Title: Healthy, wealthy and wise? The effects of globalisation on professional service firms in regional communities

Authors: Jennifer Waterhouse, Kerry Brown, Neal Ryan

Addresses: School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia. ' School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia. ' School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia

Abstract: This paper explores the effect of globalisation on local economies from a geographic perspective and considers how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) respond to the broader structural shifts and greater competitive influences emanating from globalisation. It takes as its focus the inward strategies of SMEs as a response to globalisation. The geographical and regional area of interest is that of small rural and remote economies within a national economy. Literature has to date largely focussed on SMEs in the global environment in the areas of technology and manufacturing. This paper, however, takes as its specific focus of attention, professional service firms, as these have historically been broadly represented throughout regional areas and considered to have performed essential economic and social functions within their local communities. As a result, these professional service firms have constituted a widely distributed network of regional services and as such are major actors in the economic prosperity of small communities.

Keywords: globalisation; SMEs; professional service firms; rural economies; remote economies; regional communities; small-to-medium sized enterprises; small business.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSB.2004.005617

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2004 Vol.1 No.1, pp.42 - 57

Published online: 30 Oct 2004 *

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