56 research outputs found
The Resilient Entrepreneur: From Crisis to Enlightenment
No full textIn this book, Rachel Doern addresses fundamental questions about the resilience of the individual, focusing on entrepreneurs and what we can learn from them. How can entrepreneurs become mentally, emotionally and practically better prepared for the crises they will inevitably face? What strategies might help when times are tough, or to endure and surface from crises? What strategies can compromise resilience and what can we do about them? It explains that developing resilience is about engaging in ‘resilience work’ which results from making attention-led, thought-led, situation-led and resource-led adjustments. Drawing on 20 years of experience researching entrepreneurs, previous studies of crises and resilience from different parts of the world, and insights from a pool of more than 100 interviews and 200 weekly diaries conducted with entrepreneurs in crisis, the book shares stories of resilience and practical exercises on the resilience work we can all do. The book is divided into three main parts following an introduction and chapter on understanding resilience. Part 1 (Chapters 2-8) discusses strategies that can minimize distress and strengthen resilience, and how they can be employed effectively. Part 2 (Chapters 9-11) considers those strategies that can compromise resilience and how they can be managed. Part 3 (Chapter 12) draws some conclusions, providing six key lessons on ‘resilience work’ and how to begin, followed by Additional Commentaries for practitioners, academics, advisors and policy makers, stakeholders, and the family and friends of those affected by crisis
SME Performance: Separating Myth from Reality. J. Watson. MA: Edward Elgar (book review)
No full textInvestigating barriers to SME growth and development in transition environments: A critique and suggestions for developing the methodology
No full textA perennial question for management scholars, economists and policy makers alike is why businesses do or do not grow. One way of explaining why so many businesses do not grow is through the notion of `barriers'. In formerly planned European economies in transition, barriers have been used to account for why so few businesses grow and why the SME sector has not developed as widely or rapidly as expected; yet, studies in this context tell us very little about why, how or indeed, if, this is the case.This article explores the limitations of the previous approach to investigating barriers, looking at the research assumptions, definitional issues, conceptualizations, and methodological limitations and challenges present in some of these studies. It begins to develop and integrate the previous approach into a more rounded methodology, shifting the focus away from prediction to understanding, and away from quantifying what kinds of barriers affect growth to exploring how barriers may influence growth intentions and behaviours. It encourages researchers to unpack the meaning of barriers and to take into account the context in which they are perceived. It also aims to overcome some of the challenges encountered by researchers working in transition environments
Entrepreneurship and Crisis Management: The Experiences of Small Businesses during the London 2011 Riots
No full textThis article examines the impact of a crisis on small firms. Taking a phenomenological research approach, qualitative interviews were conducted to capture the experiences of small businesses directly affected by looting, vandalism and/or arson in the London 2011 riots. This study adds to the literature on crisis management by highlighting the different types of losses encountered by small businesses following a crisis and the role individual owner–managers, businesses and the wider community play in enhancing or minimizing losses. A model is developed to capture those factors that influence which small businesses were vulnerable or resilient to the riots
Understanding how perceived barriers influence growth intentions and behaviours: Accounts from small business owner-managers in Russia
No full textPurpose – This paper aims to expand on existing conceptualisations of barriers to small business growth by addressing the question of how, or in what ways, do perceived barriers influence the growth intentions and behaviours of owner-managers?
Design/methodology/approach – Adopting an interpretive methodological approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were held with 27 owner-managers working in St Petersburg, Russia. Participants were asked about their intentions for their businesses, how they intended to grow and what, if anything, prevented or interfered with these intentions. Template analysis was used to develop owner-managers' perceptions and experiences of barriers to growth, and to facilitate theory building.
Findings – Six ways in which perceived barriers influence the growth intentions and behaviours of small business owner-managers were identified. Barriers: stop owner-managers from intending to grow; undermine intentions; add to the ambivalence around growth intentions; provide incentives to grow; postpone intention realization; and slow down the process of realizing intentions to grow.
Research limitations/implications – Because data were collected at one point in time, it was not possible to capture the dynamic nature of barriers or the intentions/behaviours they influenced. Future research could be strengthened through the use of longitudinal designs and process-based methods (e.g. diary studies).
Practical implications – Educators and policy makers should help owner-managers understand the ways in which barriers can affect business growth and be overcome.
