Concluding Remarks

Abstract

This concluding chapter summarizes the findings in the book by answering three overarching research questions: (1) While there are many small firms that comprise the EU textile and apparel industries, how and to what extent are these firms entrepreneurial and/or innovative in their behaviors? (2) What might KIE, and, in particular, entrepreneurial and innovative behaviors, mean for firm performance and/or industrial growth? And (3) what, if anything, do our empirical findings suggest for those small- and medium-sized firms that comprise the US textile and apparel industries? The book makes the case that (1) textile firms are more entrepreneurial and/or innovative than apparel firms as measured using the AEGIS data, (2) entrepreneurial and/or innovative behavior is the statistical driver of firm performance, and, (3) regarding sales growth for the US industries, extension programs focused on sources of technical knowledge may be an effective growth policy.