pricing transparency; higher education;

I first studied economics at the University of Aberdeen (MA Economic Science, First Class Honours,1969; Stephen Scholarship, Class Prize in Political Economy, Henry Prize in Mental Philosophy, Memorial Essay Prize in Economics). For my MSc in Economic Theory and Econometrics (Southampton, SSRC Scholarship, 1971) my dissertation topic involved creating a computer model of the stock market, from which papers were published in Economica and Bulletin of Economic Research, while a student. My doctoral studies (PhD, Edinburgh 1975) were on oligopoly theory, modelling price leadership and partial monopoly. Five papers were published from this, including in Managerial and Decision Economics, History of Political Economy and the Scottish Journal of Political Economy. I have since received two further doctorates (DBA(Hon), Abertay, 2010; DLitt, Aberdeen, 2012), in recognition of my lifetime research in business economics and small business enterprise, respectively. I was Founder and Director of the Centre for Research into Industry, Enterprise, Finance and the Firm (CRIEFF) at St Andrews University (1991-2013). 

My main research areas are all concerned with the business enterprise: industrial organization, entrepreneurship, venture capital, small firms, innovation, R&D, intellectual property, information systems, risk appraisal, financial structure. I have been awarded grants from all the leading grant awarding bodies (Nuffield, Carnegie, Leverhulme, British Academy, British Council, Esmee-Fairbairn, Royal Economic Society, Scottish Economic Society, ScotEconNet, etc) including two ESRC research grants:1) Financial reporting for small firms (FRSSE), 2005-08; 2) Research network: seminars in accounting, finance and economics (SAFE) - of which I was Chairman, 2006-08.  I have held both Leverhulme (1989-90) and Nuffield (1997-98) Research Fellowships.

I have published over 250 research papers, of which over seventy have been published in leading academic research journals in economics, finance, law and accounting. I have published ten books (all research based): The Kinked Demand Curve Analysis of Oligopoly, Theories of Industrial Organization, Small Business Enterprise, Classical Economic Growth, The Small Entrepreneurial Firm, Profiles in Small Business, The Foundations of Small Business Enterprise, Venture Capital Investment, Information System Development in the Small Firm, Risk Appraisal and Venture Capital in High Technolgy New Ventures. These volumes have been favourably reviewed, and many proceeded from hardcopy to paperback and e-book formats. 

My published papers in refereed journals, have appeared in the Economic Journal, Economica, Oxford Economic Papers, Manchester School, Bulletin of Economic Research, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Industrial Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Managerial and Decision Economics, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Small Business Economics, Management Accounting Research, Accounting and Business Research, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, European Journal of Finance, Journal of Private Equity, International Journal of the Economics of Business. 

I was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Degree in 2010 by the University of Abertay Dundee in recognition of my research work in business economics, and a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by the University of Aberdeen in 2012 for my life's work in small business economics, which was judged to be  'an original and substantial contribution to humane learning'. In 2011, UK Competition Minister Edward Davey appointed me a Member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which hears and decides appeals and claims arising from competition and economic regulation in the UK. In 2017 I was awarded the Medal of Honour of the Scottish Economic Society for my contribution to economics in Scotland. 

My past consulting activity has been with the small firms lobby, beer and spirits industry, retail sector and accounting bodies.

I have had numerous overseas appointments in Canada, the USA, Taiwan, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Malawi, and West Indies. In 2022 I was visiting research professor in Economics, Law and Society at the ESSCA (Angers) School of Management and University of Angers, France. 

My main research areas are all connected with the business enterprise: industrial organization, entrepreneurship, venture capital, small firms, innovation, R&D, intellectual property, information systems, risk appraisal, financial structure. I have (jointly) held two ESRC research grants:1) Financial reporting for small firms (FRSSE), 2005-08; 2) Research network: seminars in accounting, finance and economics (SAFE) - of which I was Chairman, 2006-08.

My published books in the above areas include: The Foundations of Small Business Enterprise: an entrepreneurial analysis of small firm inception and growth, Routledge, 2007; and (with J A Smith) Risk Appraisal and Venture Capital in High Technolgy New Ventures, Routledge, 2008. Both these books have been favourably reviewed, and are available as e-books. Most of my books were initially published in hardback, and subsequently in paperback editions.

I have published over 250 research paper of which over 70 have appeared in leading refereed journals, including the Economic Journal, Economica, Oxford Economic Papers, Manchester School, Bulletin of Economic Research, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Industrial Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Managerial and Decision Economics, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Small Business Economics, Management Accounting Research, Accounting and Business Research, European Journal of Finance, Journal of Private Equity, International Journal of Industrial Organization, International Journal of the Economics of Business.

Past consulting activity has been with the small firms lobby, beer and spirits industry, retail sector and accounting

Technopoles; joint ventures;venture capital

small business enterprise; monopolies, mergers and takeovers; risk appraisal; information systems; venture capital; entrepreneurship;

MA (1st Class Hons), Economic Science, University of Aberdeen; MSc, Economic Theory and Econometrics, University of Southampton; PhD, Industrial Organization, University of Edinburgh; DLitt, Small Business Economics, University of Aberdeen.