1. Developing a Business Support
Framework –
where does the evidence lead us?
Kevin Mole (ERC)
Associate Professor

2. Business Support Framework
Which way forward for business support policy?
From previous UK evaluations
> Business Link
From an International review of support:
> Syntens and Growth-houses

3. Choices for business support policy
broader or deeper?
Evaluation of Business Links mid 2000
Historically the network model had local Business Link
Organizations as franchisees
SBS the funders of the programme wanted to explore
good practice in local Business Link Organizations
Mole K F, Hart M, Roper S, Saal D S, 2011, "Broader or deeper?
Exploring the most effective intervention profile for public small
business support" Environment and Planning A 43 87 - 105

4. Business Link Organisations
had choices
Sma l l
Bu si n e ss
Se r v i c e
Ba se l i n e
£
Learning and
Skills Council
£
European
Social/Structural
Funds
£
Regional
Development
Agencies

5. How many firms helped versus
how much each was helped
Low High
High High-Low
Pipeline
Forcing
High-High
Managed
Pipeline Forcing
Brokerage
Low Low-Low
Light-touch
Brokerage
Low-High
Managed
Brokerage
Intensity of assistance
ProportionofFirmsassisted

6. Clustering Managed Brokerage
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
BLO
Tyne and Wear
South Yorks
Durham
N. Manch
Merseyside
Nrthumbria
E.Lancs
Herts
B'ham
Salop
All bar
Costperintervention

7. Model 3: Forcing Clients through
the Pipeline/Funnel
‘Trigger points’ to identify
firms that may be
‘amenable’ to intensive
assistance.
BLOs are very keen to
get a high proportion of
firms through to the
end of the funnel

8. Broader versus deeper
Low High
High High-Low
Pipeline
Forcing
High-High
Managed Pipeline
Forcing
Brokerage
Low Low-Low
Light-touch
Brokerage
Low-High
Managed
Brokerage
Intensity of assistance
ProportionofFirmsassisted

9. Impact Coefficients in Regression
Models of Employment
E mp l o y me nt
Gr o wt h
Co e f f
t -
st a t
A. I nt e nsi v e l y - a ssi st e d f i r ms
L i g h t - t o u c h 0 . 0 25
2. 7 5
7
M a n a g e d
Br o k e r a g e 0 . 0 69
4 . 1
1 7
P i p e l i n e
F o r c i n g
0 . 0 1
8
1 . 2
7 5
M a n a g e d
p i p e l i n e
f o r c i n g 1 . 7

10. Significant differences between the profiles
of BLO assistance
The key differences between the four models of BL
assistance/BLOs were:
> Managed brokerage BLOs were most likely to be providing
intensively-assisted firms with business planning assistance or
action plan development
> Help with raising finance was also most likely to be offered by
managed brokerages;
> Managed brokerages and BLOs operating both managed
brokerage and Pipeline Forcing managed pipeline forcing
brokerage were most likely to be providing assistance with e-
commerce and IT.

11. But timing of BL impact means that we may
be too early to judge…
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
already next
year
next 2 3>5 5+ none
Intense
Other

12. Data linking shows that effects can take place after
considerable time lags…

13. Syntens in The Netherlands
Many SMEs are not innovative
Syntens reaches beyond…
> Engaging groups of ‘missing’ companies
through Futurized businesses
> Diagnosing innovative capacity
> Providing a tailored innovation roadmap

14. Futurized Businesses
identified a middle group of late adopters
1. First, they used Chambers of Commerce data to identify companies
with no previous contact that had five plus employees in :
manufacturing, construction, wholesale, transport and business
services.
2. A team from Syntens, the Chamber of Commerce and other
regional partners prioritized this list based on the importance of
sectors, and the potential of the companies.
3. small local areas were selected for a campaign
> including talking to local representatives, and
> gaining publicity in local papers and radio.
4. SMEs were phoned by well prepared and experienced Syntens
consultants, who listened to the challenges that faced owner and
tried to arrange a meeting with the SME manager (consultants had
a 50% success rate whereas a call centre had a 1-in-10 rate)

15. Consultants Visited
Consultants prepared a profile of the
> ambition,
> willingness to change,
> opportunities,
> innovation capabilities and
> current problem and needs.
The profile and current problems leads the consultant to offer activities
or referrals to third parties.
The consultants also followed up with extra information because they
argued that this group of firms were poor at searching for new
knowledge.

16. Innovation Quick Scan (web based)
Innovator
Follower
7 5
Natural Systematic
InnovationPotential
10
0
8

17. Innovation Quick Scan (web based)
Innovator
Follower
7 5
Innovation Urgency
Ambition
Natural Systematic
InnovationPotential
10
0
6
8

18. Syntens Process …producing a
roadmap…
Syntens cost €40m in 2009 to act as a sounding board, point of referral
and innovation specialist.
Synten’s tailored consultancy is time-rationed: companies can receive a
maximum of 16 hours per year per company.
The consultants determine the innovation ability of a business looking
at 10 enablers of innovation success, which are very broad
including: strategy, organization, culture, finance, skills, getting
knowledge and technology, generating ideas, realizing ideas,
marketing new products and the exploitation of new products.
The outcome from the 2 days of tailored consulting is a roadmap of
where the company might need to improve to match their innovation
capability with their innovative ambition.
In this sense the programme, responds to the need for SMEs to have
a strategic sounding board and a space for reflection.

