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Invisible Businesses: The Characteristics of Home-based Businesses in the United Kingdom

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  • Colin Mason
  • Sara Carter
  • Stephen Tagg

Abstract

Mason C. M., Carter S. and Tagg S. Invisible businesses: the characteristics of home-based businesses in the United Kingdom, Regional Studies. Home-based businesses comprise a significant proportion of the small business sector. But because they are invisible, their economic significance is assumed to be minor. This paper challenges this view. The majority are full-time businesses. One in ten has achieved significant scale. They create jobs for more than just the owner(s). They are concentrated in computer-related, business, and professional service sectors. They also have a distinctive geography. Rural areas and non-metropolitan parts of Southern England have the highest proportion of home-based businesses. Urban-industrial regions have the lowest proportion. This suggests a need to reconsider the role of home-based businesses in local economic development. [image omitted] Mason C. M., Carter S. et Tagg S. Les entreprises invisibles: les caracteristiques des entrepises a domicile au Royaume-Uni, Regional Studies. Les entreprises a domicile constituent une proportion non-negligeable du parc des petites entreprises. Cependant, etant donne qu'elles sont invisibles, on suppose que leur importance economique soit mineure. Cet article fait changer l'opinion. La majorite sont des entreprises a plein temps. Une sur dix a atteint une importance non-negligeable. Elles creent des emplois non seulement pour les proprietaires. Elles se concentrent dans les secteurs lies a l'informatique, au commerce et aux services aux entreprises. Elles ont aussi une geographie particuliere. Les zones rurales et non-metropolitaines du sud de l'Angleterre sont dotees de la proportion la plus elevee des entreprises a domicile. Les regions urbano-industrielles ont la proportion la moins elevee. Cela laisse supposer qu'il faut repenser le role des entreprises a domicile dans le developpement economique local. Travail a domicile Entreprises a domicile Petites entreprises Economie rurale Economie urbaine Developpement economique local Mason C. M., Carter S. und Tagg S. Unsichtbare Unternehmen: Merkmale der von zu Hause aus gefuhrten Unternehmen in Grossbritannien, Regional Studies. Von zu Hause aus gefuhrte Unternehmen machen einen erheblichen Anteil des Sektors der Kleinunternehmen aus. Doch da diese Unternehmen unsichtbar bleiben, wird angenommen, dass sie nur einen geringen Beitrag zur Wirtschaft leisten. In diesem Beitrag wird diese Ansicht in Frage gestellt. Die Unternehmen sind mehrheitlich Vollzeit tatig. Jedes zehnte von ihnen hat eine signifikante Grosse erreicht. Die Unternehmen schaffen Arbeitsplatze fur mehr Personen als nur den bzw. die Eigentumer. Sie sind konzentriert in den Sektoren der Informationstechnologie sowie der geschaftlichen und professionellen Dienste angesiedelt. Ebenso zeichnen sie sich durch eine charakteristische Geografie aus. Den hochsten Anteil an von zu Hause aus gefuhrten Unternehmen weisen landliche und nicht-metropolitane Gebiete in Sudengland auf. In urbanen bzw. industriellen Regionen finden sich die niedrigsten Anteile. Diese Tatsache legt nahe, dass die Rolle der von zu Hause aus gefuhrten Unternehmen bei der lokalen Wirtschaftsentwicklung uberdacht werden muss. Heimarbeit Von zu Hause aus gefuhrte Unternehmen Kleinunternehmen Wirtschaft in landlichen Gebieten Wirtschaft in stadtischen Gebieten Lokale Wirtschaftsentwicklung Mason C. M., Carter S. y Tagg S. Negocios invisibles: las caracteristicas de los negocios desde el hogar en el Reino Unido, Regional Studies. Los negocios desde el hogar representan una proporcion significativa del sector de pequenos negocios. Pero como son invisibles, se da por sentado que su importancia economica es menor. En este articulos cuestionamos esta opinion. En la mayoria de los negocios se trabaja a jornada completa. Uno de cada diez ha logrado un tamano considerable. Los negocios tambien dan empleo a mas personas aparte de los propietarios. Se centran en sectores relacionados con la informatica y los servicios para negocios y profesionales. Tambien presentan una geografia distintiva. Las areas rurales y zonas no metropolitanas del sur de Inglaterra tienen el porcentaje mas alto de negocios desde el hogar. Las regiones urbanas industriales tienen el porcentaje mas bajo. Esto indica que es necesario reconsiderar el papel de los negocios desde el hogar en el desarrollo economico local. Trabajo desde el hogar Negocio desde el hogar Pequeno negocio Economia rural Economia urbana Desarrollo economico local

