Changing management development initiatives with firm growth: a comparison of family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

Using data available from Australia’s Business Longitudinal Surveys, this study examines how management development initiatives in family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprizes (SME) change with business growth. The results show the adoption of formal management development initiatives increase with SME growth in family and non-family SMEs. This increased commitment of resources to management development suggests SMEs may be adopting a more ‘strategic’ approach to management development as they progress through growth development pathways. The study also revealed a greater significant difference between low and moderate than moderate and high growth SMEs, in the proportion of non-family enterprises that implement management development practices, suggesting the transition toward more formal management development begins early in the growth process. In contrast, significant differences between both low and moderate and moderate and high growth family SMEs suggest this transition is more evolutionary in family SMEs.