CFP: Entrepreneurial Small Firms: Contemporary Issues and Perspectives (ISBJ)

[entrepreneurship-phd at lists.uni-due.de]

SPECIAL ISSUE OF INTERNATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS JOURNAL (ISBJ)
Entrepreneurial Small Firms: Contemporary Issues and Perspectives
Call for Papers
Editors: Hans Landström and Friederike Welter

Significance and aim of the topic

Small firms are often regarded as traditional organisations, following a risk-averse approach to managing and growing their businesses. Entrepreneurs in small firms often improvise and ‘muddle-through’, with ‘strategy’ typically being emergent and ‘strategic vision’ more commonly demonstrated than strategic planning. 

Entrepreneurs react from day-to-day, neglecting the longer term development of their business. Over time, decision-making processes tend to become increasingly routinised, as entrepreneurs fall back on behaviour they once have applied successfully, as long as they are facing familiar situations, for which ‘closed loop’ learning can provide the basis for making an adequate response. 

How entrepreneurial are small firms? Although it is recognized that owner-managers at some time have to behave entrepreneurially in order to start and sustain their business, how can small business owners achieve continued entrepreneurship within their firm? Is strategic entrepreneurship of relevance to small firms, given the discussion on what constitutes strategic management and strategic behaviour, or is there as need to extend and develop strategic entrepreneurship within a small firms’ context?

This special issue aims to encourage new perspectives on the role of ‘continued entrepreneurship’ and ‘strategic entrepreneurship’ in the context of small firms. Both conceptual and empirical papers are welcome. 
Timescale
1st May 2012: Receipt of papers for start of review process
15th February 2013: Deadline for receipt of final papers from authors
15th May 2013: Special issue submitted to Rob Blackburn, Editor ISBJ
Anticipated date for publication: 2014
Contact: Enquiries should be sent to Professor Hans Landström (Hans.Landstrom at fek.lu.se); and Professor Friederike Welter (Friederike.Welter at jibs.hj.se)