2016-2017 Faculty Research Grant
Kimberly Pichot (Business)
Factors That Impact Sustainable Growth of Medium-size Businesses
Medium-size businesses account for over one-third of private-sector output and employ over one-third of employees across industries. However, current literature describing entrepreneurship and growth does not address the unique needs of medium-size businesses. Thus, studying sustainable growth that has occurred from small to medium-size businesses may reveal patterns and lessons learned that other entrepreneurs could adopt to reach similar outcomes. A business founder’s vision may significantly impact whether an enterprise will grow and flourish or remain small and decline.
This quantitative study is a follow-up to my dissertation completed in February 2016. In the qualitative study, I interviewed 10 medium-size business founders, resulting in a conceptual model. The central research question of the qualitative study was as follows: How does the founder’s vision impact business growth over time, leading expansion from small to a medium-size entity?
As a result of the qualitative study, four themes emerged that contribute to understanding the founder’s sustainable growth vision: casting vision, hiring quality employees, seeking growth opportunities, and innovating within a niche. Participants identified that vision was the most important element of their growth strategy in addition to hiring quality employees who can embrace the vision. The quantitative study will follow up with a larger sample of 100 surveys, to test the themes and identify whether or not a larger sample of founders agree with the qualitative study, and determine how reliable each of the themes are. This research provides insights to practitioners, founders, and investors to better understand sustainable growth.