Thesis
Personal values of owner/managers, business strategies and enterprise performance
Southern Cross University, Faculty of Business and Computing
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
1994
Metrics
117 Record Views
Abstract
The study aims to establish relationships among personal values of owner/managers, their business strategies and enterprise performance levels. It is also an aim to construct a typology of owner/managers based on personal values and to demonstrate that owner/managers with differing personal values have different strategic orientations and also that alternative strategies lead to differing performance outcomes.
A theoretical framework is established for the research in chapters two to five. Strategy and strategy concepts are explained in chapter two. Two strategy types are distinguished – proactive and reactive strategies. Factors which influence choice of strategy are discussed in chapter three and include owner/manager personality characteristics, environmental variables and internal resources of the enterprise. It is noted that owner/manager personality characteristics have significant impact on choice of strategies in small firms and in dynamic environments. Personal values are examined as personality characteristics which influence choice of strategy for small firms. It is proposed that owner/managers with entrepreneurial personal values are likely to be proactive in strategic orientation and those with conservative personal values are likely to have reactive strategic orientations.
Literature on the relationship between business strategies and enterprise performance and between factors which influence strategy and enterprise performance, is discussed in chapter five. It is proposed (following discussions from the literature) that proactive strategies are likely to result in higher performance levels than reactive strategies. It is also proposed that entrepreneurial owner/managers are likely to achieve higher performance levels than conservative owner/managers.
The furniture manufacturing industry was selected for empirical study as it meets the research needs - that is, the industry is dominated by small firms and operates within a dynamic environment.
Key variables in the research are personal values of owner/managers, business strategies and enterprise performance. These variables were measured by reference to discussions in the theoretical framework and to instruments employed by researchers such as Slevin and Covin (1987), Rokeach (1973) and England (1967). Data was obtained by mail survey and the sample was found to be representative of small business furniture manufacturers in New South Wales.
Factors were derived from items which comprise each variable. It was necessary to reduce items into factors to ensure reliability of subsequent analyses. Canonical correlation analyses were employed in examining relationships among the variables studied. Canonical correlation analysis is superior to multiple regression analysis and multiple bivariate correlation analyses in examining relationships, as it involves simultaneous consideration of complex multivariate relationships among sets of predictor and criterion variables. Cluster analysis was employed for constructing a typology of owner/managers based on the personal value factors, and differences among the groups, with respect to business strategies and enterprise performance, were examined by multivariate analyses of variance using deviation contrasts. The use of factor and cluster analyses and analysis of variance in typology construction is popular among researchers in strategic management (Robinson and Pearce 1988, Hambrick 1983, Galbraith and Schendel 1983).
Research propositions were confirmed by the analyses. It was found that owner/managers with personal values described as "entrepreneurial" are proactive in strategic orientation with higher performance levels than conservative owner/managers who were found to be reactive in strategic orientation. Owner/managers with combinations of entrepreneurial and conservative personal values were found to employ combinations of reactive and proactive strategies and to perform at levels equivalent to the average for the industry.
Research objectives were achieved, following confirmation of the research propositions. Relationships among personal values of owner/managers, business strategies and enterprise performance were confirmed. A typology of owner/managers was constructed based on personal values and it was demonstrated that different personal value types vary in strategic orientation and that various strategies result in differing performance outcomes.
It was noted from the findings that all-inclusive policies may not be effective for the small enterprise sector and that small business policies and programs may need to be tailored to specific needs of owner/managers. The findings also have implications for networking and entrepreneurial development programs for the small enterprise sector.
It is not possible to generalise findings from the study due to delimitations in relation to industry and location of firms. It would be necessary to replicate the study for other industries.
Details
- Title
- Personal values of owner/managers, business strategies and enterprise performance
- Creators
- Bernice Adei Kotey
- Contributors
- Geoffrey Meredith (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University, Faculty of Business and Computing
- Number of pages
- xvi, 315
- Identifiers
- 991012958500502368
- Copyright
- © Bernice A Kotey 1994
- Academic Unit
- School of Business and Tourism
- Resource Type
- Thesis