19. Prospects for Syntens
Syntens say that 55% of firms followed up their contact to
become more innovative
“..it is sound policy to invest time and effort in less
innovative companies but only if you work in a demand
driven (“listen”) way and ensure that the visits are
performed by experienced consultants”
However, there is no rigorous evaluation beyond the take-
up evidence

20. The Growth House as a Central Hub

21. The nine objectives of the GHs for 2012
(Contract of requirements)
1 A minimum of 2.650 high-growth enterprises is selected each year through
business diagnosis and these are provided a growth plan and further
undertake a user evaluation.
2 At least 80 % of the selected enterprises are referred to intermediaries.
3 At least 70 % of the selected enterprises will recommend GHs to others.
4 At least 80 % of the intermediaries are satisfied with the particular GH.
5 At least 80% of local collaborators are satisfied with the GHs.
6 At least 70% of the selected enterprises will refer intermediary to others.
7 High-growth enterprises will increase employment by at least 10% in
comparison to similar enterprises in the control group from 2011 to 2012.
8 High-growth enterprises will increase turnover by at least 15% in
comparison to similar enterprises in the control group from 2011 to 2012.
9 High-growth enterprises will increase export by at least 10% in comparison
to similar enterprises in the control group from 2011 to 2012.

22. The Growth Wheel
Startup Company (vaeksthjulet.dk)

23. Growth House managers assessments of
system strengths…
• Firms receiving GH services have higher growth rates than firms in
the control group (confirmed by DBA evaluations).
• The face-to-face interaction with firm owners is a major strength of
the programme.
• The GHs have highly educated programme advisers, commonly
with several years of experience from private companies either
as business owners or employees, and this is highly respected
by firm owners.
• Business diagnosis can change a firms’ view of its major challenges;
a change necessary to unleash its growth potential.
• Changing the mind-set of owners is key to the firms’ success.
• The GHs can ‘push’/motivate the firms into receiving necessary
consulting services, which they may otherwise have hesitated to
take actions to receive.
• The GHs do not compete in the market of private consultant .

24. …and weaknesses
Operational
• Programme advisers are limited in the amount of time that they
can spend with the firm, before referring it to intermediaries.
• Private intermediaries are not publicly screened or evaluated
other than online user evaluations. There are 2537 private
consultants to choose from at the GH internet site.
Evaluation
• Activities need to be evaluated more thoroughly on qualitative
measures to provide specific answers to the antecedents of
growth in firms.
• The evaluation only gives insight into the satisfaction on an
aggregate level –GHs only learn informally (through direct
contact with client firms) whether the companies are satisfied
with the services.
• the GH programme is evaluated on the firms satisfaction with
private intermediaries, but GHs have no right to influence the
firm’s choice of the specific private intermediary to avoid any
distortion of a freely competitive market.

25. International Evidence
Authors Title Programme Method Finding
Cumming, D.
J. & E. Fischer
(2012).
Publicly
funded
business
advisory
services and
entrepreneuria
l outcomes
The Innovation
Synergy
Center in
Markham
Controls are
included for
endogeneity
and/or
Heckman-
sample
selection
corrections.
Adviser hours
increased both
sales from the
firm and their
likelihood to
obtain
intellectual
property rights
Hoffmann, A,
Hoeg-Kock
and Storey, D
J (2012)
Theory and
practice of
entrepreneurs
hip policy:
gazelle
hunting by
government
Growth
Houses, 2008
and 2009, and
2010-11
Control group
analysis using
population
wide control
groups
Growth house
clients grew
sales faster (or
their sales fell
less) than
control group
firms

26. International Evidence
Authors Title Progra
mme
Method Finding
Kosters
S. and M.
Oschonka
(2011)
Public
business
advice in the
founding
process: an
empirical
evaluation of
subjective
and economic
effects
Start-up
advice
Propensity
score
matching
No evidence found for better
start-up performance with
advice, but indications that
advice helps those with
fewer resources to
overcome barriers in the
founding process
Jarmin, R.
(1999)
Evaluating
the Impact of
Manufacturin
g Extension
on
Productivity
Growth
MEP
(technic
al but
also soft
support)
Difference-
in-
difference,
fixed-effects
models,
two-stage
selection
model
Positive impact of
programme confirmed, with
larger productivity growth
effect for small firms (rather
than for large firms). Value
added also significantly
higher than for control
group.

27. Conclusion
>Existing businesses are more likely to
survive
>SME owner-managers can be encouraged to
reflect on their performance
>The mechanism for business support is to
develop the business plan
>‘Deeper’ approaches like Syntens and
Growth houses diagnose and develop action
plans to spur action