ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents two years of case study and survey research in the small business area. The research project it describes was originally designed to be a detailed examination of human resource strategy whose chief contribution was as an academic definition in the human resource area only. The book explains the assessment of human resource priorities within the small business and highlights the nature of such priorities and their relationship to competitive business strategy, gender and financial performance. It discusses the implications of the study's findings that are interpreted as to their impact on public policy makers and academics. Finally, the book also discusses the significance of the research findings and the limitations of this study.