Originality/value – This study is the first to examine how barriers influence growth intentions and behaviours, and to facilitate theory development on the topic
Understanding barriers to small business growth from the perspective of owner-managers in Russia
No full textSmall businesses, particularly growing small businesses, are regarded by policy makers and academics alike as being important sources of wealth creation, employment generation and innovation. Yet, few small businesses grow. One potential way of explaining why so many businesses do not grow is through the notion of 'barriers'. Previous studies on barriers typically identify and predict what kinds of barriers affect business growth, rather than attempt to explain how or why this is the case, if indeed it is the case at all. This thesis aims to elaborate on our understanding of barriers to small business growth. Two qualitative inductive interview-based studies were conducted in St. Petersburg Russia; the first was conducted in 2003, the second in 2005. Using semi-structured interviews in the second study (the main study), 27 owner-managers of small businesses in Russia were asked if they had intentions to grow the business, how they grew their businesses or intended to do so, and what, if anything, interfered with this process. The purpose of the study was two-fold: first, its purpose was to examine barriers from the perspective of individual owner-managers, with an emphasis on the meaning of barriers and the context in which they are perceived, and second to explore and examine how or the ways in which perceived barriers may influence owner-managersâ growth intentions and behaviours. Data were analysed using template analysis mainly, drawing on interpretive phenomenological analysis and matrix analysis. Based on the accounts of owner-managers, barriers were found to work in different ways to shape intentions to grow or not to grow, and as well to shape intention realization. How this occurred depended partly on owner-managersâ perceptions of the institutional environment. Findings suggest that the relationship between barriers and small business growth is complex. It is, nevertheless, a relationship which purports to be a fruitful area of study, one in which future research might further our understanding of small business growth from a continuing examination of barriers, particularly in relation to intentions, in relation to how meaningful barriers are perceived to be, and in relation to the context in which they are perceived
On riots, response and resilience: The London riots from the small business perspective (Best Paper Business Support, Policy and Practice Track)
No full textObjectives
On Saturday the 6th of August 2011, a civil disorder swept through the city of London (UK), lasting for four days. Approximately 2,278 commercial premises were affected, 61% of which were retail premises, and of these 213 were independent retailers (9%). While much attention following the riots has been devoted to understanding why the public got involved and the police response, this study draws on the experiences of some of the victims, particularly those small businesses affected.
Prior Work
A civil disorder or riot may be regarded as a special type of crisis (Moot, 1968). The term crisis broadly incorporates “disasters, business interruptions, catastrophes, emergency or contingency” (Herbane, 2010: 46). A crisis is low probability event that has high consequences, and generates ambiguity and decision-making time pressures for businesses (Pearson and Clair, 1998). The impact of a crisis on small businesses may be especially great as they often lack preparedness, because of the personal impact on the owner-manager, and because small businesses with limited resources are more vulnerable to a crisis than their larger counterparts (Runyan, 2006). Yet, entrepreneurship/small business journals do not tend to cover issues relating to crises, including crisis management or disaster recovery (Herbane, 2010). Moreover, few studies within the crisis/disaster literature regard businesses as victims and have examined the effects of a crisis on small businesses (Runyan, 2006).
Approach
To understand the experiences of small businesses during the London riots, we adopted an interpretive-phenomenological approach. Qualitative interviews were held with 15 small businesses directly affected by the riots, vandalism and looting. The interviews served to capture the entrepreneur’s story of the riots and produce rich accounts in which to ground theoretical discussions.
Results
Loss was a recurring theme across participant accounts. Small business owners spoke about physical losses to the business (e.g. loss of sales), lost opportunities for business development (e.g. scaling back), and psychological or personal losses (e.g. loss of feeling safe). Emotional reactions to losses were intense, mostly negative, and directed at the police, the rioters, and the council or insurers. Small business owners took a number of actions to minimise losses and re-build (e.g. raising their profile).
Implications
The study suggests that the vulnerability of small businesses in such crisis situations may be mitigated by not only the extent of damage to the business, but in terms of how they respond, and the level of support they receive.
Value
This study answers calls to provide a clearer understanding of the profundity of losses incurred from a crisis, particularly for small businesses (Herbane, 2010). It may help service providers, government agencies, and policy makers generally, improve their commitment to increasing small business resilience to such crises (ibid)
Strategies for Resilience in Entrepreneurship: Building Resources for Small Business Survival After a Crisis
No full textThis chapter examines the recovery strategies of small businesses in the aftermath of a crisis, specifically, the England riots of 2011, and the resources integral to such. Drawing on qualitative interviews with owner-managers of 15 businesses affected by the rioting in London, this chapter builds on resilience research and draws from Conservation of Resources Theory to highlight the importance of devising strategies that both utilise existing resources and invest in new resources. Recovery strategies were found to be social, economic and personal in nature
Strategies for resilience in entrepreneurship: building resources for small business survival after a crisis
No full textInternational Handbook of Research on Indigenous Entrepreneurship. L. Dana & R. B. Anderson. MA: Edward Elgar (book review)
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