Growth strategies in small businesses Dissertation

Growth strategies in small businesses - Dissertation Example Business process digitalisation, in this study, is defined as an enterprise-wide information system based on the technological foundation of the Internet. To date, the majority of research on SME’s BPD has focused on the antecedents of SMEs engaging in one or few specific types of e-business practice or process (Wymer & Regan, 2005, 442). While these studies provide good understanding of the antecedents and the financial consequences of BPD, how BPD affects SME’s development is still unclear. As a key indicator of firm innovation, organisational growth is crucial to the survival and success of business and enterprise, including SMEs (Huang, Soutar & Brown, 2002, 32). Aims and Objective This study aims to understand how SMEs can use BPD as their growth strategy. Building upon insights from the knowledge based view and the organisational learning theory, the central thesis of this study is that the extensive use of BPD enhances the firm’s knowledge-base resources a nd improves its organisational learning, therefore contributing to SME’s further growth. Research Question How Business process digitalisation can be used as a growth strategy for SMEs? Methodology Sample and Data Collection The initial sample will be consisting of 414 small and medium-sized manufacturers in engineering, electronics, computer and software industries of the UK.