Productivity from Below: Addressing the Productivity Challenges of Microbusinesses

学术和政策对生产率的兴趣很少能抓住小企业人口中一个重要部分的经验：微型企业（1-9名雇员）。这些公司的非正式和不透明的管理程序对评估生产力和制定实际干预措施构成挑战。该项目采用严谨的学术研究成果，与非学术利益相关者共同制定和实施政策，支持管理层提高此类企业的生产率。我们的背景是西米德兰兹郡餐饮、零售和创意行业的弱势群体管理和工作，这是一个重要的案例，可以提高对微型企业管理和参与实践与绩效之间关系的认识和实践。该研究是合作的，由三个领先的应用中心组成，研究人员来自不同学科背景：少数民族创业研究中心（CREME）、企业研究中心（ERC）和城市- redi（区域经济发展研究所）。他们与非学术利益相关者一起工作，这些利益相关者很少出现在“主流”商业支持生态系统中（尽管他们在无数微型企业网络中都有影响力）：Ashley integrated（一家屡获殊荣的社会企业，致力于提高移民的就业能力）、bangladesh Network（由四个在当地和全国范围内开展业务的团体组成）、Citizens UK（一个全国性的公民社会联盟）和Punch Records（一家以促进贫困背景的艺术家为强烈社会使命的企业）。采用了一种多方法，包括五个项目，旨在深入了解微型企业，用于制定促进生产力的干预措施。WP 1将该项目置于最近一项关于微型企业特征的全国性研究的背景下。进一步的分析将突出那些渴望提高业绩和增长的微型企业所面临的挑战。在WP2中，通过对24个公司案例进行深入的定性调查，将对微型企业的管理和参与实践有一个详细的了解。对工作组织的经理和工人的观点进行评估。这些知识在WP 3中与一系列非学术利益相关者共享和利用，目的是映射和动员业务支持生态系统。将确定政策选项，然后在WP4中与有雄心参与定制变革计划以提高生产力的微型企业主一起对其进行测试和评估。一个积极的知识交流和传播方案（WP5）将贯穿该项目，包括一系列旅程地图知识交流联合举办的讲习班，由微型企业所有者/经理及其雇员和外部支助机构参与。这些课程旨在了解参与研究如何影响对引入新的管理和参与实践的初始管理风格的任何改变，以及这些如何提高生产力。WP5还将为传播以及形成性和总结性评价的定性部分提供信息。该项目将为企业带来重要的实际成果，为以证据为基础的干预措施提供支持，使参加旨在提升领导和管理技能从而提高生产力的定制方案的约30家微型企业受益。从他们的经验中获得的见解将促进对“什么是有效的”的更好理解，这可以指导其他情况下的从业者。该项目还将通过动员“主流”和非传统中介机构（例如，我们的非学术合作伙伴）并通过多种参与途径，积极支持西米德兰兹郡更具响应性和包容性的商业支持生态系统的发展。

Academic and policy interest in productivity rarely captures the experiences of an important segment of the small firm population: micro-businesses (1-9 employees). The informal and opaque management processes in such firms pose challenges for the assessment of productivity and development of practical interventions. This project uses rigorous academic research co-produced with non-academic stakeholders to design and implement policies that support management to boost productivity in such firms. Our context - disadvantaged communities managing and working in the catering, retail and creative sectors in the West Midlands - serve as a critical case to improve knowledge and practice on the relationship between management and engagement practices and performance in micro-businesses.The research is collaborative and comprises three leading applied centres with researchers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds: the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME), the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) and City-REDI (Regional Economic Development Institute). They work alongside non-academic stakeholders that rarely feature in 'mainstream' business support ecosystems (despite their reach in myriad micro-enterprise networks): Ashley Integrates (an award-winning social enterprise with a keen interest in promoting employability of migrants), the Bangladeshi Network (comprising four groups with local and national reach into the sector), Citizens UK (a national civil society alliance) and Punch Records (a business with a strong social mission to promote artists from deprived background).A multi-method is adopted comprising five WPs that aim to develop insights into micro-businesses that can be used to develop interventions to promote productivity. WP 1 locates the project in the context of a recent national study on the characteristics of microbusinesses. Further analysis will highlight challenges facing those micro-businesses that have a desire to improve performance and grow. A granular understanding of management and engagement practices in micro-businesses will be generated in WP2 by in-depth qualitative investigation of 24 case studies of firms over an extended period of time. Manager and worker perspectives on the organization of work are evaluated. This knowledge is shared and utilized in WP 3 with a range of non-academic stakeholders, with the aim of mapping and mobilizing the business support ecosystem. Policy options will be identified, which will then - in WP4 - be tested and evaluated with micro-business owners who have the ambition to participate in bespoke change programmes to boost productivity. An active programme of knowledge exchange and dissemination (WP5) will cross-cut the project and will comprise a series of journey mapping knowledge exchange co-produced workshops, involving micro-business owner/managers and their employees, and external support agencies. These are designed to understand how involvement in the study has influenced any change to initial management style towards introducing new management and engagement practices, and how these have improved productivity. WP5 will also inform dissemination, and the qualitative component of the formative and summative evaluation.The project will produce important practical outcomes for businesses my providing support for evidence-based interventions that will benefit around 30 micro-businesses that participate in customised programmes designed to upgrade leadership and management skills leading to a boost in productivity. Insights from their experiences and will promote greater understanding of 'what works' that can guide practitioners in other contexts.The project will also actively support the development of a more responsive and inclusive business support ecosystem in the West Midlands by mobilising 'mainstream' and non-traditional intermediaries (for example, our non-academic partners) and via multiple pathways of engagement.