High Growth Enterprises: The Role Of Founder Characteristics And Venture Policies

by Mathew Manimala

Overview

The phenomenon of enterprise growth is more a function of the nature of the entrepreneurial person and the policies and strategies adopted by a venture rather than the economic and environmental factors such as profitability or industry growth. This book focuses on the role of founder characteristics and venture policies in promoting enterprise-growth, with special focus on High Growth Enterprises. The research reported in this book is triggered by the that almost 95% of business start-ups either get closed down or stagnate, with only about 5% taking to a growth path, even though many more of them are profitable. The study presented in the book investigates the relationships between enterprise growth and venture policies as well as entrepreneurial characteristics such as the traits, motives and background of entrepreneurs. It also identifies the general entrepreneurial characteristics and points to the need for reviewing/redefining some of the concepts traditionally associated with entrepreneurship, such as achievement motive, power motive, desire for independence, risk-taking ability, support and encouragement, etc.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811265365
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Preface xi

About the Author xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1 Growth: The Sour Grapes of Entrepreneur ship 1

A Sequel to the Fox and the Sour Grapes Story 1

Growth Unwillingness 3

Reasons for Growth Unwillingness 7

Stages of Small Business Growth 13

Theories of Small Firm Growth 16

Growth Strategies 23

Characteristics of Growth-Seeking Entrepreneurs 36

Objectives of this Study 45

Hypotheses 47

Organization of the Book 48

Chapter 2 Research Design and Methodology 51

Design of the Questionnaire 53

Sample Selection 54

Pre-testing 54

Data Collection 55

Data Analysis 56

Limitations of the Method 62

Concluding Remarks 67

Chapter 3 Enterprise Growth, Profitability, Industry Growth and Growth Venture Characteristics 69

Growth Index 69

High-growth and Low-growth Ventures 73

Profitability, Industry Growth, and Enterprise Growth 75

Distinguishing Features of Growth-Seeking Entrepreneurs/Ventures 79

Variables With High and Low Mean Scores 90

Concluding Remarks 101

Chapter 4 General Entrepreneurial Concerns and Orientations 103

High- and Low-Scoring Variables for the Whole Sample 103

Major Concerns and Orientations 109

Policy Orientations 109

Major Dimensions of Entrepreneurial Personality 115

Major Work Motives 119

Dimensions of the Background 127

Factors of the Distinguishing Variables 130

Factor Mean Scores: High and Low 133

Mean Scores of Distinguishing Factors 137

Concluding Remarks 138

Chapter 5 Inter-linkages among Factors and their Association with Enterprise Growth 139

Inter-correlations among the 21 General Entrepreneurial Factors and the 2 Performance Variables 140

Inter-correlations among the 6 Distinguishing Factors and the 2 Performance Variables 142

The Combined Entrepreneurial Factors (CEF) 144

Changes in Traits, Motives, and Policies 148

Explanatory and Discriminatory Powers 155

Concluding Remarks 157

Chapter 6 Conclusion 159

Summary of Findings 159

Growth Venture Characteristics 159

General Entrepreneurial Characteristics 162

Contributions of this Study and their Implications 167

Growth Venture Profile 167

Growth Unwillingness and Growth Facilitation 168

Background of the Entrepreneur and the Growth-Venture Model 169

Achievement Motive 172

Power Motive 173

Affiliation Motive 174

Deontic Motive 175

Risk-Taking Ability 175

Related Diversification 176

Changes in Policies, Traits, and Motives 178

Limitations of this Study 178

Directions for Further Research 180

References 183

Appendix 1 An Illustrative Case-Study 201

Appendix 2 Entrepreneurial Policies and Strategies - A Questionnaire 223

Index 237