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Entrepreneurship and the changing structure of estate agency in the UK

Entrepreneurship and the changing structure of estate agency in the UK In the 1970s estate agency in the UK was a highly fragmented industry. Small, locally based, independent businesses dominated the industry. This industry structure meant that estate agency was seen as a typical entrepreneurial activity. By the first half of the 1990s, however, most estate agencies were in the hands of large institutions in the financial services sector, although recently independent estate agents have begun to reappear on the high street. Nevertheless the dramatic change in the character and structure of estate agency in the UK between the end of the 1970s and the present day raises a number of questions about the nature of entrepreneurship and its impact on industry development. In this paper the development of estate agency in the UK over the past 20 years is analysed, in order to ascertain, first, the relationship between an industry’s fragmentation and the existence of entrepreneurial opportunities within it, and, secondly, the extent to which the radical change in the industry’s structure during that period was the result of the exploitation of an entrepreneurial opportunity. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Emerald Publishing

Entrepreneurship and the changing structure of estate agency in the UK

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 MCB UP Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1462-6004
DOI
10.1108/EUM0000000006762
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In the 1970s estate agency in the UK was a highly fragmented industry. Small, locally based, independent businesses dominated the industry. This industry structure meant that estate agency was seen as a typical entrepreneurial activity. By the first half of the 1990s, however, most estate agencies were in the hands of large institutions in the financial services sector, although recently independent estate agents have begun to reappear on the high street. Nevertheless the dramatic change in the character and structure of estate agency in the UK between the end of the 1970s and the present day raises a number of questions about the nature of entrepreneurship and its impact on industry development. In this paper the development of estate agency in the UK over the past 20 years is analysed, in order to ascertain, first, the relationship between an industry’s fragmentation and the existence of entrepreneurial opportunities within it, and, secondly, the extent to which the radical change in the industry’s structure during that period was the result of the exploitation of an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Journal

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 1, 1998

Keywords: Estate agents; Entrepreneurialism; Innovation; Financial services; UK

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