Simon Raby
I strongly believe that the academic world has a lot to offer those who run their own businesses and deliver services to business. That is, if it can be understood; and delivered in a medium that is accessible and meaningful. I love to challenge, to learn and find new ways of thinking with others, and I have a deep-seated passion for facilitating strategic change.
I am the deputy director of an applied research centre (University of Kent), a Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship (University of Calgary) and serve on the Board of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I am educated to doctoral level, an accredited and practising coach, consultant and facilitator, and continue to write for work and pleasure.
I am the deputy director of an applied research centre (University of Kent), a Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship (University of Calgary) and serve on the Board of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I am educated to doctoral level, an accredited and practising coach, consultant and facilitator, and continue to write for work and pleasure.
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This study adopts a realist and pragmatic approach to social research inquiry. A new conceptual framework is designed that builds on prior contextual studies (e.g. Edwards et al., 2006, Harney and Dundon, 2006, Gilman and Edwards, 2008) to include the dynamics of growth in SMEs. This allows for the exploration of how internal and external dynamics interact with performance and labour management practices in SMEs. The analysis begins by exploring the patterns of HRM practices across SMEs through the lens of High Performance Work Systems (HPWS), findings that inform a contextual analysis of five growing SMEs.
This thesis draws some interesting conclusions. First, SMEs do not score highly on measures of HPWS take-up, particularly when one inquires into actual practice as opposed to initial survey reports. No evidence is found of SMEs taking a high performance approach to performance. Second, one cannot conclude that SMEs are deficient or that one should condemn them as failing in some way. Traditional HRM metrics cannot be easily applied to small firms; they are simply not scaled down versions of larger firms. Third, therefore, we find that aspects of HRM are addressed in ways relevant to the small firm context. Fourth, the notion that the application of HPWS results in increased levels of performance is too simplistic; researchers must consider their relationship as mutually reinforcing.
The case studies demonstrate the relevant processes, notably the effects of shocks in relation to business performance that led to responses which in turn implied changes to HR practices. An HPWS model would have meant little to these firms. Though the second point is correct, it does not follow that all is well at all times. The case studies demonstrate differing degrees of effectiveness in dealing with external shocks, and point to the importance of leadership. Ensuring the long term growth and sustainability of firms relies on more than entrepreneurial flair alone; it requires leaders to become effective champions of change.
particular aspect is the location of the Centre, which is currently being debated. No decision has yet been made; however, as the activities of the Centre cascade further across faculty, it was commented that it might make sense for the Centre to report to central faculty. How to measure success is another area that, to date, has not been fully
crystallised.
We propose that research on sales and business development has progressed down parallel tracks that continue to rarely cross. Equally, business development remains a relatively nascent field. The aim of this review is to dedicate scholarly attention to sales and business development disciplines, to examine how these disciplines have emerged over time, and the skills and functions that individuals perform when working in these fields. The outcome of this review is the development of a competency-based framework for sales and business development that offers further clarity on these fields and how they interact, helping to inform curricula development and future research enquiry.