UNDERSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS STRATEGY: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY ON SMALL FIRMS IN THE E.U. STATE OF MALTA

Alexander Rizzo () and Heather Fulford
Additional contact information
Alexander Rizzo: Centre for Entrepreneurship, Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, Scotland
Heather Fulford: Centre for Entrepreneurship, Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, Scotland

Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), 2012, vol. 20, issue 03, 287-332

Abstract: The common argument for the small business is that there simply is no strategy; that small businesses react heuristically to events, guided by the whims and passions of the owner-manager. Strategy, however, can be looked at from a behavioural perspective, as opposed to the more normative strategic planning schools that small firms rarely abide by. This concept of strategy as 'behaviour' encompasses the actions of the owner-manager, the context of the small firm, and the consequences of the actions taken. It looks at strategy as part deliberate and part emergent, allowing for the inclusion of both external influences and internal decision making. Grounded theory research on small firms in Malta has in fact shown strategy to be a dynamic phenomenon, one that can be viewed as a set of defined pathways between identifiable life cycle states. The paper shall outline the research findings that have identified five distinct patterns of small firm strategic behaviour, each with its own unique trajectory and performance implications. Understanding which strategic pathway a small firm belongs to allows for a comprehensive insight into the firm's competitive behaviour, and a prediction of the consequences of that behaviour.

Keywords: Strategy; patterns of strategic behaviour; small firm; entrepreneurship; typology; grounded theory; trajectory; orientation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0218495812500136
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:jecxxx:v:20:y:2012:i:03:n:s0218495812500136

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S0218495812500136

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC) is currently edited by Teck-Meng Tan

More articles in Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().