Examines the characteristics of the entrepreneurial personality and the effects of changes in the entrepreneur’s personal relationships. According to the empirical findings, becoming an entrepreneur and acting as an entrepreneur are both aspects of the entrepreneur’s learning process, which in turn has an effect on the personality characteristics of the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur’s drive to solve problems (= mastery) had increased, and control by powerful others decreased since the start‐up phase. Changes in the entrepreneur’s relations with others were also observed to have an effect on the entrepreneur’s personality characteristics. The empirical findings also show that as the number of co‐operative partners decreased, control by powerful others also decreased, and that, since the start‐up phase, entrepreneurs whose personal relations had increased also showed a clear increase in mastery.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the information sourcing practices of small-to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) associated with the development of different types of innovation (product/process/market/organizational). The relationship between different types of innovation and firms' performance is also to be examined. Design/methodology/approach-The paper is based on a quantitative study of a sample of SMEs located in the Northern Savo region in Finland. The entrepreneurs completed a questionnaire pertaining to, for example, whether their firms had introduced novel innovations and what were the sources of information behind these innovations. Findings-The introduction of novel product and market innovations appears to be associated with the use of more or less freely accessible information sources. The findings also indicate that the introduction of novel product, process and market innovations is positively associated with firms' growth. None of the types of innovation studied was found to have a positive relationship with firms' profitability. Research limitations/implications-As the analysis was based on self-reported data provided by the entrepreneurs of SMEs, the authors had to rely on their judgment regarding the novelty of the innovations they had introduced. Moreover, as the study was conducted in a single region with its idiosyncratic features, the generalizability of the findings to other regional contexts remains somewhat ambiguous. Practical implications-The study suggests a need to re-evaluate the innovation-related services available to firms in the regional innovation system. The findings also imply the need for entrepreneurs and their firms to upgrade their competences in order to enhance their innovation and networking capabilities. Originality/value-Relatively modest amounts of research have addressed the information sourcing practices of SMEs in relation to different types of innovation, both in terms of the object of change and the extent of change. The paper addresses this.

This study examined factors influencing the survival and success of 200 Finnish family and nonfamily firms in the metal‐based manufacturing industry and business services over the first three years of their operation. The features that this study reviewed include owner‐manager personality attributes, entrepreneurial competence, and motives for the start‐up. Strategic choices of the firms were also examined. The study found that family firms were better equipped to survive beyond the early entrepreneurial stage than were nonfamily businesses. The entrepreneurial abilities and resources of the family business owners enabled them to operate relatively successfully in the nearby market, often with one unique product. The family firms were more conscious of survival and family well‐being than profitability or market position. A higher mortality rate was discovered among the nonfamily firms. Failed firms were often established with unrealistic expectations, and their performance deteriorated rapidly after their early success.

This study examined factors influencing the growth of new firms in metal‐based manufacturing and business services in Finland over the three first years of their operation. The factors affecting the growth of a new firm were found in the start‐up phase, in the characteristics of the entrepreneur and of the firm, and in the firm’s environment. Growth was especially explained by the know‐how and changes in the strategic behaviour of the entrepreneur and by the firm’s environment. New firmshad equal chances for growth irrespective of their locality. Instead, growth was affected by changes in a firm’s competitive situation, and, especially in the more developed service centres, growth was dependent on a firm’s expanding its market area in the first three years of operation. The results also clearly indicated that in a small specialist firm personal relationships formed an important part of the entrepreneur’s management capabilities.

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