Small business performance: business, strategy and ownermanager characteristics

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

Volumn 20, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 8-27

  Blackburn, Robert A ^a   Hart, Mark ^b   Wainwright, Thomas ^c  

^a KINGSTON UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b ASTON UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Entrepreneurial traits; Entrepreneurialism; Small business performance; Small to medium sized enterprises; SME growth; United Kingdom

Indexed keywords

EID: 84874141528     PISSN: 14626004     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/14626001311298394     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Achtenhagen, L., Naldi, L. and Melin, L. (2010), “‘Business growth’ – do practitioners and scholars really talk about the same thing?”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 289-316.
2. Alpkan, L., Yilmaz, C. and Kaya, N. (2007), “Owner-managers and business planning in the small firm”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 152-72.
3. Andersson, S. and Tell, J. (2009), “The relationship between the manager and growth in small firms”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 586-98.
4. Bank of England (2002), “Bank of England Quarterly Report on Small Business Statistics”, July, Domestic Finance Division, Bank of England, London.
5. Barbero, J.L., Casillas, J.C. and Feldman, H.D. (2011), “Managerial capabilities and paths to growth as determinants of high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 671-94.
6. Barkham, R., Gudgin, G., Hart, M. and Hanvey, E. (1996), The Determinants of Small Firm Growth: An Inter-regional Study in the UK, 1986-90, Jessica Kingsley, London.
7. Barringer, B.R. and Jones, F.F. (2004), “Achieving rapid growth – revisiting the managerial capacity problem”, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 73-87.
8. Barringer, B., Jones, F., Foard, F. and Neubaum, D. (2005), “A quantitative content analysis of the characteristics of rapid growth firms and their founders”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 663-87.
9. Beck, T., Demirguc-Kunt, A. and Levine, R. (2005), “SMEs, growth, and poverty: cross-country evidence”, Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 199-229.
10. Blackburn, R., Brush, C. and Blank, A. (2009), “Understanding the challenges to growth in entrepreneurial firms: cases from the UK and USA”, paper presented at the XXIII RENT Conference, Budapest, 19-20 November.
11. Bridge, S., O'Neill, K. and Cromie, S. (1998), Understanding Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Macmillan Business, London.
12. British Venture Capital Association (2005), Investing in Enterprise, British Venture Capital Association, London.
13. Burns, P. (2001), Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Palgrave, Basingstoke.
14. Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2009), “Annual Small Business Survey”, BERR URN 09/P74, Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Sheffield.
15. Carter, S., Anderson, S. and Shaw, E. (2001), “Women's business ownership: a review of the academic, popular and internet literature”, Small Business Service Research Report RR002/01, SBS Research, Sheffield.
16. Centre for Business Research (2009), “SME finance and innovation in the current economic crisis”, Centre for Business Research, Cambridge University, Cambridge.
17. Chiao, Y., Yang, K. and Yu, C. (2006), “Performance, internationalization, and firm-specific advantages of SMEs in a newly-industrialized economy”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 475-92.
18. Coad, A. (2009), The Growth of Firms: A Survey of Theories and Empirical Evidence, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
19. Curran, J., Blackburn, R. and Woods, A. (1991), “Profiles of small enterprise in service sector”, SBRC Research Monograph, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames.
20. Davidsson, P. and Wiklund, J. (2000), “Conceptual and empirical challenges in the study of firm growth”, in Sexton, D. and Landstrom, H. (Eds), The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship, Blackwell, Oxford.
21. Davidsson, P., Achtenhagen, L. and Nadli, L. (2006), “What do we know about small firm growth?”, in Parker, S. (Ed.), Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research: The Life Cycle of Entrepreneurial Ventures, Vol. 2, Springer, New York, NY.
22. Davidsson, P., Steffens, P. and Fitzsimmons, J. (2009), “Growing profitable or growing from profits: putting the horse in front of the cart?”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 24, pp. 388-406.
23. Delmar, F. and Wiklund, J. (2008), “The effect of small business managers' growth motivation on firm growth: a longitudinal study”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 437-53.
24. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2011), BIS Small Business Survey, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sheffield.
25. Dobbs, M. and Hamilton, R. (2007), “Small business growth: recent evidence and new directions”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 296-322.
26. Escribá-Esteve, A., Sánchez-Peinado, L. and Sánchez-Peinado, E. (2008), “Moderating influences on the firm's strategic orientation-performance relationship”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 297-314.
27. Fletcher, M. and Harris, S. (2002), “Seven aspects of strategy formation: exploring the value of planning”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 463-89.
28. Gibb, A. (2000), “SME policy, academic research and the growth of ignorance, mythical concepts, myths, assumptions, rituals and confusions”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 14-26.
29. Hamilton, R.T. (2012), “How firms grow and the influence of size and age”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 611-21.
