Learning in Small Manufacturing Firms
- 1 April 2007
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship
- Vol. 25 (2), 107-129
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242607074515
Abstract
This article is concerned with investment decision-making processes in small manufacturing enterprises.The study, on which the article is based, used `insider accounts' as an innovative, qualitative methodology, involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews and direct observation, conducted longitudinally in eight case study companies. It is a research method which includes detailed accounts from the actors themselves, incorporating their actual motives and behaviour. Data from two case study firms is presented in the article to demonstrate different types of learning behaviour.The findings suggest that conceptualizing investment decision-making processes in small firms within the context of organizational learning holds promise as an explanatory framework for investment behaviour in small firms.Keywords
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- ‘Bootstrapping’: the investment decision-making process in small firmsThe British Accounting Review, 2005
- Toward a Dynamic Learning Perspective of EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2005
- Entrepreneurial Learning and Critical ReflectionManagement Learning, 2003
- 'Relationships Mean Everything'; A Typology of Small-Business Relationship Strategies in a Reflexive ContextBritish Journal of Management, 2002
- Organisational learning style, competencies and learning systems in small, UK manufacturing firmsInternational Journal of Operations & Production Management, 2001
- An investigation into the learning needs of managers in internationalising small and medium‐sized enterprisesJournal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 2001
- Trust and the acquisition of knowledge from non‐executive directors by high technology entrepreneursInternational Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2000
- Learning by doing – An exploration of experience, critical incidents and reflection in entrepreneurial learningInternational Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2000
- Learning and the entrepreneurInternational Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 1998
- Building Theories from Case Study ResearchAcademy of Management Review, 1989