What Do Owner-Managers In Small Firms Really Do? Differences In Managerial Behavior In Small And Large Organizations

Abstract

The research presented is a replication of Mintzberg’s on managerial work. The article focuses on owner-managers in small manufacturing firms in an initial attempt to reveal the nature of the work undertaken by this type of managers. The purpose is to describe what they do and to compare their behaviour with that of managers in large and intermediate organizations as described by Mintzberg and Kurke & Aldrich. Our study compliments an earlier small-scale study on managerial behavior in small firms and includes sufficient data to test Mintzberg’s propositions on managerial work. Empirically this paper draws on an observational study that deployed the method of structured observation.

The daily activities of the small-firm owner-managers in our study are characterized by, among other things, informality and constant interruption as the process by which their work is organized. This differs partly from the results found in the studies of managers’ work in larger organizations, where formal and planned activities serve more often as the procedure through which the managers design their work. Of Mintzberg’s seven propositions, we found support for four, although with some hesitation. This calls into question the asserted generality of several such propositions. Our study indicates that there seem to be certain myths about what small-firm owner-managers really do, myths that need to be considered in future research.