Understanding the Effects of Individual Determinants on Small and Micro Enterprises Growth
Abstract
In today’s business world, small and micro enterprises have greater role to play in economic development of countries. They are the very sector closer to the people and therefore their informal nature makes it easier for employment creation among the poor. Some of them grow and some don’t, however, they cannot explain the reasons behind their scenarios, to some only organisational and environmental forces determine the rate at which they grow which is not always the case. This paper being literature based tries to elaborate on the various individual determinants of small enterprise growth and how they influence or affect decision and effort to grow the enterprise. Mostly, they are internal and within the control of the entrepreneur, so to say, the determinants includes entrepreneur’s personality traits, growth motivation, individual competencies and personal background of the entrepreneur. These determinants influence growth of not only smaller businesses but to a large extent even bigger firms. Related literature from academic journal articles, texts, thesis, seminar paper, term papers and online resources were reviewed for better discourse on the paper. The paper thus conclude that for small and micro businesses to grow, it is important for entrepreneurs and managers of companies to understand and appreciate these determinants, a times even acquire, learn, and or mould them in order to meet up with the growing capacity of the enterprise today and in the near future.References
Autere, J., and Autio, A. (2000). Is Entrepreneurship Learned? Influence of Mental Models on Growth Motivation, Strategy, and Growth. Academy of Management Conference Paper.
Babb, E. M., and Babb, S. V. (1992). Psychological Traits of Rural Entrepreneurs. Journal of Socio-Economics, 21: 353-362.
Bager, T., and Schøtt, T. (2004). Growth Expectation by Entrepreneurs in Nascent Firms, Baby Business and Mature Firms: Analysis of GEM Population Data 2000-2003. In T.Bager, and M.Hancock (Eds.), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 281-291. Denmark: Børsens Forlag.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Self Control. New York: Freeman.
Barrick, M. R., and Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A metaanalysis. Personnel Psychology, 44: 1-26.
Barringer B.R., Jones F.F., Neubaun C, Donald O (2005). A Quantitative Content Analysis of the Characteristics of Rapid Growth Firms and their Founders. Journal of Business Venture 20 (5): 63-687.
Barringer, B. R., and Greening, D. W. (1998). Small business growth through geographic expansion: a comparative case study. Journal of Business Venturing, 13(6): 467-492.
Baum, J. R., Locke, E. A., & Smith, K. G. (2001). A Multidimensional Model of Venture Growth. Academy of Management Journal, 44(2): 292-303.
Baum, R. (1994). The Relation of Traits, Competencies, Vision, Motivation, and Strategy to Venture Growth. University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Bird, B. (1989). Entrepreneurial Behaviour. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman & Company.
Boyatzis, R. E. (1982). The Competent Manager. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Bruder, J., Neuberger, D. Räthke-Döppner, S. (2011) Financial Constraints of Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Germany, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 17 Iss: 3, pp.296 – 313
Campbell, C. (1992). A Decision Theory Model for Entrepreneurial acts. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 17(1): 21-27.
Casser, G. (2007). Money, Money, Money? A Longitudinal Investigation of Entrepreneur Career Reasons, Growth Preferences and Achieved Growth. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 19: 89-107.
Chandler, G. N., and Jansen, E. (1992). Then Founder's Self-Assessed Competence and Venture Preformance. Journal of Business Venturing, 7(3): 223-236.
Chandler, G. N., McKelvie, A., and Davidsson, P. (2008). Asset Specificity and Behavioral Uncertainty as Moderators of the Sales Growth – Employment Growth Relationship in Emerging Ventures. Journal of Business Venturing , article in press
Churchill N. C. and Lewis VL (1983). The Five Stages of Small Business Growth [Online] available: http://www.tameer.org.pk/images/The_Five_Stages_Of_Small_Business_Growth.pdf [Accessed 10 May, 2015].
Cliff, J. E. (1998). Does One Size Fit All? Exploring the Relationship between Attitudes Towards Growth, Gender, and Business Size. Journal of Business Venturing, 13(6): 523-542.
Collins, C., Locke, E., and Hanges, P. (2000). The Relationship of Need for Achievement to Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Meta-analysis: University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Cooper, A. C., Gimeno-Gascon, F. J., and Woo, C. Y. (1994). Initial Human and Financial Capital as Predictors of New Venture Performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 9: 371-395.
