Konstantinos Biginas, Vlasios Sarantinos and Antonia Koumproglou
Antonia Koumproglou and Konstantinos Biginas
Start-up owners have emerged in recent years as thought leaders in a variety of encouraging ways throughout the business world, changing the game that organisations function…
Abstract
Chapter Contribution
Start-up owners have emerged in recent years as thought leaders in a variety of encouraging ways throughout the business world, changing the game that organisations function worldwide in fascinating ways. They have transformed office culture by embracing flex-time, innovative work spaces, informal networks and work structures among many things. Building a great organisational culture at the early stages of forming a business as in a start-up is about creating an identity. The World Economic Forum community observes that start-ups are social systems which are very attractive for their enhancing of personal creativity and social inclusion. Thus, members of creative start-ups seem to exhibit strong group affiliation and passion for their profession. Based on the assumptions above, the study of start-up workplaces as unique social systems with distinct characteristics is proposed. Drawing on social identity theory as a collective construct was derived by Henri Tajfel and John Turner (Tajfel, 1972; Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner, 1982).
This chapter aims to investigate the idiosyncratic bundle of resources, capabilities and personal attributes resulting from the system interactions in the unique organisational context of start-ups (Habbershon, Williams, & McMillan, 2003, p. 452). This chapter considers the need for nurturing of start-up business owners/managers’ entrepreneurial learning capabilities, and highlights the fact that entrepreneurial learning and behaviour is different from other forms of learning and behaving.
Although multiple factors influence how people work, social identity theory could possible serve as a unifying theory of organisational behaviour elements, because it views the organisation as a social system where individual behaviours and attitudes are to a large degree influenced by psychological, behavioural, economic and sociological processes of group formation and membership. Social identity perspectives can shed light on
what and how people think in the early, but very critical stages of organisation formation.
Research in entrepreneurship points out that a heightened sense of self-realisation in individual starting/participating in new ventures is a strong motivator (Triandis, 1989). Engaged and inspired employees perceive their entrepreneurial identity to be central to their self-concept and experience greater levels of passion at their work (Murnieks, Mosakowski, & Cardon, 2014). The result is that the staff is committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being. For start-up culture is the reflection of everyone’s actions and values in the office – the interactions of everyone in the start-up with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders set the tone for the company’s relations with its external environment and its culture.
Developing a business with like-minded individuals to advance a collective business vision is at the heart of entrepreneurial activity of small and emerging enterprises. Small but highly flexible work groups provide a united voice and a common sense of purpose for individual members (Alpkan & All, 2007). They have the ability to take action to reconfigure or move entrepreneurial resources and activities in company routines quickly and effectively. This is particularly important in times of high uncertainty and volatility as the one we are currently going through in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Peter Wyer, Antonia Koumproglou and Shaun Bowman
The purpose of this chapter is to further flesh out the small business strategy insight presented in the previous chapter through focus on the finer micro detail of what is…
Abstract
Chapter Contribution
The purpose of this chapter is to further flesh out the small business strategy insight presented in the previous chapter through focus on the finer micro detail of what is actually done and by who in small business strategic management practice. The authors build forward their previous chapter response to deficiencies of understanding within the strategy and small business literatures, through provision of rich, thick description of best small business strategic management process and practice. And shine a brighter light into what has to date been a ‘black box’ of haze with regard to the fine detail and minutia of managerial, organisational and work activities that make up strategy process and content.
As in the previous chapter, 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.
This chapter is of significant practical relevance: offering guiding lenses and informing frameworks with regard to best small business strategic management process – and making explicit the micro-level actions, activities and behaviours which make up that process. These guiding frames are already being used to support growth-seeking owner managers in the UK and Africa. The knowledge base embraces original, valuing-adding work which addresses a major void in the current strategic management and small business literatures and is currently being utilised to help address unemployment and facilitate poverty reduction in Africa and underpin entrepreneurship development worldwide.
Konstantinos Biginas and Antonia Koumproglou
This chapter offers critical insight into the issue of strategic change in today’s fast-paced global competitive environment. It focusses on contemporary drivers of change and…
Abstract
Chapter Contribution
This chapter offers critical insight into the issue of strategic change in today’s fast-paced global competitive environment. It focusses on contemporary drivers of change and considers their implications for small businesses. The small business challenge relating to capacity to identify, react or respond to unfolding changes is of central concern in this chapter. Market reaction to key change forces is also examined. Attention is afforded to the significance and nature of long-term planning for small businesses in their plight to remain competitive in today’s highly competitive environment – both at a small business planning and government planning level. We give focus to how both the unfolding Covid-19 era and other parallel emerging external change forces pose major challenges for small businesses.
Small businesses are the backbone of local communities and a vibrant source of innovation and competition and an essential source of employment. Building and maintaining trust and a transparent work environment between business partners and the public will become critical. On the other hand, compliance with governance and sustainability standards will be a major objective.
Thus, in an effort to understand how to most effectively manage and support small enterprises, this chapter draws upon and integrates key dimensions of small business development understanding and complementary literature-based insight to explore key dimensions of the changing external change environment within which small businesses must strive to operate.
Peter Wyer, Bob Barrett and Konstantinos Biginas
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…
Abstract
Chapter Contribution
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-, small- and 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.
In this chapter, we will be exploring the role of leadership within small businesses. Leadership is an essential element in the management of any organisation and is even more…
Abstract
Chapter Contribution
In this chapter, we will be exploring the role of leadership within small businesses. Leadership is an essential element in the management of any organisation and is even more crucial when it comes to small businesses. In particular, both the structure and the specific stage of development of small businesses determines the need for an evolving style of leadership. Unlike their counterparts at larger organisations, small business leaders usually have a higher level of hands-on involvement across multiple areas of responsibility, including strategic decision-making and financial management, as well as team leadership and motivation.
Some key leadership skills, such as having a clear vision, communicating successfully across all business levels, leading by example and keeping the team engaged, are shared by all enterprises, regardless of size and nature. It is critical for small business leaders to understand that each stage of an organisation’s lifecycle brings with it different opportunities and challenges that should be dealt with by adopting different leadership techniques. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach will not work, and could even become detrimental in the long term.
During an organisation’s early days, a leader’s main role is to inspire the individuals they work with by sharing their vision and purpose without the need for formal management processes. In this chapter, we will be exploring the above issues in relation to the role of leadership within small businesses in greater depth.
Employee engagement is a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of an organisation to give their best each day. The result is that the staff is…
Abstract
Chapter Contribution
Employee engagement is a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of an organisation to give their best each day. The result is that the staff is committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being. Although employee engagement as a practice is evidenced as bringing improved productivity to small businesses, and while 87% of the UK small enterprises claim that they are taking active steps to improve employee engagement, only 12% of such businesses list it as a business priority.
In a smaller organisation, it is easier for leaders to be involved in driving forward and measuring planned actions to improve employee engagement. According to the consulting firm Aon Hewitt (2015), there are six major categories for drivers of employee engagement: (1) The work people do; (2) The people they work with; (3) Opportunities; (4) Total rewards; (5) Company practices; and (6) Quality of life.
The focus of this chapter is to recommend how small businesses can drive employee engagement using the six drivers of engagement recommended by Aon Hewitt, and improve levels of productivity in the firm.