Motives and Processes of Spin-offs in Sme

Growth is a problematic issue for SME. It consumes resources and, since resources are structurally limited in SME, development strategies often generate real dilemmas (Martinet, 1981). Leverage strategies are frequently applied in an attempt to get around the problem. Nevertheless, such approaches to growth upset the proxemic management processes characteristic of SME (Torres, 2000), notably in terms of the risk of a loss of social identity and, for the director, a loss of control due to the ramifications of technocratisation. Thus, for all SME intent on expansion, the crucial problem arises of choosing a mode of development which enables them to both develop new capacities in spite of limited resources, and maintain continuity in terms of exploiting their key skills. In this article, we will propose a mode of development through spin-off, which, although little used by SME, has the advantage of reconciling the two needs mentioned above.