The Contribution of Networking to Small Firm Marketing

Abstract

It is generally accepted that networking is one means through which owner–managers of small firms market their goods and services. However, though there has been considerable attention directed toward the concept of small business networking, previous studies have failed to present a comprehensive investigation of the contents of network links, an analysis of the benefits contained within these links, and an expatiation of how these benefits contribute to the small firm, specifically its marketing activities. To that end, this paper reports on an in‐depth qualitative study to present an analysis of the contribution that networking makes to small firm marketing.

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