The Centre for Business Research conducts two separate Programmes of research:

In its Enterprise and Innovation Programme of research, the CBR has been studying the factors affecting the growth and survival of the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for over a decade. In that time, it has established a national and international reputation among policy-makers, practitioners and researchers for the quality of its work. There is much policy debate about the role of smaller firms particularly high-tech smaller firms - as potential drivers of growth, innovation and job creation in the knowledge economy. The CBR has, and will continue to, contribute to this debate by conducting research that identifies the factors affecting firms' ability to innovate, survive and grow and their links with the Science base. The interest in the role of innovation extends beyond small firms to encompass global businesses.

The Corporate Governance Programme has carried out a range of basic and applied research projects on issues affecting the governance, management and regulation of companies, including board structure, executive pay, hostile takeovers, shareholder activism, socially responsible investment, corporate insolvency, inter-firm contracting, worker participation, employment protection, and labour standards regulation. Under the aegis of the programme, researchers have provided advice and research support to a number of policy initiatives in the UK and overseas, including the DTI-sponsored review of UK company law which culminated in the passage of the Companies Act 2006, the EU’s consideration of options for the reform of working time regulation, and ILO work on labour standards in developing countries. The programme has contributed to advances in methods of data collection and statistical analysis in the study of the relationship between law and finance, and to theoretical developments in the field of evolutionary law and economics. Current projects include work on corporate governance and innovation, pension fund governance, contractual governance in complex construction projects, and the role of law in economic development and transition.

The CBR produces and receives regular reports on its work.