Corman, J., Perles, B., and Vancini, P. (1988). Motivational factors influencing high-technology entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 26(1): 36-42.
Davidsson, P. (1991). Continued Entrepreneurship: Ability, Need, and Opportunity as Determinants of Small Firm Growth. Journal of Business Venturing, 6: 405-429.
Delmar, F. (1996). Entrepreneurial Behavior and Business Performance. Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm.
Delmar, F., and Davidsson, P. (1999). Firm Size Expectations of Nascent Entrepreneurs. In P. D.Reynolds, W. D. B Bygrave, S. Manigart, C. Mason, G. D. Meyer, H. J. Sapienza, and K. G. Shaver (Eds.), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Vol. 19: 90-104. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
Delmar, F., and Shane, S. (2006). Does Experience Matter? The Effect of Founding Team Experience on the Survival and Sales of Newly Founded Ventures. Strategic Organization, 4(3): 215-247.
Dennis, W. J., and Solomon, G. (2001). Changes in Intention to Grow over Time. Babson/Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneurship Research Conference. Jönköping, Sweden.
DuRietz, A., and Henreksson, M. (2000). Testing the Female Underperformance Hypothesis. Small Business Economics, 14: 1-10.
Ericsson, K., & Smith, J. 1991. Prospects and limits of the empirical study of expertise: an introduction. In K. Ericsson, & J. Smith (Eds.), Toward a general theory of expertise: prospects and limits: 1-38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fischer, E. M., Reuber, A. R., and Dyke, L. S. (1993). A theoretical Overview of Research on Sex, Gender, and Entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 8: 151-168.
Fry, F. L. (1993). Entrepreneurship: A Planning Approach. Minneapolis-St. Paul: West Publishing.
Glancey, K. (1998). Determinants of Growth and Profitability in Small Entrepreneurial Firms. International Journal of entrepreneurship behaviour and research, 4(1): 18-27.
Human, S. E., and Matthews, C. H. (2004). Future Expectations for the New Business. In W. B. Gartner, K. G. Shaver, N. M. Carter, and P. D. Reynolds (Eds.), Handbook of Entrepreneurial Dynamics: The Process of Business Creation: 94-103. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hurtz, G. M., and Donovan, J. J. (2000). Personality and Job Performance: The Big Five Revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6): 869-879.
Johnson, B. (1990). Toward a multidimensional model of entrepreneurship: The case of achievement motivation and the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 14(3): 39-54.
Johnson, P. (1986). New Firms: An Economic Perspective. London: Allen and Unwin.
Klepper, S. 2001. Employee startups in high-tech industries. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10(3): 639674.
Kolvereid, L. (1992). Growth aspirations among Norwegian entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 7: 209-222.
Lau, C., and Busenitz, L. W. (2001). Growth Intentions of Entrepreneurs in a Transitional Economy: The People's Republic of China. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26(1): 5-20.
Locke, E. A., and Latham, G. P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Low, M. B., and Macmillan, I. C. (1988). Entrepreneurship: Past Research and Future Challenges. Journal of Management, 14: 139-151.
McClelland, D. C. (1965). N-achievement and Entrepreneurship: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1: 389-392.
Morrison, A., Breen, J., and Ali, S. (2003). Small Business Growth. Intention, Ability and Opportunity. Journal of Small Business Management, 41(4): 417-425.
Mosselman, M., Frederiks, K. C., and Meijaard, J. (2002). Organisatietypen in het MKB, EIM SCALES. Zoetermeer: EIM.
Mount, M. K., and Barrick, M. R. (1998). Five Reasons Why the "Big Five" Article has been Frequently Cited. Personnel Psychology, 51(4): 849-857.
Nandram, S. S., and Samsom, K. J. (2000). Successful Entrepreneurship; More a matter of character than knowledge (in Dutch) Succesvol ondernemen: eerder een kwestie van karakter dan van kennis: Universiteit Nyenrode, Breukelen.
Orser, B. J., Hogarth-Scott, S., and Wright, P. (1998). On the Growth of Small Enterprise: The Role of Intentions, Gender and Experience, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research: 366-380. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
Palich, L. E., and Bagby, D. R. (1995). Using Cognitive Theory to Explain Entrepreneurial Risk-taking: Challenging Conventional Wisdom. Journal of Business Venturing, 10(6): 425-438.
