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1 – 10 of 128Tony Wall and Lawrence Bellamy
The owner-manager of small firms is recognised as having a potentially significant role in the small firm’s competitiveness, growth and failure. However, the owner-manager’s own…
Abstract
Purpose
The owner-manager of small firms is recognised as having a potentially significant role in the small firm’s competitiveness, growth and failure. However, the owner-manager’s own resilience has been largely overlooked in the small firm resilience literature. The purpose of this paper is to redress this and expand the debate and empirical basis of small firm owner-managers’ personal resources for resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
This longitudinal qualitative study deployed semi-structured interviews with nine owner-managers, each being interviewed three or four times. Analytical procedures were used with an established framework, which conceptualised four key personal resources for resilience, as follows: adaptability, confidence, social support and purposefulness.
Findings
There were four key findings, as follows: owner-manager adaptability can appear in extremes including a sense of helplessness or optimism where disruptive circumstances are not sensed as problematic; owner-manager confidence levels often echo their own mindset of adaptability, that is, from helplessness to positive ambition; owner-managers can use discursive tactics with strong/weak ties for a range of affective and technical resources for resilience; and purposefulness tended to be framed in terms of a necessity for a longer term future state related to own or family lifestyle rather than profit. It is also noted that the owner-manager and the firm are closely interrelated, and therefore, enhancement of personal resilience resources is likely to positively influence their resilience, and therefore, the resilience of the organisation and strategic capability of the firm.
Originality/value
The small firm resilience literature typically focusses on the organisational level, which de-emphasises the salient role of the owner-manager and their resilience. This study attempts to redress this.
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Lawrence Charles Bellamy, Nii Amoo, Kieran Mervyn and Jacqueline Hiddlestone-Mumford
The purpose of this study is to examine the use of tools and techniques of strategy and strategic analysis within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a part of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the use of tools and techniques of strategy and strategic analysis within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a part of the strategy formation process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a qualitative, multiple-case-based investigation with semi-structured interviews and secondary data sources to create a context-rich insight to the area examined.
Findings
The findings indicate a strong orientation towards operational tools deployment aligned with financial management and resources and process planning, monitoring and control. Strategic perspectives of the respondents indicate an implicit, rather than explicit deployment of strategy tools and unstructured deployment, but general awareness of the resulting component issues. Clearer strategic approaches and strong implementation appear to positively influence success, when measured by growth.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to nine organisations within a UK geographic region, and therefore, larger-scale investigation would be beneficial to extend and confirm the findings in differing contexts.
Practical implications
With resource scarcity potentially stymying the opportunity for owner-managers to develop more structured approaches to strategic analysis and development, consideration should be given to how owner-managers can further develop their strategic thinking to support enhanced strategic outcomes for their organisations. Furthermore, strategy educationalists may wish to reflect upon the manner in which they prepare delegates for strategic roles, where the SME context may differ radically from corporate experience.
Originality/value
The methodology for this study differs substantially from previous investigations within the field, which has had relatively few contributions, as it uses in-depth, context-rich qualitative techniques to investigate the micro-processes at play. The conclusions capture new insights and indications and identify areas for further investigation, hence adding to the understanding of a complex and heterogeneous field.
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Tony Wall, Lawrence Bellamy, Victoria Evans and Sandra Hopkins
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the scholarly impact agenda in the context of work-based and workplace research, and to propose new directions for research and practice.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the scholarly impact agenda in the context of work-based and workplace research, and to propose new directions for research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper combines a contemporary literature review with case vignettes and reflections from practice to develop more nuanced understandings, and highlights future directions for making sense of impact in the context of work-based learning research approaches.
Findings
This paper argues that three dimensions to making sense of impact need to be more nuanced in relation to workplace research: interactional elements of workplace research processes have the potential for discursive pathways to impact, presence (and perhaps non-action) can act as a pathway to impact, and the narrative nature of time means that there is instability in making sense of impact over time.
Research limitations/implications
The paper proposes a number of implications for practitioner-researchers, universities/research organisations, and focusses on three key areas: the amplification of research ethics in workplace research, the need for axiological shifts towards sustainability and the need to explicate axiological orientation in research.
Originality/value
This paper offers a contemporary review of the international impact debate in the specific context of work-based and workplace research approaches.
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William Sun and Lawrence Bellamy
Subprime mortgage was a kind of high-risk and high-interest lending, especially targeted at low-income and minority borrowers. The majority of subprime mortgage loans were made to…
Abstract
Subprime mortgage was a kind of high-risk and high-interest lending, especially targeted at low-income and minority borrowers. The majority of subprime mortgage loans were made to non-affluent, low-income and poor borrowers who were previously unable to buy properties and might have poor credit histories (Pitcoff, 2003; Schwarcz, 2009). Why did mortgage lenders compromise their lending standards and dare to take obviously huge risks in mortgage lending? It is clear that the origin of the aggressive subprime mortgage practices were linked to the US Government's policy for increasing national homeownership and encouraging lenders to provide mortgage loans and other credits to low-income and minority borrowers, as a specific stakeholder group.
William Sun, Jim Stewart and David Pollard
The fierce debate on CSR is often linked to different understandings of CSR from different perspectives. Although there is no strong consensus on CSR, Carroll's pyramid of CSR…
Abstract
The fierce debate on CSR is often linked to different understandings of CSR from different perspectives. Although there is no strong consensus on CSR, Carroll's pyramid of CSR encompassing economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities (Carroll, 1979) is a good starting point for discussion.
A criticism often leveled at academic research is that it too often fails to understand the people side of things. In subjects such as business and management in particular, the…
Abstract
Findings
A criticism often leveled at academic research is that it too often fails to understand the people side of things. In subjects such as business and management in particular, the managing is done by people of people – to ignore the infinite nuances of their behavior, thoughts feeling and actions will ultimately mean that whatever complex theory or process that is being investigated will fail to be properly understood. If the essence of academic research is to uncover and prove a truth, that is just as relevant for the people being observed than the activities they are taking part in.
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Considerable awareness of strategic tools among UK SMEs is not reflected in the low usage levels that prevail. In addition, deployment is generally more for operational than strategic purposes. But if firms could overcome the formidable obstacle of resource scarcity and adopt a more structured approach, better exploitation of strategy tools and a focus oriented towards growth rather than mere survival would become possible.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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