The central aim of the research was to evaluate the applicability of the normative strategic planning (SP) model in the context of the small manufacturing firm. A normative SP paradigm was developed from a review of the relevant literature and this was further refined through a review of the existing body of knowledge in the small business area and the attendant strategy and planning issues. To test the paradigm, in-depth studies were conducted in a sample of four small manufacturing enterprises and in each case, three strategic changes were jointly identified by the researcher and the respective managing directors. The studies were longitudinal in nature and were designed to measure the relevance and utility of the rational planning model in such businessesT. he methodsu sed compriseds en-&structuredin terviews and observation techniques and the changes were analysed to identify the factors that drove them. From this analysis, a more refined model was developed which integrated the change factors identified from the literature review and the change factors from the field-work. A particularly dominant concept emerged from the field-work, that of flexibility in the pursuit of emerging opportunities, a concept present in eight of the twelve changes. The work contributes to the existing body of knowledge by determining the part played by the rational planning (RP) model; by establishing how strategic changes are triggered, assesseda nd implementedi n the researchedc ompaniesa nd by building a more relevant model that might prove useful in a broader selection of small businesses. A key apriori assumption proposed inter alia that the RP model would be of little practical use in small business( SB) environments.T he main perceivedw eaknesseso f the RP model were considered to be the data requirements and associated data analysis resources thought rarely to be found in SBs and the capability of actually generating and sustaining radically new strategies. From the analysis of the 12 changes, the influence of the RP model was found to be minimal.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:338616 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Flanagan, Rodney |
| Publisher | University of Huddersfield |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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