Invisible Businesses: The Characteristics of Homebased Businesses in the United Kingdom

摘要

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.