Organisational learning: research issues and application in SME sector firms

Over the last two decades the UK Government has massively expanded support for SME sector firms. Two important elements of this expansion have been the funding of intervention by commercial consultants and the provision of training schemes covering start-ups, owner-manager development and employee skills acquisition. Argues that a fresh approach is required which ensures embedding of the concept that firms should be more self-responsible and continually strive to find ways of enhancing their performance. This view then permits one to posit the idea that the introduction of organisational learning into the SME sector is a highly attractive proposition. However, the majority of espoused theory is based on application of the concept in large firms moreover, there is very limited empirical research that supports the fundamental assumption that organisational learning contributes towards enhancing performance. Research to determine whether identifiable relationships exist between the performance of the firm, the learning mode of the organisation and organisational competence does not provide clear statistically significant relationships and further work is clearly needed. A grounded theory approach was adopted for developing an organisational learning programme for small firms. Preliminary results indicate the approach offers significant advantages over the classic, external intervention driven support models currently in common use among TECs and business links. Introduction Over the last two decades the UK Government has massively expanded support for SME sector firms. Two important elements of this expansion have been the funding of intervention by commercial consultants and the provision of training schemes covering start-ups, owner-manager development and employee skills acquisition. Possibly the largest consultancy support scheme was the DTI Enterprise Initiative. Firms which participated in the programme frequently found that at the end of the funding period, they were left with a thick report containing recommendations which either the firm did not understand and/or lacked the resources to implement. In the case of training schemes it has proved extremely difficult to identify any positive relationship between funds expended and improvement in SME sector performance. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 5 No. 4, 1999, pp. 191-203. © MCB University Press, 1355-2554 This article is part of a special issue of papers from the 2nd Enterprise and Learning Conference, Edinburgh, 1998. Guest Edited by Alastair Anderson and David Deakins.