Developing the small business market for business development services in Chengdu Policy issues and priorities

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to assess the state of the business development services (BDS) market in Chengdu, with a view to identifying demand and/or supply side deficiencies, which public policy might help to address. Design/methodology/approach - The data are drawn from two surveys undertaken in Chengdu between November 2005 and January 2006. Findings - The research shows there are small firms that are active users of BDS, reflecting the emergence of non-state owned enterprises in the city. The survey also shows evidence of unfulfilled latent demand, with a particular reference to sales and marketing advice and helping firms to access sources of finance. In addition, the survey of BDS providers shows that some are sensitive to the needs of small firms, although the latter are typically under-represented in their client base. Practical implications - The findings suggest that the BDS market in Chengdu is underdeveloped from a small business perspective, which can be illustrated by pointing to both demand-and supply-side deficiencies. It can be argued that this is an important policy issue, if small enterprises are to fulfil their potential contribution to local economic development, particularly in relation to the development of non-local sales. Originality/value - This research adopts an "evidence-based" approach to inform policy development.