer orientation, use a proactive approach in strategic planning, are aware and make use of marketing planning tools, adopt long‐term profit objectives, participate actively in new product development, and introduce new ways of doing business. Also, the higher‐performing Chinese small firms have well‐organised marketing organisation and encourage free communication flow and interaction among employees. To have better control over marketing activities, higher‐performing Chinese small firms frequently use marketing control devices. Thus, care should be taken before making generalisations about marketing in Western situations and in assuming that marketing tools and techniques are equally applicable across all locations.

This study investigates customer‐value based marketing activities in emerging or new fast‐growth ventures. A contextual analysis of interview data identified seven customer‐value based marketing activities actively pursued synergistically by fast growth firms: employee branding, target marketing, marketing planning marketing/market research, product differentiation via quality, relationship marketing, and guerrilla marketing. These elements form a complex web in which each marketing activity complements the other. There are three main implications: all marketing activities are intertwined, in line with marketing theory and practice associated with large firms; most marketing activities undertaken are low cost; and establishing a winning reputation is an important objective. CEOs associate reputation with brand building via employees.