The sustainability of growth in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises

O’Gorman, Colm

doi:10.1108/13552550110396095

Cited by 114 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…According to Analou and Karami [3], developing a mission statement is considered to be a crucial factor in the formulation of sustainable business strategy in organizations. In the article by O'Gorman [4], the factors that determine the sustainability of growth in SMEs were explored and it was found that defining a strategic plan is an important element.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sustainable Strategy for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: The Relationship between Mission Statements and Performance

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The study aims to contribute to the literature by empirically examining the relationship between small and medium sized enterprises' (SMEs) mission statements and their performance in sustainable strategy formulation. Although it seems that there is a relatively vast amount of research with regard to mission statements of companies, very few studies have focused on the relationship between mission statements and performance. When these few studies are taken into consideration, it is difficult to reach any overall conclusion since their findings are mixed and inconclusive. To achieve this aim, 3034 SMEs operating in organized industrial zones in Turkey were examined via a survey approach. In order to investigate the relationships among the variables, nine categories of mission statements as independent variables and four performance indicators (financial, market, production, and overall) as dependent variables were analyzed through logistic regression. This study identified three mission components, (1) survival, growth, and profit; (2) philosophy and values; and (3) public image, as the common independent variables in explaining the performance of SMEs. Survival, growth, and profit is the most frequently observed mission component regardless of the subsector differentiation in the entire sample, which reflects the significance of business sustainability for SMEs in the Turkish manufacturing context. Besides, among all performance indicators, SMEs' market performance was found to be the lowest when compared to other performance indicators (financial, production, overall). Although the firms were placed in different manufacturing subsectors, similar mission statements were highlighted so that the discourse similarity might be considered as evidence of isomorphism characteristics for SMEs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sustainable Strategy for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: The Relationship between Mission Statements and Performance

et al. 2016

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“…Elle englobe également la théorie de l'écologie des populations (Hannan et Freeman, 1977) qui soutient que les conditions présentes dans l'environnement externe de la firme sont les principaux déterminants de la survie d'une entreprise. Remarquons toutefois que les seules dimensions exogènes sont insuffisantes pour comprendre la croissance des PME (O'Gorman, 2001). …”

Section: Les Facteurs Liés Au Secteurunclassified

“…Une entreprise exportatrice est, par exemple, plus susceptible de croître qu'une autre (O'Gorman, 2001 ;Wijewardena et Tibbits, 1999 ;Dobbs et Hamilton, 2007 ;Beck, Demirguc-Kunt et Maksimovic, 2005). Toutefois, l'internationalisation peut conduire l'entreprise à investir des marchés risqués et moins bien connus, et donc compromettre sa croissance.…”

Section: Les Facteurs Liés Aux Choix Stratégiquesunclassified

Persistance dans le temps des déterminants de la croissance des PME

Gueguen

Janssen

Giacomin

2016

ipme

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La littérature sur les déterminants de la croissance des PME est abondante. Les principaux facteurs étudiés concernent les caractéristiques de l’industrie, de l’entreprise, de la stratégie et de l’entrepreneur. L’idée soutenue dans ce travail est que les déterminants traditionnels de la croissance, et notamment les caractéristiques initiales du dirigeant (lors de la création), ont une influence variable au fil du temps sur celle-ci. Nous attendons notamment une diminution de l’influence des caractéristiques initiales du dirigeant. Afin de vérifier cette proposition, nous avons mesuré l’impact de facteurs considérés par la littérature comme explicatifs du développement de la PME trois puis cinq années après la création de celle-ci. Notre échantillon concerne 2 350 PME provenant de plusieurs secteurs d’activité. Nos résultats indiquent que les déterminants expliquent moins bien la croissance de la PME cinq ans après sa naissance que trois ans après. Cette diminution concerne particulièrement l’influence du dirigeant, le secteur et les caractéristiques de l’entreprise.There is a plethoric literature on the determinants of SMEs’ growth. The main determining factors can be classified into characteristics of the environment, of the firm, of its strategy and of the entrepreneur. The idea behind this research is that the determinants’ influence on growth, and especially of the initial characteristics of the entrepreneur at the startup phase, will vary over time. To test this assumption, we measured the impact of several factors considered by the literature as influencing the growth of SMEs three and five years after their creation. Our sample consisted of 2 350 SMEs from various industries. Our results indicate that the determinants have a lower explanatory power of the growth of SMEs five years than three years after the creation. This decrease particularly affects the initial entrepreneurial characteristics, as well as the sector’s and the firm’s characteristics.Los estudios sobre los determinantes del crecimiento de las PyME son abundantes. Los principales factores estudiados son las características de la industria, de la empresa, de la estrategia y del emprendedor. En este trabajo demonstramos que los determinantes de crecimiento tradicionales, incluidas las características iniciales del dirigente (al crear la empresa), tienen un impacto variable con el tiempo. Preveemos la disminución de la influencia de las características iniciales del dirigente con el tiempo. Para comprobarlo, medimos el impacto de los factores considerados por la literatura como explicativos del desarrollo de las PyME tres y cinco años después de la creación. Nuestra muestra se refiere a 2 350 PyME de diversos sectores. Los resultados indican que los determinantes explican el crecimiento de las PyME menos cinco años después de la creación que tres años después. Esta disminución se refiere particularmente a la influencia del dirigente, del sector y de las características de la empresa

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“…If instead of focusing on defining the characteristics/traits of the manager, one follows the idea of Wiklund (1998), focusing on what the managers actually do and how this work relates to growth, it seems a promising way to reach an understanding of the relation between top-managers' work and growth. This view also opens the possibility of joining the research tradition of traits with studies that have focused on the behaviour/roles of the entrepreneur/top-manager (for instance Choran 1969in Mintzberg 1973, Noel 1989, O'Gorman 2001, Florén and Tell 2004.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges facing small-firm managers in growing manufacturing firms

Tell

2015

J Innov Entrep

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Purpose: The purpose of this article is to better understand the management challenges facing managers in small growing firms.Design/methodology/approach: Empirical data have been collected in Sweden through structured observations (approx. 20,000 min) of the working days of six top managers in fast-and six managers in slow-growing small manufacturing firms in order to compare managerial behaviour in two different contexts. Findings: Managers in small firms are engaged in many different activities, but a small number of activities tend to take up the majority of the managers' time. These activities can be classified as either operational or administrative. There are notably small differences (both in variance and differentiation) between the behaviours of managers in fast-and slow-growing firms; actually, there are more similarities than differences. There is also surprisingly little time spent by the managers on strategic work, even in the group of fast-growing firms. This might explain why growth and innovation in many cases come to a halt or even decline in these firms and represents such a challenge for the managers when they do not prioritize strategic work. Originality/value: The study shows that managerial work in small firms is characterized by a generic behaviour and that the managers mainly use a habitual and limited behavioural repertoire. Many managers have difficulties in changing their mainly operational and administrative behaviour and thus the underlying strategy of the firm. They are 'stuck' in a path-dependency mindset, even though the development of the firm might require another strategy taken by the manager, as a response to meet environmental demands.

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The sustainability of growth in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises

Cited by 114 publications

References 28 publications

The Sustainable Strategy for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: The Relationship between Mission Statements and Performance

The Sustainable Strategy for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: The Relationship between Mission Statements and Performance

Persistance dans le temps des déterminants de la croissance des PME

Challenges facing small-firm managers in growing manufacturing firms

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