Journal of Enterprising Culture

This study examines the relationship between outsourcing practices, firm strategy and growth in SMEs. The sample for this study was the Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) database co-developed by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Ernst & Young. I found that while 83% of the firms engaged in some outsourcing practice, 71.5% of the firms outsourced three or fewer activities. Differing activities were significantly associated with growth depending on whether firm growth was measured in relative or absolute terms, suggesting that outsourcing preferences may be highly influenced by firm size. The results of this study suggest that while outsourcing is commonly practiced among high-performing SMEs, it is generally done to allow the firm to focus on its core activities rather than directly supporting their growth strategies.

Family SMEs represent an important share in the structure of all enterprises world-wide. In Slovenia, until recently we did not have at our disposal data or leastwise estimates on the share of the family enterprises as insufficient attention was devoted to their investigation. However, if we proceed from the fact that in Slovenia, especially in the 1990s, the number of SMEs has dramatically increased, it can be assumed that family enterprises also present a significant factor of the economic development in Slovenia. In the years 1998 and 1999 we carried out the first broad research on family enterprises in Slovenia (on the case of one region). The results of this empirical research confirmed that family SMEs present an important share in the structure of all enterprises in the region and therefore present an important factor of the development of this region and of Slovenia.

This paper investigates the performance effects of both aggressive technological posture and automation in a sample of 336 small and medium-sized enterprises. The paper seeks to test whether firm strategic posture mediates the relationship between technology policy and firm performance. Findings suggest that strategic posture does not mediate the relationship between technology policy and ROI, but does mediate the relationship between technology policy and sales growth.

In this period of globalization, little is known of the democratic action of entrepreneurs to collaborate through the industry association to achieve competitive advantage. This paper conceptualizes a theoretical model that clarifies the variations in both trust and power-dependence of institutional structures to achieve global trade for entrepreneurs. The research investigates the relationship between an industry association's innovation process and the organizational structuring of enterprise development activities to achieve competitive advantage. An outline of a typology of industry association structures and trust is examined through case studies that explain the variations in their capacity to implement innovative actions.