Author Post Archive

Posts by Kelly Cookson

My experience of the Growth 100 programme

Guest blog by Aaron Dicks, MD of Impression Digital. When I launched Impression in November 2012 I knew just two things for certain; Nottingham was in need of a high-quality, good value digital marketing agency and that myself and my co-founder Tom Craig were the two people to bring it to market. Beyond that, starting a …

Do changes in aggregate GDP influence business decisions made by SMEs?

Gross domestic product (GDP) figures show that the economy is now 0.2% ahead of its pre-crisis peak. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics showed that the economy grew by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2014. In the August 2014 Business Barometer survey, our panel of UK small business owners and business advisers …

Crisis, opportunity and understanding innovation

Article by Paul Kirkham, researcher in the field of entrepreneurial creativity at Nottingham University Business School. “Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change.” So wrote Milton Friedman, economist and Nobel Prize winner, in his highly influential Capitalism and Freedom, first published more than 50 years ago. This is, of course, palpable …

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Flexible working for SMEs

Millions of employees now have the right to request flexible working. The new law which came into force on 30th June 2014 entitles any employee with 26 weeks’ service to ask for a range of flexible options, including compressed hours, 4-day weeks, working from home and job shares. In the July 2014 Business Barometer survey, …

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Innovation, healthcare and hidden potential

Article by Simon Mosey, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Nottingham University Business School and Director of the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The notion that more should be done with less is central to much of the debate that continues to swirl around the healthcare arena in general and the NHS in particular. …

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How to create new ideas for business from the old

Article by Paul Kirkham, researcher in the field of entrepreneurial creativity at Nottingham University Business School. Successful businesses know what they’re doing, and they do it well; their products and services match the needs of their customers. But circumstances change, the market alters, new technologies appear; growing businesses face crucial challenges. At various times the …

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China’s next age

Article by Paul Kirkham, researcher in the field of entrepreneurial creativity at Nottingham University Business School. The discoveries that emerged during the Age of Exploration finally put to rest the idea that all wisdom came from the “ancients”. The realisation that knowledge could be found elsewhere or even created – and therefore that progress could …

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To err is human – so why won’t we learn from our mistakes?

Written by Professor Simon Mosey, Director of the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Nottingham University Business School. The search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 goes on. According to Angus Houston, the retired Air Chief Marshal coordinating the hunt, it could take two years to locate the wreckage. The phrase of choice is …

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What do SMEs expect from Business Schools?

In the April 2014 Business Barometer survey, our panel of UK small business owners and business advisers were asked about their awareness of and engagement with their local Business School. The responses from small business owners were as follows: Business Schools are being encouraged to be more closely engaged with the local business community. To …

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What do SMEs know about Local Enterprise Partnerships?

In the March 2014 Business Barometer survey, our panel of UK small business owners and business advisers were asked what they know about Local Enterprise Partnerships. The responses from small business owners were as follows: Are you aware of Local Enterprise Partnerships?  Yes 61.3% No 27.5% Not sure 11.3%   Do you know which Local …

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