A Systems View Across Time and Space
Table 1 A comparison between the two groups of no/slow growth and fast growth companies
From: Challenges facing small-firm managers in growing manufacturing firms
Study | Focus of study/number of employees | Sex/age | Time as manager | Empirical data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
No/slow growth | 6 owner-managers | Male/between 43 and 58Â years | Between 1 and 28Â years | 1Â week of observation |
−3 % in average increase turnover 6 years prior to observation | (17–43 employees) | A total of approx. 12,240 min of observation. A total number of 1634 activities documented | ||
Manufacturing industry | ||||
Range −61 to +28 % | Average 26 employees | Average 49 years | Average 14 years | Data collected in 2002/2003 |
Fast growth | 6 owner-managers | Male/between 35 and 65Â years | Between 3 and 20Â years | 3Â days observation |
+241 % in average increase in turnover 6 years prior to observation | (10–38 employees) | A total of approx. 7500 min of observation (+2 days of observation of 4 of the managers (approx. 67 h) by master students). A total number of 855 activities (+418 activities by stud.) documented | ||
Manufacturing industry | ||||
Range +93 to +406Â % | Average 24 employees | Average 49Â years | Average 12Â years | |
Data collected in 2006/2007 |