The growth strategies of women-controlled SMEs: a case study on Finnish software companies

International Journal of Business Excellence

Volumn 1, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 434-447

  Eriksson, Päivi ^a   Henttonen, Elina ^b   Meriläinen, Susan ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND   (Finland)

^b HELSINKI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS   (Finland)

^c UNIVERSITY OF LAPLAND   (Finland)

Author keywords

case study; gender; growth; growth strategy; high growth industrial context; owner manager; strategy as practice; women controlled company

Indexed keywords

EID: 56549098741     PISSN: 17560047     EISSN: 17560055     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2008.018842     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. Alsos, G.A., Isaksen, E.J. and Ljunggren, E. (2006) ‘New venture financing and subsequent business growth in men- and women-led businesses’, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp.667–686.
2. Bruni, A., Gherardi, S. and Poggio, B. (2004) ‘Doing gender, doing entrepreneurship: an ethnographic cccount of intertwined practices’, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.406–428.
3. Brush, C., Carter, N., Greene, P., Gatewood, E. and Hart, M. (2004) Clearing the Hurdles: Women Building High-Growth Businesses, Financial Times, Prentice Hall.
4. Cliff, J. (1998) ‘Does one size fit all? Exploring the relationship between attitudes toward growth, gender and business size’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp.523–542.
5. Coleman, S. (2007) ‘The role of human and financial capital in the profitability and growth of women-owned small firms’, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp.303–320.
6. Dyer, G. and Wilkins, A. (1991) ‘Better stories, not better constructs, to generate better theory: a rejoinder to Eisenhardt’, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp.613–619.
7. Eriksson, P. and Kovalainen, A. (2008) Qualitative Methods in Business Research, London: Sage Publications.
8. Fletcher, D. (2002) ‘In the company of men: a reflexive tale of cultural organizing in a small organization’, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp.398–419.
9. Gundry, L. and Welsch, H. (2001) ‘The ambitious entrepreneur: high growth strategies of women-owned businesses’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp.453–470.
10. Heilmann, P. (2004) Careers of Managers. Comparison Between ICT and Paper Business Sectors, Doctoral dissertation, Acta Universitatis Lappeenrantaensis 195, Lappeenranta.
11. Jarzabkowski, P. (2004) ‘Strategy as practice: recursiveness, adaptation and practices-in-use’, Organization Studies, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp.489–520.
12. Jarzabkowski, P. (2005) Strategy as Practice: An Activity-Based Approach, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
13. Johnson, G., Melin, L. and Whittington, R. (Eds.) (2003) ‘Guest Editors’ Introduction micro strategy and strategizing: towards an activity-based view’, Special Issue on Micro Strategy and Strategizing, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp.3–22.
14. Lassila, A., Jokinen, J-P., Nylund, J., Huurinainen, P., Maula, M. and Kontio, J. (2006) Finnish Software Product Business: Results of the National Software Industry Survey, Helsinki University of Technology, http://www.swbusiness.fi/portal/research_insights/reports/?r_id=241 (retrieved 13 February 2008)
15. Maitlis, S. and Lawrence, T.B. (2003) ‘Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark: understanding failure in organizational strategizing’, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp.109–140.
16. McClelland, E., Swail, J., Bell, J. and Ibbotson, P. (2005) ‘Following the pathway of female entrepreneurs: a six country investigation’, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.84–107.
17. Menzies, T., Diochon, M. and Gasse, Y. (2004) ‘Examining venture related myths concerning women entrepreneurs’, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp.89–97.
18. Mitra, R. (2002) ‘The growth pattern of women-run enterprises: an empirical study in India’, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp.217–237.
19. Morris, M., Miyasaki, N., Watters, C. and Coombes, S. (2006) ‘The dilemma of growth: understanding venture size choices of women entrepreneurs’, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp.221–244.
20. Orser, B. and Hogarth-Scott, S. (2002) ‘Opting for growth: gender dimensions of choosing enterprise development’, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp.284–300.
21. Rautkylä-Willey, R. and Valtakari, M. (2001) ‘Kolmen avainklusterin tulevaisuuskuvat ja osaamistarpeet’, in M. Hernesniemi, T. Kymäläinen, O. Rantala, R. Rautkylä-Willey and M. Valtakari (Eds.) Suomen avainklusterit ja niiden tulevaisuus, Helsinki: ESR-julkaisut.
22. Rönkkö, M.Eloranta, E., Mustaniemi, H., Mutanen, O-P. and Kontio, J. (2007) Finnish Software Product Business: Results of the National Software Industry Survey 2007, Helsinki University of Technology, http://www.swbusiness.fi/uploads/reports/1196071791_National_Software_Industry_Survey_2007.pdf (retrieved 13 February 2008).
23. Sadler, D. and Thompson, J. (2001) ‘In search of regional industrial culture: the role of labour organisations in old industrial regions’, Antipode, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp.660–686.
24. Samra-Fredricks, D. (2003) ‘Strategizing as lived experience and strategists’ everyday efforts to shape strategic direction’, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp.141–174.
25. Still, L. and Timms, W. (2000) ‘Women’s business: the flexible alternative workstyle for women’, Women in Management Review, Vol. 15, Nos. 5–6, pp.272–283.
26. Watson, J. (2002) ‘Comparing the performance of male- and female-controlled businesses: relating outputs to inputs’, Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp.91–100.
27. Watson, J. (2003) ‘Failure rates for female-controlled businesses: are they any different?’, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp.262–277.
28. Watson, J. and Robinson, S. (2003) ‘Adjusting for risk in comparing the performances of male- and female-controlled SMEs’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 18, No. 6, pp.773–788.
29. Whittington, R. (1996) ‘Strategy as practice’, Long Range Planning, Vol. 29, No. 5, pp.731–735.
30. Whittington, R. (2006) ‘Completing the practice turn in strategy research’, Organization Studies, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp.613–634.
31. Whittington, R., Jarzabkowski, P., Mayer, M., Mounoud, E., Nahapiet, J. and Rouleau, L. (2003) ‘Taking strategy seriously: responsibility and reform for an important social practice’, Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.396–410.
32. Whittington, R., Molloy, E., Mayer, M. and Smith, A. (2006) ‘Practices of strategising/organizing. Broadening strategy work and skills’, Long Range Planning, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp.615–629.