Efficiency, flexibility, or both? Evidence linking strategy to performance in small firms

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ebben, JJ; Johnson, AC
• 署名单位: University of St Thomas Minnesota
• 刊物名称: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0143-2095
• DOI: 10.1002/smj.503
• 发表日期: 2005
• 页码: 1249-1259
• 关键词: Entrepreneurship; Small business; strategy; performance; EFFICIENCY; flexibility

摘要

This paper analyzes small firm performance in relation to efficiency and flexibility, strategies. Using configuration theory, the authors propose that small firms that pursue efficiency strategies or flexibility strategies outperform those that attempt to pursue both. Additionally, size is used as a configurational attribute to develop competing hypotheses on whether efficiency strategies or flexibility strategies are better suited for small firm performance. In two samples of 200 and 144 privately-held smallfirms, firms that mixed efficiency and flexibility strategies significantly underperformed. No significant performance differences were found between firms utilizing only efficiency strategies and those utilizing only flexibility strategies. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.