Creative manufacturing SMEs: the role of owner-managers
Manufacturing SMEs need to be creative and innovative to stay competitive, but only some of them meet this challenge. Despite the significance of creativity, this area is still under-studied in the context of SMEs, especially manufacturing SMEs. As owner-managers play a key role in developing the creative abilities of their companies, we have chosen to focus on them. We therefore studied five creative Quebec manufacturing SMEs. Even though our analysis did not reveal a typical profile for owner-managers of creative manufacturing SMEs, the results confirm their role as a catalyst. The results also suggest that creative manufacturing SMEs are run by owner-managers with a “dual personality.” This ambidexterity could explain in large part why some manufacturing SMEs are considered creative.