ABSTRACT
For those who have observed changes in economic development over the last 25 years, one of the most striking, if least expected, trends has been the rising importance of the small firm. The first 25 years after the last war were characterised by stable economic growth and an absence of recession, under conditions of limited competition with barriers to trade still relatively high. In this situation large bureaucratic organisations were able to thrive. They could plan ahead with reasonable certainty and were not under competitive pressures as strong as those of succeeding years.
