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Towards understanding of best small business strategic management practice

  • Peter Wyer
    ,
  • Bob Barrett
    ,
  • Konstantinos Biginas
Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to examine what small business strategic management and long-term planning involves as practised by successful growth-oriented small businesses. The aim is to provide insight into the strategic learning, control and development processes, including indicative detail of the underpinning day-to-day practices and actions that make up those processes. Key focus is the overall strategic control activity of more progressive owner managers and their use of an idiosyncratic mentally held 'strategic planning and thinking framework' that guides and informs strategic decision-making, strategic adjustment to existing markets, products and processes activities and long-term strategic direction. The research approach is underpinned and informed by personal construct theory which gives emphasis to the highly complex nature of the task of small business strategic control and highlights the need for a creative and innovative research methodology to facilitate close and detailed investigation of the phenomenon. To this end, a multidisciplinary case study research methodology was developed by the authors to underpin examination of strategic development and planning within micro-, smalland medium-sized businesses. The chapter enhances understanding of small business strategic management practice in growth-achieving micro and small enterprises. The findings of this research, whilst demonstrating the key role of entrepreneurial learning in small firm strategic control of the uncertain external environment, also provides a multidimensional lens through which to dissect and better understand the small firm strategy development process - drawing upon and integrating grains of truth from the differing schools of management thought embedded in the literature. The findings of this study also facilitate the addressing of the 'black box' of hazy insight within the literature which fails to reveal micro-level fine detail understanding of the managerial and organisational actions and activities that make up strategy process. The authors commence provision of such black box insight within this chapter - this as lead-through to the follow-on chapter which affords specific attention to enhancing understanding of the micro-level fine detail minutia of managerial, organisational and work activities that make up strategy process within small businesses. The research is of a comparative dimension focussing on small business development within the developed economy context of the UK, the emerging economy contexts of Malaysia and Ghana and the transitional economy contexts of Russia. Thus, time and resource limitations bound the studies.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding Chapter Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 15-35 (21 pages)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 15/03/2022

Publication status

Published - 15/03/2022

Publisher

Emerald Publishing, United Kingdom

ISBN (Print)

9781839096259

ISBN (Electronic)

9781839096242

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/626930
  • Scopus: 85153134433

Host publication title

Small Business Management and Control of the Uncertain External Environment

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