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The relationship between the manager and growth in small firms

The relationship between the manager and growth in small firms Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relationship between the manager and growth in small firms, through a review of earlier research. Design/methodology/approach – A review of articles published during the last 25 years is carried out in order to answer the question: How does the top manager influence growth in small firms? Findings – Three key relationships are identified: between growth and, respectively, managerial traits and characteristics, managerial intentions, and managerial behavior or roles. The diverse findings in the literature are contradictory and give a paradoxical picture of the impact of the manager. A deeper analysis of the results from the review, supplemented with leadership theory, yields a better understanding of small‐firm growth with a special focus on the behavior of the manager . Research limitations/implications – This paper problematizes the complexity in managing small‐firm growth, and can be further empirically validated by using multiple methods including qualitative ones such as observational studies. Practical Implications – The findings have a bearing on education and policy implications. If a behavior can be identified that promotes small firms' growth, education and policy implications can be developed in line with these results. Originality/value – In small firms there seems to be a general consensus that managers do influence the performance of small firms, but so far there has not been a systematic review of earlier empirical research, that is done in this paper. From this review, a more complete picture of how managers influence growth in small firms is presented. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Emerald Publishing

The relationship between the manager and growth in small firms

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References (76)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1462-6004
DOI
10.1108/14626000911000938
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relationship between the manager and growth in small firms, through a review of earlier research. Design/methodology/approach – A review of articles published during the last 25 years is carried out in order to answer the question: How does the top manager influence growth in small firms? Findings – Three key relationships are identified: between growth and, respectively, managerial traits and characteristics, managerial intentions, and managerial behavior or roles. The diverse findings in the literature are contradictory and give a paradoxical picture of the impact of the manager. A deeper analysis of the results from the review, supplemented with leadership theory, yields a better understanding of small‐firm growth with a special focus on the behavior of the manager . Research limitations/implications – This paper problematizes the complexity in managing small‐firm growth, and can be further empirically validated by using multiple methods including qualitative ones such as observational studies. Practical Implications – The findings have a bearing on education and policy implications. If a behavior can be identified that promotes small firms' growth, education and policy implications can be developed in line with these results. Originality/value – In small firms there seems to be a general consensus that managers do influence the performance of small firms, but so far there has not been a systematic review of earlier empirical research, that is done in this paper. From this review, a more complete picture of how managers influence growth in small firms is presented.

Journal

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise DevelopmentEmerald Publishing

Published: Oct 23, 2009

Keywords: Managers; Business development; Small enterprises; Behaviour

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