Suggested Citation

  • Colin Mason & Sara Carter & Stephen Tagg, 2011. "Invisible Businesses: The Characteristics of Home-based Businesses in the United Kingdom," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(5), pages 625-639.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:45:y:2011:i:5:p:625-639
    DOI: 10.1080/00343401003614241
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    Cited by:

    1. Darja Reuschke, 2019. "The subjective well-being of homeworkers across life domains," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(6), pages 1326-1349, September.
    2. Pascal Beckers & Bart Sleutjes, 2014. "Neighbourhood Spatial Order, the Local Economy and Firm Mobility in Urban Areas of the Netherlands," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 2103-2122, November.
    3. Isla Kapasi & Laura Galloway, 2016. "Motivations and mitigating business limitations in Scottish rural home-based businesses," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 31(3), pages 377-392, May.
    4. Wouter Steenbeek & Veronique Schutjens, 2014. "The willingness to intervene in problematic neighbourhood situations: A comparison of local entrepreneurs and (un-)employed residents," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(3), pages 349-357, July.
    5. Muhammad Naveed Anwar & Elizabeth Daniel, 2016. "The Role of Entrepreneur-Venture Fit in Online Home-Based Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(04), pages 419-451, December.
    6. Sanae Hobad & Laila Hobad & Abderrazzak Kabbouri, 2023. "Female entrepreneurship and social media in Morocco [L'entrepreneuriat féminin et les médias sociaux au Maroc]," Post-Print hal-03973512, HAL.
    7. Daniel Wheatley, 2021. "Workplace location and the quality of work: The case of urban-based workers in the UK," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(11), pages 2233-2257, August.
    8. Darja Reuschke & Donald Houston, 2016. "The importance of housing and neighbourhood resources for urban microbusinesses," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(6), pages 1216-1235, June.
    9. Donald Houston & Darja Reuschke, 2017. "City economies and microbusiness growth," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(14), pages 3199-3217, November.
    10. Said Muhammad & Kong Ximei & Shahab E. Saqib & Nicholas J. Beutell, 2021. "Women’s Home-Based Entrepreneurship and Family Financial Position in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Andrew Atherton & João R. Faria & Daniel Wheatley & Dongxu Wu & Zhongmin Wu, 2016. "The decision to moonlight: does second job holding by the self-employed and employed differ?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 279-299, May.
    12. Lianne Hans & Sierdjan Koster, 2018. "Urbanization and start-up rates in different geographies: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1033-1054, December.
    13. Monica Lent & Alistair Anderson & Mohammad Sohail Yunis & Hina Hashim, 2019. "Understanding how legitimacy is acquired among informal home-based Pakistani small businesses," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 341-361, June.
    14. Nam Kyoon N. Kim & Simon C. Parker, 0. "Entrepreneurial homeworkers," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-25.
    15. Reuschke, Darja & Houston, Donald, 2020. "Revisiting the gender gap in commuting through self-employment," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    16. Nam Kyoon N. Kim & Simon C. Parker, 2021. "Entrepreneurial homeworkers," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1427-1451, October.
    17. Paula Rodríguez-Modroño, 2021. "Non-standard work in unconventional workspaces: Self-employed women in home-based businesses and coworking spaces," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(11), pages 2258-2275, August.
    18. Sierdjan Koster & Lianne Hans, 2017. "History Repeating! Spatial Dynamics in Dutch Start-Up Rates (1996–2013)," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 108(2), pages 250-257, April.
    19. Bart Sleutjes & Beate Völker, 2012. "The Role Of The Neighbourhood For Firm Relocation," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 103(2), pages 240-249, April.
    20. Oluwasheyi Oladipo & Katarzyna Platt & Hyoung Suk Shim, 2023. "Female entrepreneurs managing from home," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 447-464, August.
    21. Muhammad Naveed Anwar & Elizabeth M. Daniel, 2017. "Ethnic entrepreneurs and online home-based businesses: an exploratory study," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, December.
    22. Xiaoyu Yu & Yajie Li & Daniel Q. Chen & Xiaotong Meng & Xiangming Tao, 2019. "Entrepreneurial bricolage and online store performance in emerging economies," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(2), pages 167-185, June.
    23. Kevin Kane & William AV Clark, 2019. "Mapping the landscape of urban work: Home-based businesses and the built environment," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(2), pages 323-350, March.

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