Abstract

It is argued that the tendency for small businesses to operate under conditions of internal and external uncertainty determines and affects the knowledge that is developed and deployed. The article is theoretical in intent and approach and offers a conceptulization of one aspect of the small business in order to stimulate debate and to propose a potential framework for future fieldwork and empirical examination. It is argued that types of knowledge-as-knowing and the 'bundles' that form will vary in 2 ways: 1. There will be differences among small businesses that experience uncertainty, in terms of the knowledge-as-knowing that emerges and is applied. 2. The nature of knowledge and its manifestation may differ depending upon context, suggesting the knowledge and its production and application are essentially contextually contingent and determined.