Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to increase the scholarly understanding of managerial growth aspirations in small firms. Research has shown that managers' aspirations are important to ensure firms' growth, but researchers know less of where their aspirations come from and how variation in these aspirations shapes organizational outcomes. By focusing on two growth strategies of particular importance for small firms – innovation and internationalization – the authors map out how managers' ambitious aspirations may create negative organizational effects and also how they may counteract such effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) on a sample of 249 Norwegian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that managerial experience is associated with high aspirations as well as high change effectiveness on the managerial team. The authors find that ambitious growth aspirations are associated with exploration in the form of radical innovation but also lead to reduced employee well-being. Managers' level of perceived change effectiveness, on the other hand, is positively associated with radical innovation and also raises employee well-being.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the positive and negative effects of managerial aspirations on different organizational outcomes. Further, it shows that managerial teams working effectively together in the face of change is important for the well-being of employees. Results confirm the positive relationship between aspirations for growth and applied growth strategies in organizations. The data sample is, however, extracted from one country only, and the authors cannot exclude the possibility that findings will be different elsewhere.

Practical implications

To ensure successful growth, managers should combine ambitious aspirations with attention to the top management team's (TMT) experience levels and change effectiveness. Assessment of possible needs for development and adjustments could ensure growth processes with limited negative effects for employee well-being.

Originality/value

By distinguishing between growth through international sales (exploitation) and growth through a more change-intensive strategy of radical innovation (exploration), the authors investigate how variations in managerial aspirations and perceptions influence organizational growth processes. This paper paints a unique picture of how managers can be both the cause and cure of employee well-being in change-demanding situations.

中文翻译：

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中小企业的增长愿望：管理决定因素和组织成果

目的

本研究的主要目的是增加对小企业管理增长愿望的学术理解。研究表明，管理者的抱负对于确保公司的增长很重要，但研究人员对他们的抱负从何而来以及这些抱负的变化如何影响组织结果知之甚少。通过关注对小企业特别重要的两个增长战略——创新和国际化——作者描绘了管理者的雄心勃勃的抱负如何产生负面的组织影响，以及他们如何抵消这种影响。

设计/方法/方法

该研究对 249 家挪威中小企业 (SME) 的样本采用了结构方程模型 (SEM)。

发现

这项研究的结果表明，管理经验与管理团队的高期望和高变革效率有关。作者发现，雄心勃勃的增长愿望与激进创新形式的探索有关，但也会导致员工福利下降。另一方面，管理者感知变革有效性的水平与激进创新正相关，也提高了员工的幸福感。

研究限制/影响

本研究强调了管理抱负对不同组织结果的积极和消极影响。此外，它表明管理团队在面对变革时有效合作对员工的福祉很重要。结果证实了对增长的渴望与组织中应用的增长策略之间的正相关关系。然而，数据样本仅从一个国家提取，作者不能排除其他地方的调查结果会有所不同的可能性。

实际影响

为确保成功增长，管理人员应将雄心勃勃的抱负与对高层管理团队 (TMT) 经验水平和变革有效性的关注结合起来。评估可能的发展和调整需求可以确保成长过程对员工福祉的负面影响有限。

原创性/价值

通过区分通过国际销售（开发）实现的增长和通过更激进的创新（探索）的变革密集型战略实现的增长，作者研究了管理抱负和观念的变化如何影响组织增长过程。本文描绘了管理者如何在要求变革的情况下成为员工幸福的原因和治疗方法的独特画面。