FOUNDINGANEWVENTURETHEBUSINESSPLANNINGPROCESS（一）.pptVIP

PERFORMANCE IN SMALL FIRMS: A CONTEXTUALISED APPROACH JEAN CLARKE LEEDS UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL AIMS OF THE LECTURE To build on previous lecture on small firm development To outline a more contextualised approach to small firm performance To emphasise three performance measurement tools which can be used to stimulate discussion and reflection To complete a number of group tasks CONTEXTUALISING PERFORMANCE As outlined previously, vast majority of studies of small firm growth and performance remain based on de-contextualised, objectivist approaches Treat the owner-manager and their context as mutually exclusive properties Problem – small business growth and development related to values and life-views of the owner-manager (Beaver et al, 1998) Performance as idiosyncratic construct – performance is uniquely defined by those involved in performing rather than external evaluation of successful performance GROUP TASK Divide into groups of five individuals Discuss why it is important to take account of owner-managers’ aims and ambitions for the business Think of some reasons why a small business owner-manager/entrepreneur may want to remain small Think of potential problems with simply ascribing the same strategies to all small firms REFLECTION AND DIALOGUE The key to supporting small firm performance is to move away from generic objectivist strategies Owner-manager and others in the business should engage with their own particular strategy for the firm through process of reflection and dialogue How can this communication be mediated? In recent research Thorpe et al (2005a) found the use of “boundary objects” may facilitate owner-managers in engaging with their aims and ambitions for the business BOUNDARY OBJECTS “boundary objects” may take the form of a diverse number of artefacts performance measurement systems may allow certain dilemmas, contradictions and ambiguities to be discussed and reconciled, leading to coherent strategy (Thorpe et al, 2005a) PM systems a