30. Hansen, B. and Hamilton, R. (2011), “Factors distinguishing small firm growers and non-growers”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 278-91.
31. Hart, M. and Gudgin, G. (1999), “Small firm growth and public policy in Northern Ireland: making the difference?”, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Vol. 17, pp. 511-25.
32. Hart, M. and Roper, S. (2004), “Small firm growth and public policy in the UK: what exactly are the connections?”, paper presented at the EISB Conference, Turku, 8-10 September.
33. Foreman-Peck, J., Makepeace, G. and Morgan, B. (2006), “Growth and profitability of small and medium-sized enterprises: some Welsh evidence”, Regional Studies, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 307-19.
34. Forsman, H. (2008), “Business development success in SMEs: a case study approach”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 606-22.
35. Kemp, R. and Verhoeven, W. (2002), “Growth patterns of medium-sized, fast-growing firms: the optimal resource bundles for organisational growth and performances”, SCALES, Zoetermeer.
36. Kirkwood, J. (2009), “To grow or not? Growing small service firms”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 485-503.
37. Leitch, C., Hill, F. and Neergaard, H. (2010), “Entrepreneurial and business growth and the quest for a ‘comprehensive theory’: tilting at windmills?”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 249-60.
38. Levie, J. and Lichtenstein, B. (2010), “A terminal assessment of stages theory: introducing a dynamic states approach to entrepreneurship”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 317-50.
39. Littunen, H. and Niittykangas, H. (2010), “The rapid growth of young firms during various stages of entrepreneurship”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 8-31.
40. Lyles, M., Baird, I., Orris, J. and Kuratko, D. (1993), “Formalised planning in small business: increasing strategic choices”, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 38-48.
41. Mazzarol, T., Reboud, S. and Soutar, G. (2009), “Strategic planning in growth orientated firms”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 15 Nos 3/4, pp. 320-45.
42. Nicholls-Nixon, C. (2005), “Rapid growth and high performance: the entrepreneur's ‘impossible’ dream?”, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 77-89.
43. Penrose, E. (1959), The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
44. Rangone, A. (1999), “A resource-based approach to strategy analysis in small-medium sized firms”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 12, pp. 233-48.
45. Reid, G.C. (1993), Small Business Enterprise: An Economic Analysis, Routledge, London.
46. Richbell, S., Watts, H. and Wardle, P. (2006), “Owner-managers and business planning in the small firm”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 496-514.
47. Sadler-Smith, E., Hampson, Y., Chaston, I. and Badger, B. (2003), “Managerial behaviour, entrepreneurial style, and small firm performance”, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 47-61.
48. Sambrook, S. (2005), “Exploring succession planning in small, growing firms”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 579-94.
49. Sexton, D. and Smilor, R. (Eds) (1997), “Growth strategies”, Entrepreneurship 2000, Upstart Publishing Company, Chicago, IL.
50. Small Business Service (2003), SME Statistics for the UK, 2002, Small Business Service, Sheffield.
51. Smallbone, D. and Wyer, P. (2000), “Growth and development in the small firm”, in Carter, S. and Jones-Evans, D. (Eds), Enterprise and Small Business, Prentice Hall, London.
52. Smallbone, D., Leigh, R. and North, D. (1995), “The characteristics and strategies of high growth firms”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 44-62.
53. Stanworth, J. and Purdy, D. (2003), “SME facts and issues: a compilation of current data and issues on UK small and medium sized firms”, All Parliamentary Small Business Group, University of Westminster, London.
54. Steffens, P., Davidsson, P. and Fitzsimmons, J. (2009), “Performance configurations over time: implications for growth- and profit-orientated strategies”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 33, pp. 125-49.
55. St-Jean, E., Julien, P.-E. and Audet, J. (2008), “Factors associated with growth change in ‘gazelles’”, Journal of Enterprising Culture, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 161-88.
56. Storey, D. (1994), Understanding the Small Business Sector, Routledge, London.
57. Storey, D. (2011), “Optimism and chance: the elephants in the entrepreneurship room”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 303-21.
58. Verheul, I. and van Stel, A. (2010), “Entrepreneurial diversity and economic growth”, in Bonnet, J., Garcia, D. and van Auken, H. (Eds), The Entrepreneurial Society, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
59. Wang, C.K. and Ang, B.L. (2004), “Determinants of venture performance in Singapore”, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 347-63.
60. Westhead, P. and Wright, M. (2000), “Introduction”, in Westhead, P. and Wright, M. (Eds), Advances in Entrepreneurship, Vol. I, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
61. Wijewardena, H., Nanayakkara, G. and Zoysa, A. (2008), “The owner/manager's mentality and the financial performance of SMEs”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 50-161.
62. Wiklund, J. and Shepherd, D. (2005), “Aspiring for and achieving growth: the moderating role of resources and opportunities”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 40 No. 8, pp. 1919-42.
63. Wilson, F., Carter, S., Tagg, S., Shaw, E. and Lam, W. (2007), “Bank loan officers' perceptions of business owners: the role of gender”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 18, pp. 154-71.