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Small Firm Growth comprehensively reviews the empirical literature on small firm growth to highlight and integrate what is known about this phenomenon and take stock of what past experiences of researching this area implies for how the phenomenon can or should be studied in future research.
This textbook familiarises students with the theory and practice of small business management and challenges assumptions that may be held about the way small business management can or should adopt the management practices of larger firms. For students interested in establishing and managing their own small firm, this book helps them to focus their thinking on the realities of life as a small business owner-manager – both its challenges and its rewards. For postgraduate students that are keen to ‘make a difference’, this text enables them to understand how they might consult to small firms and assist owner-managers to establish and grow their ventures. In addition to students, this book is also useful to small business owner-managers as a general guide on how they might better manage their operations. Managers in large corporations and financial institutions who deal with small businesses as clients or suppliers, and professionals such as accountants, lawyers and consultants who provide advice and other services to small businesses will also find the book of interest.
This book, originally published in 1989, studies both the growth and the barriers to growth of small firms. It examines market and industrial structures, also the role of investment institutions and their handling of small business accounts. There are chapters on management attitudes and ability considered as a potential barrier to development, and other problems such as lack of finance and of a suitably qualified workforce. The book stresses the importance of communicating the latest advances in technology to small firms, and urges the need to re-think government tax and procurement policies.
Are Small Firms Important? Their Role and Impact proposes and supports the claim that small firms make two indispensable contributions to the economy. First, they are an integral part of the renewal process that pervades market economies. New and small firms play a crucial role in experimentation and innovation that leads to technological change, productivity and economic growth. Second, small firms are the essential mechanism by which millions enter the economic and social mainstream of American society. The public policy implications for sustained economic growth and social well-being is the continued high-level creation of new and small firms by all segments of society. It should be the role of government policy to facilitate that process by eliminating entry barriers, lowering transaction costs, and minimizing regulation.
Exploring the relationships between the growth of firms and entrepreneurship, the authors have drawn on many individual projects & case studies to provide a comprehensive analysis.
ÔThis collection of articles by an internationally recognized team of authors is a welcome addition to the literature on firm growth. The authors, singly and together, have previously made important contributions with regard to frameworks for understanding growth, as well as cutting-edge empirical research on the actual growth process. In this volume, the authors bring previous research up-to-date, providing a critical look at what has been published in the last decade and offering new theoretically informed insights in how and why firms grow.Õ Ð Howard Aldrich, University of North Carolina, US This insightful volume presents a collection of cutting-edge works by two of the leading researchers of firm growth. The studies extend previous research by providing stronger theoretical underpinnings and using longitudinal databases that can separate in time the firmsÕ growth from its presumed causes. They also break new ground by examining different modes of growth, such as sales growth vs. employment growth, and organic growth vs. acquisition-based expansion. Further, the studies investigate the drivers of firm growth and take a critical look at the effects, such as under what circumstances high growth is associated with high profitability. The issue of how firm growth is achieved and managed, and what consequences it has for different stakeholders is both theoretically interesting and practically important. The book will strongly appeal to academics of entrepreneurship, small business management and strategy.
Starting a small business and making it a success isn’t easy. In fact, most small business owners don’t get rich and many fail. This book presents the straight truth on small business success. It doesn’t offer cure-alls for every small business. Instead, it outlines real, effective principles for continued small business growth and success. Written by business growth expert Steven Little, The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth skips empty small business positivism in exchange for real-world, practical solutions. If you’re a small business owner or an entrepreneur just starting out, you’ll find answers to all your most important questions on topics such as technology, business plans, hiring, and much more.
A cliche it may be but we are living in ever more turbulent times. Business decision-making has become more challenging and unpredictable than ever: we see unforeseen and often cataclysmic changes in consumer demand, both at home and in export markets; customers continue to demand more, more quickly and for less; new laws and regulations abound; competitors steal loyal customers; and, increasingly, the advice that once could be found from a 'Small Business Adviser' has been replaced by a call centre. Hand in hand with these challenges, the risks associated with expansion, or a new strategy, have grown significantly. In the context of a small business, where a manager has not necessarily had the breadth of experience of someone in a larger organization or formal management learning, they can seem extremely daunting. This book addresses the issues confronting managers/owners of SMEs by providing practical, jargon-free advice on which a SME can create a sound platform from which to prosper. * Uncomplicated and jargon free to appeal to the SME director or manager who has little time to read * Can be used as a continuous read or a source of ides for dealing with the day-to-day problems of running and growing a small business * Based on the practical experience of the authors with examples taken from consulting practice
Small Firm Growth comprehensively reviews the empirical literature on small firm growth to highlight and integrate what is known about this phenomenon and take stock of what past experiences of researching this area implies for how the phenomenon can or should be studied in future research.
