Strategic Entrepreneurial Orientation and Small Business Growth

This chapter aims to define a coherent theoretical framework enabling a broader understanding of the strategic entrepreneurial orientation (SEO) and to evaluate their effects on small firm growth. A sample made up of 211 small Portuguese firms from various different sectors of activity was surveyed by questionnaire. The results demonstrate how the life-cycle of companies, their resources, capacities, motivations and surrounding environment all influence the SEO of small companies. The empirical evidence shows how SEO, and across four specific dimensions – proactiveness, innovativeness, risk taking and competitive aggressiveness, clearly impacts on the growth of these small firms. The study contributes both theoretically (through advancing knowledge on the field of strategic factors for small business growth) and practically (when designing support policies strategically orientated towards small firms).

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Small Business Growth Characteristics

American Journal of Small Business ◽

10.1177/104225878100500307 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 33-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Calvin M. Boardman ◽

Jon W. Bartley ◽

Richard L. Ratliff

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Small Firm ◽

Small Firms ◽

Inflation Rate ◽

Growth Characteristics ◽

Business Growth ◽

Is Success ◽

Small Business Growth ◽

Financial Characteristics ◽

Is Failure

Financial characteristics are presented for small firms whose sales increased at a rate greater than the inflation rate over the period 1974–1979. It is noted that these characteristics differ somewhat depending on whether they were a retailer, manufacturer or wholesaler. A growing small firm is generally characterized as one which increases its leverage, decreases its liquidity and incurs a heavy investment in operational assets. Interestingly, it is also shown that these same characteristics, if taken to extremes, are typical of the failed companies in the sample. The reward of growth is success; the risk of growth is failure.

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Small Business Growth and Tax Policy in Canada—A Theoretical Model

Environment and Planning C Government and Policy ◽

10.1068/c0322 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 567-578 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Khaled Soufani

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Model ◽

Small Business ◽

Tax Policy ◽

Small Firms ◽

Business Growth ◽

Compliance Costs ◽

Start Up ◽

Key Policy ◽

Small Business Growth ◽

The Impact

The author develops a theoretical model for considering the impact and the compliance costs of taxation on the liquidity and the financial situation of small firms in Canada. The model addresses the tax burden that faces small firms at their different stages of growth and development, but the emphasis is on the start-up phase where small firms need more cash or liquidity relative to businesses at more developed stages of the business life cycle. It is recognized that one of the ways of bolstering the availability of cash and short-term liquidity for small firms is to offer them tax incentives and to design a system that reduces their compliance costs. The author looks at the importance of the small business sector and the stages of development and growth of firms; presenting the small business tax policy, and then providing some policy and managerial recommendations. The author's intention is not to measure direct tax and compliance costs, but simply to reflect on some key policy parameters.

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Decision-making and small business growth in Burundi

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies ◽

10.1108/jeee-12-2015-0065 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 35-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Emiel L. Eijdenberg ◽

Leonard J. Paas ◽

Enno Masurel

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Small Business ◽

Firm Growth ◽

Business Owners ◽

Primary Data ◽

Small Business Owners ◽

Business Growth ◽

Content Type ◽

Uncertain Environment ◽

Small Business Growth

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of decision-making, in terms of the effectuation and causation orientation of small business owners, on the growth of their small businesses in an uncertain environment: Burundi. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of primary data from a pre-study of 29 expert interviews, a questionnaire was developed and was filled in by 154 small business owners in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. Subsequently, correlation analyses, a factor analysis and regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Findings While, on the one hand, the findings show that small business owners who perceive the environment as uncertain are more effectuation-oriented than causation-oriented; on the other hand, the findings show that effectuation and causation orientations do not influence later small business growth. Therefore, other determinants for small business growth in an uncertain environment should be further explored. Originality/value This paper fills the research gap of decision-making in relation to small business growth from the entrepreneurs who are among the billion people who live in absolute poverty. On the basis of Western studies, effectuation might be more present in contexts of dealing with many uncertainties of future phenomena, and that it is often positively correlated with firm growth. In contrast, this paper shows that neither an effectuation orientation nor a causation orientation significantly affects small business growth in a context that can be assumed as highly uncertain.

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What Are the Main Barriers to Small Business Growth in Southeast Europe?

Small Enterprise Development in South-East Europe ◽

10.1007/978-1-4615-0959-2_2 ◽

2002 ◽

pp. 17-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Will Bartlett ◽

Vladimir Bukvič

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

Business Growth ◽

Small Business Growth

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Entrepreneurial motivation and small business growth in Rwanda

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies ◽

10.1108/jeee-01-2015-0004 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 212-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Emiel L Eijdenberg ◽

Leonard J Paas ◽

Enno Masurel

Keyword(s):

Small Business ◽

Small Businesses ◽

Family Background ◽

Primary Data ◽

Small Business Owners ◽

Business Growth ◽

Developed Country ◽

Content Type ◽

Entrepreneurial Motivation ◽

Small Business Growth

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and small business growth in one of the poorest emerging countries: the African least developed country (LDC), Rwanda. Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of theoretical resources and a pre-study of interviews with local experts in Rwanda, the authors developed a survey for this study. Based on primary data from 133 Rwandan small business owners, the authors conducted an exploratory factorial analysis to uncover the underlying factors. Subsequently, the authors conducted regression analyses to test the hypotheses. Findings – The analyses show that the predictors for the growth of small businesses can be divided into three factors: one factor with a mix of motivations related to family background, necessity and opportunity motivations; one factor with items predominantly related to opportunity motivation; and one factor with items related to necessity motivation. The first factor has the strongest positive effect on small business growth followed by the second factor. The factor concerning necessity motivation was irrelevant for further inclusion in the regression model, due to insufficient reliability. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to the debate in the literature about which entrepreneurial motivations affect the growth of small businesses in LDCs. Practical implications – The results reported in this study also have implications for how small business growth in LDCs can be supported and stimulated by policy-making practice. Originality/value – This study shows that entrepreneurial motivation is not a clear distinction between necessity and opportunity, but that a mix of motivations is important to assess the growth of small businesses in an LDC, which is an understudied context.

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