What do they think and feel about growth? Examining small business managers’ attitudes towards growth in the United States

Alexander McKelvie, Anna Brattström and William J. Dennis

Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 2021, vol. 15, issue C

Abstract: We replicate the Wiklund et al. (2003) study examining the attitudes towards growth of small business managers. We generalize and extend that study in three important ways: we focus on a different context (United States instead of Sweden), where the conditions and consequences for growth are different, we provide an additional predictor variable – behavioral control – in line with Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, and with a slightly modified dependent variable. The principal finding is that the strongest perceived consequence affecting attitudes towards growth among U.S.-based small business managers is the ability to increase income and other financial benefits. Change in employee well-being and change in dependence on outside stakeholders also ranked relatively high among eight potential growth consequences. The Wiklund et al. (2003) Swedish study finds, in contrast, that non-economic consequences are the strongest predictor of attitudes towards growth. We attribute these attitudinal differences to variations in institutional context, suggesting that policy and cultural norms are likely to underlie growth motivation. We also find that U.S.-based small business managers are likely to be influenced by the perception that growth is a “realistic” endeavor.

Keywords: Growth; Growth motivation; Attitudes; Replication; Planned behavior; Context (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jobuve:v:15:y:2021:i:c:s2352673421000214

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2021.e00243

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