Ripsas, S. (1998). Towards an Interdisciplinary Theory of Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 10:103-115.
Roomi, M. A., Harrison, P. and Beaumont-Kerridge J. (2009). Women-Owned Small and Medium Enterprises in England: Analysis of Factors Influencing the Growth Process, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 270-288.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized Expectancies for Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1): 1-28.
Sapienza, H. J., and Grimm, C. M. (1997). Founder Characteristics, Start-up Process, and Strategy/structure Variables as Predictors of Shortline Railroad Performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 22(1): 524.
Sarasvathy, D. K., Simon, H. A., and Lave, L. (1998). Perceiving and Managing Business Risks: Differences Between Entrepreneurs and Bankers. Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 33(2): 207 225.
Sarwoko, E. and Frisdiantara C. (2016). Growth Determinants of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Universal Journal of Management 4(1): 36-41.
Shane, S., Locke, E., and Collins, C. J. (2003). Entrepreneurial Motivation. Human Resource Management Review, 13(2): 257-280.
Shepherd, D. A., Douglas, E., & Shanley, M. (2000). New venture survival: Ignorance, external shocks and risk reduction strategies. Journal of Business Venturing, 15: 393-410.
Small Business Research Centre (2006). Annual Research Report on Small Business. Kingston Business School, Kingston University, United Kingdom. blackburn@kingston.ac.uk
Venkataraman, S. (1997). The Distinctive Domain of Entrepreneurship Research: An Editor's Perspective. In J. Katz, and R. Brockhaus (Eds.), Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence, and Growth, Vol. 3: 119138. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Vinchur, A. J., Schippmann, J. S., Switzer, F. S. I., and Roth, P. L. (1998). A Meta-analytic Review of Predictors of Job Performance for Salespeople. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 586-597.
Wangeci C. N. and Gathungu J. M. (2013). The Effect of Entrepreneurial Education and Training on Development of SMSE in Githunguri District- Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research 1(8)
Welter, F. (2001). Who Wants to Grow? Growth Intentions and Growth Profiles of (nascent) Entrepreneurs in Germany, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research: 91-147. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
Wiklund, J., and Shepherd, D. A. (2003). Aspiring for, and Achieving Growth: The Moderating Role of Resources and Opportunities. Journal of Management Studies, 40(8): 1911-1941.
Zhou H. and Gerrit de W. (2009) Determinants and Dimensions of Firm Growth. Scientific Analysis of Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Zoetermeer.
Babb, E. M., and Babb, S. V. (1992). Psychological Traits of Rural Entrepreneurs. Journal of Socio-Economics, 21: 353-362.
Bager, T., and Schøtt, T. (2004). Growth Expectation by Entrepreneurs in Nascent Firms, Baby Business and Mature Firms: Analysis of GEM Population Data 2000-2003. In T.Bager, and M.Hancock (Eds.), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 281-291. Denmark: Børsens Forlag.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Self Control. New York: Freeman.
Barrick, M. R., and Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A metaanalysis. Personnel Psychology, 44: 1-26.
Barringer B.R., Jones F.F., Neubaun C, Donald O (2005). A Quantitative Content Analysis of the Characteristics of Rapid Growth Firms and their Founders. Journal of Business Venture 20 (5): 63-687.
Barringer, B. R., and Greening, D. W. (1998). Small business growth through geographic expansion: a comparative case study. Journal of Business Venturing, 13(6): 467-492.
Baum, J. R., Locke, E. A., & Smith, K. G. (2001). A Multidimensional Model of Venture Growth. Academy of Management Journal, 44(2): 292-303.
Baum, R. (1994). The Relation of Traits, Competencies, Vision, Motivation, and Strategy to Venture Growth. University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Bird, B. (1989). Entrepreneurial Behaviour. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman & Company.
Boyatzis, R. E. (1982). The Competent Manager. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Bruder, J., Neuberger, D. Räthke-Döppner, S. (2011) Financial Constraints of Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Germany, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 17 Iss: 3, pp.296 – 313
Campbell, C. (1992). A Decision Theory Model for Entrepreneurial acts. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 17(1): 21-27.
Casser, G. (2007). Money, Money, Money? A Longitudinal Investigation of Entrepreneur Career Reasons, Growth Preferences and Achieved Growth. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 19: 89-107.
