University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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The values of an SME are predominantly those of the OM, who is the hub of control
and is the manifest concentration of leadership and authority. In the smaller SME the
OM plays a critical role and their personality is crucial in inspiring loyalty and
aligning employees to the organisation’s values (Haugh and McKee, 2004). Feltham
et al (2005) agree with this view and say that SMEs – particularly family-run
businesses – are highly dependant (perhaps dangerously so) on the OM.
SMEs of OMs share five common values of independence, survival, control,
pragmatism and financial prudence. Whilst it is acknowledged that larger
organisations may well have similar values too, these five values are what make up
“the cultural paradigm of the smaller firm” Haugh and McKee (2004:378). The issue
of independence is important as it often makes an OM unwilling to accept advice.
The high influence of the OM means that OMs have to be convinced that TMD is
beneficial to them before undertaking it (e.g. Quinn, 1997). The issue of financial
prudence is important as the OM has to be convinced of the (sometimes)
unquantifiable benefits of TMD.
The Characteristics of SME OMs
With such a diverse range of companies, the OMs of SMEs are similarly diverse,
Barrow (1998:15) quotes Peter Drucker (but without reference) as saying that:
“Some [OMs] are eccentric, other painfully correct conformist;
some are fat and some are lean; some are worriers and some are
relaxed; some drink quite heavily, others are total abstainers; some
are men of great charm and worth, some have no more personality
than a frozen mackerel”.
The characteristics of a successful small-business person are that they have total
commitment and hard work, have a higher acceptance of uncertainty, demonstrate
self-discipline, are self-confident all-rounders and demonstrate innovative skills
(Barrow and Brown, 1997). This adds to the view of a SME OM as being a
generalist (Beaver, 2002) and thus not needing TMD.
A Cooper & Lybrand survey of 800 small companies cited in Barrow and Brown
(1997) shows the main motivators for SME OMs as being Personal Satisfaction . At
98%, this was cited by the OMs as being more important than Personal Wealth (85%)
or Capital Growth (93%) showing that an OM is motivated by the satisfaction of
developing his business more than his own wealth. This has an impact on the
relevance of the content of messages aimed at the OM.
The Perception that TMD brings few Benefits to an SME
For SMEs the key managerial issues are those to do with effective time management
and the ability to acquire the necessary financial and marketing skills (Hall, 1989;