The 1980s and 1990s have witnessed growing state intervention at a European, national and local level aimed at influencing the behaviour of tourism and hospitality organisations. In addition, there have been an increasing number of measures designed to support the development of small businesses in various sectors of the economy. The purpose and rationale for such interventions have, almost invariably, been implied rather than explicit. Nevertheless, careful reading of official documentation reveals a concern to improve `competitiveness' or the `business performance' of enterprises. This, in turn, reflects the broader aim of securing greater income and jobs in particular - sometimes local - economies. My research interest has been to understand how such interventions impact upon the tourism and hospitality sectors, with particular reference to small enterprises. This synthesis draws together the main strands of the research work that I have undertaken over the past decade. It begins with a discussion of methods and methodology and an outline of the wider research context within which my work is located. This is followed by a brief examination of the, often neglected, case for treating small tourism and hospitality firms separately for both academic and policy purposes. The remainder of the discussion centres on a critical assessment of two broad policy areas: deregulation, and business information and support. By drawing on the work reported in the submitted papers it is argued that official conceptualisation of small business behaviour in the tourism and hospitality sectors is, at best, partial and, at worst, misconceived and inconsistent. The synthesis seeks to do more than provide a summary of the research reported in the submitted papers. It represents an attempt to demonstrate linkages between the selected work and to show how the papers collectively add to knowledge and understanding of state intervention intended to support small business development in the tourism and hospitality sectors.