Chandler, G. N., and Jansen, E. (1992). Then Founder's Self-Assessed Competence and Venture Preformance. Journal of Business Venturing, 7(3): 223-236.
Chandler, G. N., McKelvie, A., and Davidsson, P. (2008). Asset Specificity and Behavioral Uncertainty as Moderators of the Sales Growth – Employment Growth Relationship in Emerging Ventures. Journal of Business Venturing , article in press
Churchill N. C. and Lewis VL (1983). The Five Stages of Small Business Growth [Online] available: http://www.tameer.org.pk/images/The_Five_Stages_Of_Small_Business_Growth.pdf [Accessed 10 May, 2015].
Cliff, J. E. (1998). Does One Size Fit All? Exploring the Relationship between Attitudes Towards Growth, Gender, and Business Size. Journal of Business Venturing, 13(6): 523-542.
Collins, C., Locke, E., and Hanges, P. (2000). The Relationship of Need for Achievement to Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Meta-analysis: University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Cooper, A. C., Gimeno-Gascon, F. J., and Woo, C. Y. (1994). Initial Human and Financial Capital as Predictors of New Venture Performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 9: 371-395.
Corman, J., Perles, B., and Vancini, P. (1988). Motivational factors influencing high-technology entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 26(1): 36-42.
Davidsson, P. (1991). Continued Entrepreneurship: Ability, Need, and Opportunity as Determinants of Small Firm Growth. Journal of Business Venturing, 6: 405-429.
Delmar, F. (1996). Entrepreneurial Behavior and Business Performance. Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm.
Delmar, F., and Davidsson, P. (1999). Firm Size Expectations of Nascent Entrepreneurs. In P. D.Reynolds, W. D. B Bygrave, S. Manigart, C. Mason, G. D. Meyer, H. J. Sapienza, and K. G. Shaver (Eds.), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Vol. 19: 90-104. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
Delmar, F., and Shane, S. (2006). Does Experience Matter? The Effect of Founding Team Experience on the Survival and Sales of Newly Founded Ventures. Strategic Organization, 4(3): 215-247.
Dennis, W. J., and Solomon, G. (2001). Changes in Intention to Grow over Time. Babson/Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneurship Research Conference. Jönköping, Sweden.
DuRietz, A., and Henreksson, M. (2000). Testing the Female Underperformance Hypothesis. Small Business Economics, 14: 1-10.
Ericsson, K., & Smith, J. 1991. Prospects and limits of the empirical study of expertise: an introduction. In K. Ericsson, & J. Smith (Eds.), Toward a general theory of expertise: prospects and limits: 1-38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fischer, E. M., Reuber, A. R., and Dyke, L. S. (1993). A theoretical Overview of Research on Sex, Gender, and Entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 8: 151-168.
Fry, F. L. (1993). Entrepreneurship: A Planning Approach. Minneapolis-St. Paul: West Publishing.
Glancey, K. (1998). Determinants of Growth and Profitability in Small Entrepreneurial Firms. International Journal of entrepreneurship behaviour and research, 4(1): 18-27.
Human, S. E., and Matthews, C. H. (2004). Future Expectations for the New Business. In W. B. Gartner, K. G. Shaver, N. M. Carter, and P. D. Reynolds (Eds.), Handbook of Entrepreneurial Dynamics: The Process of Business Creation: 94-103. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hurtz, G. M., and Donovan, J. J. (2000). Personality and Job Performance: The Big Five Revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6): 869-879.
Johnson, B. (1990). Toward a multidimensional model of entrepreneurship: The case of achievement motivation and the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 14(3): 39-54.
Johnson, P. (1986). New Firms: An Economic Perspective. London: Allen and Unwin.
Klepper, S. 2001. Employee startups in high-tech industries. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10(3): 639674.
Kolvereid, L. (1992). Growth aspirations among Norwegian entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 7: 209-222.
Lau, C., and Busenitz, L. W. (2001). Growth Intentions of Entrepreneurs in a Transitional Economy: The People's Republic of China. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26(1): 5-20.
Locke, E. A., and Latham, G. P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Low, M. B., and Macmillan, I. C. (1988). Entrepreneurship: Past Research and Future Challenges. Journal of Management, 14: 139-151.
McClelland, D. C. (1965). N-achievement and Entrepreneurship: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1: 389-392.
