Abstract

Collaboration is frequently cited as a driver for sustainable success, and yet despite over half of all small businesses in OECD countries being run from the home, within the existing literature little attention is paid to how these businesses work with others. This article therefore presents a quantitative study into the collaborative behaviours exhibited by home-based businesses located within OECD countries. Based on a large, cross sectional data set collected by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, this exploratory study outlines the extent of collaboration among home-based businesses, the nature of their collaborative activities and the relationships which exist between the different behaviours that are exhibited. The study finds that collaboration is a widespread occurrence among home-based businesses, with over 75% of home-based businesses collaborating in some way. Furthermore, home-based business collaboration is diverse in its nature and is present across all industries. Moreover, it is found that collaboration among home-based businesses is distinct enough from the current findings of collaboration among SMEs that it warrants further investigation.

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