Diversity of craft businesses’ growth strategies and leader profil
Growth is a central theme of research in entrepreneurship and business strategy. Yet if a large number of studies exist on the growth of SMEs, high growth firms or startup, research on very small businesses, and particularly craft businesses is lacking. However we can legitimately think that the smaller level of resources and competences of those firms and their greater focus on the technical part of the business strongly color their choice of growth and require specific research. In this context, the objective of this article is to shed light on the growth strategies actually implemented by craft firms and the causes for their adoption. Based on eleven case studies, results show that growth strategies are much more varied than the literature suggests. They also highlight the influence of the leader profil on the choice of growth strategies.