ABSTRACT
In recent years much of research into networks has emphasized the role of information linkages leading to enhanced innovation. Whether this is seen within the context of small firms in industrial districts or within larger corporations it is self-evidently a priority on the research agenda of social scientists to examine how these economic relationships are able to achieve a more efficient allocation of scarce resources than a conventional market model (Brusco 1980; Piore and Sabel 1984). This rich vein of literature has prompted a number of intriguing theoretical developments and many policy initiatives, in particular, in contributing to a renewed concern with the employment creation by the small-firm sector. However, despite the wealth of this literature, relatively little research has focused on one of the fundamental constraints on small-firm development, namely the difficulties of access to credit.
