Snowballing and flying under the radar: resource management of small entrepreneurs in East Africa

TY - GEN

T1 - Snowballing and flying under the radar

T2 - Academy of Management Africa Conference

AU - Pötz, Katharina Anna

AU - Hjortsø, Carsten Nico Portefée

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - African governments and the international donor community have started to put substantial emphasis on private sector development and entrepreneurship, but only very few African enterprises manage to grow beyond informal micro-activities. Although there is growing awareness about factors and institutional barriers associated with small firm growth in developing countries we still know little about how these factors are translated into entrepreneurial behavior and firm-internal processes. This study conceptually draws on resource management processes and uses a multiple case study approach to provide insights on how Tanzanian entrepreneurs manage resources during the start-up and development of micro- to small-scale ventures. We find that micro-environmental differences in the resources of the entrepreneur and the institutional complexity of the venture lead to distinct patterns of resource management and venture development paths. More specifically, flying under radar in terms of operating under lower institutional requirements, and slowly accumulating resources (snowballing) are major leveraging strategies. We integrate our results into a hypothesized framework for resource management in East African transition economies and provide a set of propositions for further research and practice.

AB - African governments and the international donor community have started to put substantial emphasis on private sector development and entrepreneurship, but only very few African enterprises manage to grow beyond informal micro-activities. Although there is growing awareness about factors and institutional barriers associated with small firm growth in developing countries we still know little about how these factors are translated into entrepreneurial behavior and firm-internal processes. This study conceptually draws on resource management processes and uses a multiple case study approach to provide insights on how Tanzanian entrepreneurs manage resources during the start-up and development of micro- to small-scale ventures. We find that micro-environmental differences in the resources of the entrepreneur and the institutional complexity of the venture lead to distinct patterns of resource management and venture development paths. More specifically, flying under radar in terms of operating under lower institutional requirements, and slowly accumulating resources (snowballing) are major leveraging strategies. We integrate our results into a hypothesized framework for resource management in East African transition economies and provide a set of propositions for further research and practice.

U2 - 10.5465/aomafr.2012.0300

DO - 10.5465/aomafr.2012.0300

M3 - Conference article

SN - 2151-6561

JO - Academy of Management Proceedings

JF - Academy of Management Proceedings

Y2 - 7 January 2013 through 10 January 2013

ER -