What makes small beautiful? Learning and development in small firms

Csillag, Sára; Csizmadia, Péter; Hidegh, Anna Laura; Szászvári, Karina

doi:10.1080/13678868.2019.1641351

Cited by 25 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The OM is also central to the small firm's learning orientation (Lonial and Carter, 2015;Palmer et al, 2019;Wolff et al, 2015) and to whether a learning strategy is formalised (Keith et al, 2016). Learning embeddedness is dependent on the OM's competencies and attitudes towards learning possibilities (Csillag et al, 2019), reinforcing their central role in the organisation's learning strategy intent and application in practice. The focus of this study is on the OM because of the propensity for the OM to link their personal priorities, competencies and attitudes with the learning orientation and strategy of the firm.…”

Section: Social Learning Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Keith et al, 2016;Murphy et al, 2018), empirical evidence on the subject remains scant (Battistia et al, 2019). The literature that does exist contributes that key aspects of learning within a small firm setting are based around contextualised social experiences (Csillag et al, 2019;Taylor and Thorpe, 2004); wherein the owner/manager (OM) is the medium through which much of the strategic learning success relies (Battistia et al, 2019;Deakins et al, 2012). Yet, few studies consider how OMs learn and whether that learning is consequently embedded in the organisation (Battistia et al, 2019;Deakins et al, 2012;Kelliher and Henderson, 2006;Murphy et al, 2018;Wolff et al, 2015), thus small firm OM strategic learning activity is worthy of exploration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By adding proximal (peer) and distal (formal) learning to their repertoire, OMs can enhance their proactive posture and acquire knowledge from beyond the firm's boundaries (Zhao et al, 2011), offering a path to sustained business performance (Battisti et al, 2019;Lechner and Vidar Gudmundsson, 2014). This paper will focus on planned learning activities with a definite aim (Csillag et al, 2019). These activities may include conscious intervention in pursuit of strategic learning capability development in the small firm, as is the case in this study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms

Kelliher

Murphy²,

Harrington

2020

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PurposeThis paper explores the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms. The research question asks, does an external learning intervention influence how strategic learning plans are embedded in small firms?Design/methodology/approachInsights from in-depth action research carried out with three small firm owner-managers (OMs) inform the study.FindingsFindings present valuable insights into how small firms learn strategically, and the link between OM goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in pursuit of embedded learning. A framework for embedding strategic learning plans in small firms is presented.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers a contribution to knowledge in the areas of small firm learning, strategic planning and social learning theory. While the sample size is small, data and case protocols are in place which allow for replication of the study. As the research is embedded in social learning theory, alternative theoretical frameworks may shed a different light on the research question.Practical implicationsThe study will be of interest to practitioners working in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of learning interventions for small service firms. Given the importance of the small firm sector to the global economy, the research may also be of interest to government agencies, who strive to protect the survival and growth of small firms generally and who set aside resource amounts each year to fund training programmes for small firm OMs.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the body of existing knowledge in the small firm setting concerning social learning theory and small firm learning strategies. It has identified a link between OM goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in pursuit of sustainable organisational learning in small firms and offers a framework for embedding strategic learning plans in small firms. The study answers calls for a more robust framework to advance understanding of how OMs learn and whether that learning is consequently embedded in the organisation. The proposed framework can be used as a guideline for support organisations in assisting small firms in reaching their learning potential. It can also be used by small firms in the attainment of strategy learning capability.

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Section: Social Learning Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring the role of goal setting and external accountability mechanisms in embedding strategic learning plans in small firms

Kelliher

Murphy²,

Harrington

2020

JSBED

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A conclusion to this could be that researching Learning in SMEs is not for the fainthearted and therefore we were delighted to see a significant response to our Call for Papers which has resulted in the six excellent papers herein. These not only cover a variety of topics, use various methodologies and are sited in different industries and geographic areas ranging from China (Mustafa, Elliott, and Zhou 2019) to Thailand (Lawless et al 2019), Hungary (Csillag et al 2019), the Republic of Ireland (Nolan and Garavan 2019) and Scotland (Cunningham and McGuire 2019), but they also consider some little explored aspects of owner-managers (e.g. Coetzer, Wallo, and Kock 2019), as well as the perspectives of employees.…”

Section: Overview Of This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is little published research into Learning in SMEs in Hungary and so Csillag et al (2019) What makes small beautiful? Learning and development in small firms is a muchneeded exploration of this.…”

Section: Overview Of This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%