Morrison, A., Breen, J., and Ali, S. (2003). Small Business Growth. Intention, Ability and Opportunity. Journal of Small Business Management, 41(4): 417-425.
Mosselman, M., Frederiks, K. C., and Meijaard, J. (2002). Organisatietypen in het MKB, EIM SCALES. Zoetermeer: EIM.
Mount, M. K., and Barrick, M. R. (1998). Five Reasons Why the "Big Five" Article has been Frequently Cited. Personnel Psychology, 51(4): 849-857.
Nandram, S. S., and Samsom, K. J. (2000). Successful Entrepreneurship; More a matter of character than knowledge (in Dutch) Succesvol ondernemen: eerder een kwestie van karakter dan van kennis: Universiteit Nyenrode, Breukelen.
Orser, B. J., Hogarth-Scott, S., and Wright, P. (1998). On the Growth of Small Enterprise: The Role of Intentions, Gender and Experience, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research: 366-380. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
Palich, L. E., and Bagby, D. R. (1995). Using Cognitive Theory to Explain Entrepreneurial Risk-taking: Challenging Conventional Wisdom. Journal of Business Venturing, 10(6): 425-438.
Ripsas, S. (1998). Towards an Interdisciplinary Theory of Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 10:103-115.
Roomi, M. A., Harrison, P. and Beaumont-Kerridge J. (2009). Women-Owned Small and Medium Enterprises in England: Analysis of Factors Influencing the Growth Process, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 270-288.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized Expectancies for Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1): 1-28.
Sapienza, H. J., and Grimm, C. M. (1997). Founder Characteristics, Start-up Process, and Strategy/structure Variables as Predictors of Shortline Railroad Performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 22(1): 524.
Sarasvathy, D. K., Simon, H. A., and Lave, L. (1998). Perceiving and Managing Business Risks: Differences Between Entrepreneurs and Bankers. Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 33(2): 207 225.
Sarwoko, E. and Frisdiantara C. (2016). Growth Determinants of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Universal Journal of Management 4(1): 36-41.
Shane, S., Locke, E., and Collins, C. J. (2003). Entrepreneurial Motivation. Human Resource Management Review, 13(2): 257-280.
Shepherd, D. A., Douglas, E., & Shanley, M. (2000). New venture survival: Ignorance, external shocks and risk reduction strategies. Journal of Business Venturing, 15: 393-410.
Small Business Research Centre (2006). Annual Research Report on Small Business. Kingston Business School, Kingston University, United Kingdom. blackburn@kingston.ac.uk
Venkataraman, S. (1997). The Distinctive Domain of Entrepreneurship Research: An Editor's Perspective. In J. Katz, and R. Brockhaus (Eds.), Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence, and Growth, Vol. 3: 119138. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Vinchur, A. J., Schippmann, J. S., Switzer, F. S. I., and Roth, P. L. (1998). A Meta-analytic Review of Predictors of Job Performance for Salespeople. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 586-597.
Wangeci C. N. and Gathungu J. M. (2013). The Effect of Entrepreneurial Education and Training on Development of SMSE in Githunguri District- Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research 1(8)
Welter, F. (2001). Who Wants to Grow? Growth Intentions and Growth Profiles of (nascent) Entrepreneurs in Germany, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research: 91-147. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
Wiklund, J., and Shepherd, D. A. (2003). Aspiring for, and Achieving Growth: The Moderating Role of Resources and Opportunities. Journal of Management Studies, 40(8): 1911-1941.
Zhou H. and Gerrit de W. (2009) Determinants and Dimensions of Firm Growth. Scientific Analysis of Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Zoetermeer.
Published
2016-06-01
How to Cite
MUAZU, Muazu Hassan; BALA, Abubakar Daudu; HASSAN, Aliyu Usman.
Understanding the Effects of Individual Determinants on Small and Micro Enterprises Growth.
GOUNI Journal of Management and Social Sciences, [S.l.], v. 4, n. 1, p. 116-127, june 2016.
ISSN 2550-7265. Available at: <http://journal.gouni.edu.ng/index.php/fmss/article/view/17>. Date accessed: 14 may 2018.
Issue
Section
Articles
Keywords
Enterprise-growth; Entrepreneurs; Individual-determinants; Business
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors grant the journal copyright
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
