About the Author

Bob Bennett is an international expert on small businesses, business associations, and local economic development. Author of many books and research papers, he has a long association with chambers and was commissioned by the national association, British Chambers of Commerce, to provide their development strategy in 1990. Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of Cambridge, he was previously a professor at the London School of Economics, and has held visiting positions in the USA, Australia, and Europe. He has been advisor to various Parliamentary Committees and organisations in the public and private sectors. In 2010 he produced a path-breaking history of the first Liverpool chamber of commerce 1774 - c. 1796. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. He is also the author of Local Business Voice: The History of Chambers of Commerce in Britain, Ireland, and Revolutionary America, 1760-2011.