Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development

 

Special Issue on: "Managing People and Micro-sized Enterprises in Change"

Guest Editors:
Prof. Matti Muhos and Dr. Anna-Mari Simunaniemi, University of Oulu, Finland

Micro-sized firms (micro-SMEs, businesses with fewer than 10 employees) form the basis of national economies, and the proportion of micro-sized companies is close to 95 per cent globally. Micro-enterprises experience resource scarcity, which forces them to operate under financial and expertise constraints, and they need managerial capability to take over new long-term strategic and operational changes related to megatrends such as digitalisation, mobility and climate change. Politicians and scholars have emphasised the importance of economic growth and internationalisation for companies, but those alone are not enough to provide a full understanding of the heterogeneity and variety of the characteristics of micro-enterprise management, its primary goals and its success measures. We are therefore releasing a Special Issue to investigate success and management in the context of micro-enterprises.

Micro-enterprises are facing global change trends, that demand that owners and managers react and readjust their ways of operating, and consumer awareness and political pressure force companies of any size to act more responsibly. Only a limited number of micro-entrepreneurs actively pursue higher sales or employee numbers, and their full economic impact is indirect and formed through networks. Together with large companies, micro-enterprises form business ecosystems in which micro-enterprises create value, and it is essential that they have the managerial capability to make new long-term strategic and operational changes. However, micro-enterprise managers often lack the resources or competence to predict future changes and focus on long-term strategic planning.

This Special Issue focuses on research that highlights sustainable renewal from the micro-enterprise management perspective. The attention of micro-enterprises is on day-to-day issues to ensure survival, and enterprises that want to survive must constantly be in a renewal process due to on-going shifts in the business context and society. We are interested in approaches that provide understanding of how micro-enterprises can recognise the need for change, act proactively and become change leaders in their business environments.

Traditional econometric measures are important, but they alone are not enough to understand the entire scale of the vitality and success of micro-sized companies. This Special Issue brings together research approaches for conceptualising and investigating motivations, successes and managerial priorities from the perspective of micro-entrepreneurs.

We invite researchers to further discuss and develop the following research themes with a focus on micro-enterprises. Other approaches are also welcome.

Related literature:

Achtenhagen, L., Naldi, L., & Melin, L. (2010). “Business growth”: Do practitioners and scholar really talk about the same thing? Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(2), 289–316.

Angel, P., Jenkins, A., & Stephens, A. (2018). Understanding entrepreneurial success: A phenomenographic approach. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 36(6), 611–636.

Clarke, J., Holt, R., & Blunder, R. (2014). Re-imagining the growth process: (Co)-evolving metaphorical representations of entrepreneurial growth. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 26(3–4), 234–256.

Fisher, R., Maritz, A., & Lobo, A. (2014). Evaluating entrepreneurs’ perception of success: Development of a measurement scale. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 20(5), 478–492.

Kiviluoto, N. (2013). Growth as evidence of firm success: Myth or reality? Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 25(7–8), 569–586.

McKelvie, A., & Wiklund, J. (2010). Advancing firm growth research: A focus on growth mode instead of growth rate. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(2), 261–288.

Muhos, M., Simunaniemi, A., Saarela, M., Foit, D., & Rasochova, L. (2017). Early stages of service business – review and synthesis. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 16(3), 151–173.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Growth management
• Renewal and management capabilities and maturity
• Development capabilities of entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurial orientation, motivation and values
• Entrepreneurial contexts and society impact (including networks, regional development and entrepreneurial climate)
• Resilience of small business managers in change
• Micro-enterprises in value chains and networks
• Micro-enterprises and regional development
• Micro-enterprises
• Management
• Chance and renewal
• Growth capabilities and digitalization
• Global megatrends

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page.

If you have any queries concerning this special issue, please email Riitta Forsten-Astikainen at riitta.forsten-astikainen@oulu.fi.

Important Dates

Manuscripts due by: 1 November, 2020