Managerial capability for innovation for microfirms: integrating theory with empirical evidence

Abstract

The research considers a recently developed model of managerial capability for innovation in the microfirm context. Microfirms are firms employing less than 10 people. The research takes an interpretivist methodological approach based on a pilot study of five in-depth interviews with owner/managers of tourism microfirms. Findings indicate the incremental nature of innovation; the importance of aspects of managerial capability in the guise of leadership, operational capability, strategic thinking and the development of relationships with people. Innovation is shown to emerge through the interaction of aspects of managerial capability and key resource pools. The empirical research results in a refined model of managerial capability for innovation in context. A contribution to microfirm management practice is made through providing a model of managerial capability which can be used to improve the competitiveness of microfirms in the tourism industry. Allied to this contribution it is suggested that policy makers can use the model through further dissemination of their efforts to develop industry best practice. Recommendations for future empirical research based on an expanded microfirm study are suggested.

Dynamic managerial capabilities in micro-enterprises: Stability, vulnerability and the role of managerial time allocation

“…This operational involvement enhanced the ability of Media Ent's owner-manager to sense, seize and transform, since he could quickly spot and capture opportunities to use existing skills and equipment to offer new services. However, while customer proximity resulting from operational work supported the enactment of some dynamic managerial capability practices (Kearney et al, 2017;Kelliher et al, 2018) in IT Ent and Merchandising Ent, the greatest impact of operational involvement was to limit time allocated to capability enactment, thus slowing and constraining the capability in these enterprises.…”

Strategizing in the micro firm: A ‘strategy as practice’ framework

“…Jarzabkowski (2004), arguing for a nuanced perspective on resourcebased theory that goes beyond the consideration of just economic resources as the source of competitiveness, suggests that strategizing can be a lens through which resources and resource bundles are re-envisioned. Given arguments for the nuanced strategic use of resources in the micro firm context (Kearney et al, 2014(Kearney et al, , 2017, future research might investigate micro firm strategizing within the resource-based view as a means of better understanding the nature of competitiveness in the micro firm context.…”

“…However, in accordance with the arguments of Johnson et al (2003), made in criticism of process theories of strategy, centrality does not help to build understanding of whether or not managers make a difference and, if they do, what the nature of that difference might be. Further, given that existing theoretical approaches in the micro firm literature depend heavily on the resource-based view (Kearney et al, 2014;Kelliher and Reinl, 2009) and the dynamic capabilities view (Kearney et al, 2017), the strategy as practice approach offers an opportunity to deepen understanding of the social complexity and causal ambiguity underpinning the resource-based view and opens new perspectives on dynamism within the dynamic capabilities view (Jarzabkowski and Spee, 2009).…”

“…Over the past 15 years, there has been a growth of research interest in the micro firm. This interest has encompassed the areas of micro firm learning (Reinl et al, 2015), micro firm innovation (Alonso and Bressan, 2014;Verbano et al, 2013), micro firm managerial capability for innovation (Kearney et al, 2014(Kearney et al, , 2017 and micro firm training (Devins et al, 2005;Kotey and Slade, 2005). Yet few studies have focused on strategizing in the micro firm context.…”

“…Finally, the 'practices' aspect inherent in the strategy as practice framework facilitates a more critical evaluation of the role of owner/manager practices. Existing approaches to understanding the nature of micro firm management practice rely on theoretical bases specific to the aim of dedicated research aims -for example, learning (Devins et al, 2005), management objectives (Greenbank, 2000) and the emergence of innovation (Kearney et al, 2014(Kearney et al, , 2017. Taking the strategy as practice perspective enables the evaluation of strategizing as comprising practices manifest as 'shared skills or understandings' (Schatzki et al, 2001: 12).…”