Exploring the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms

Kelliher, Felicity; Murphy, Monica; Harrington, Denis

doi:10.1108/jsbed-12-2019-0411

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Research has also focused on goal setting strategies in terms of acquiring resources for business development. Kelliher, Murphy, and Harrington (2020) found business planning activities and goal setting contributed to strategic learning, enabling the business to identify solutions that enhanced the strategic capability of the organization over time. Their in-depth casework examined relationships between goal-oriented activities and knowledgebased resource absorption.…”

Section: Resource-based View Of the Firm Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and moderation effects on U.S. apparel manufacturers’ engagement in network ties

Miller¹,

Engel-Enright²,

Brown³

2021

JEMI

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PURPOSE: Firms do not continue and prosper purely on their own individual endeavors, as each firm is influenced by the activities of others, and thus direct and indirect relationships shape the firm’s strategic management. These relationships form the tactics by which knowledge and other strategically important resources are accessed and created. Forming and maintaining ties among members of a network have been the subject of numerous research studies in the social, economic, and business literature. Our work is framed by the resource-based view of the firm perspective along with social capital theory and its shared constructs in network theory. Prior findings suggest that networking ties are strategic actions generated for firm growth and continuance. The ties may be short-term or develop into long-term relationships. The intent of this research is to fill some of the gaps in interorganizational networking strategy by analyzing five antecedents that have been suggested in the literature as individually associated with entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties. In this way, our work provides another research avenue for examining networking’s contribution to strategic management. We hypothesized positive connections to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties from antecedents involving the firm’s knowledge absorptive capacity, business goals, entrepreneurial orientation, social interactions, and support from their environment. METHODOLOGY: In our quantitative approach, we tested our proposed macrolevel direct and moderating connections through an online survey of 125 U.S. apparel manufacturing firms. The apparel manufacturing sector in the U.S., as in many countries, has struggled with multiple disrupting factors contributing to the sector’s decline in firm continuance. FINDINGS: The results from OLS regression analyses support our hypothesized connections in that each of the five antecedents significantly contributed to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties; however, when all five were collectively examined only absorptive capacity, social interaction, and business goals were significant (R2 = 0.58). Further examination of moderation effects found the entrepreneurs’ perceptions of a supportive environment to modify both entrepreneurial orientation and business goals. RESEARCH AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The effects of a supportive environment on business goals’ relationship with network ties were greater when perceptions of a supportive environment decreased, while the effects of a supportive environment on entrepreneurship orientation’s relationship with network ties were greater when perceptions of a supportive environment increased suggesting further study of U.S. entrepreneurs’ perceptions of their environments. Entrepreneurs’ interested in building domestic and international supply chain ties may find network ties provide one solution for adapting the firm’s resources for global competitiveness. Future studies may direct attention to other industry sectors or countries for replication with larger sample sizes as we recognize the limitations to generalizability and scale refinement due to our limited sample size. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: The examination of five constructs to shed light on how an organization’s decisions may relate to engaging in networks and provides theoretical as well as practical implications that contribute to the larger organizational system framework.

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Section: Resource-based View Of the Firm Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and moderation effects on U.S. apparel manufacturers’ engagement in network ties

Miller¹,

Engel-Enright²,

Brown³

2021

JEMI

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“…It is widely accepted that traditional learning practices have had sub-optimal impact within firms of any size. The research done by Kelliher, Murphy and Harrington (2020) has highlighted that goal setting, when implemented as an organic, evolutionary process, and external accountability mechanisms can boost strategic learning in small firms. The OM must take a central and leading role in the implementation of a strategic learning plan, using their position to understand and adapt to the learner orientations of the employees, as well as having entire oversight so as to deconflict learning priorities with personal/firm priorities.…”

Section: Strategized Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The review is based on 'Exploring the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms' by Kelliher et al (2020), published in the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development.…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning for the future

2020

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Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Firms of all size demonstrate a desire for their workforce to continually learn and develop because of the benefits to overall competitive advantage. Yet traditional learning methods tend to have less than ideal results, and for small firms in particular, learning plans can be a significant drain on resources. 10; 10; Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

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“…Because of their flexibility, small businesses can quickly take advantage of new learning opportunities to create, disseminate, interpret, and implement strategic knowledge (Kuwada, 1998;Real et al, 2012;Thomas et al, 2001). Despite the interest in small business strategic learning programs, empirical evidence on this subject is limited (Battistia et al, 2019;Keith et al, 2016;Kelliher et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Entrepreneurial Firms Learn from Competitors: An Examination in Strategic Learning Perspective

Shahri

2021

Contextual Strategic Entrepreneurship

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This chapter highlights the importance of how learning from competitors improves strategic decision making and also ameliorates the performance of entrepreneurial firms. Strategic learning is a process at the strategic level that refers to an organization's ability to process strategic knowledge so that it can recreate its strategies. Knowledge acquisition from competitors as a creative strategic knowledge plays a major role in strategic learning in entrepreneurial firms. Using a qualitative research approach and examining eight entrepreneurial firms as case studies, this chapter outlines learning from competitors' processes in these firms. The findings show that these firms learn from competitors in four matters: through competitive analysis, benchmarking, imitation, and social media.

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Exploring the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms

Cited by 5 publications

References 38 publications

Direct and moderation effects on U.S. apparel manufacturers’ engagement in network ties

Direct and moderation effects on U.S. apparel manufacturers’ engagement in network ties

Learning for the future

How Entrepreneurial Firms Learn from Competitors: An Examination in Strategic Learning Perspective

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