This thesis is based on a comparative study of the strategy formation process in nine Irish small/medium enterprises (SMEs). The study adopted a longitudinal-processual approach which is still rare in the literature. A conceptual framework was developed from the literature based on three main variables - entrepreneurship, context and history. Realised strategy was seen to be the result of the interplay between these elements over time. The use of this framework facilitated the development of the study’s main contributions.\ud
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Among these contributions, the study identified, and distinguished between two types of entrepreneurs - 'the pragmatic’ and 'charismatic’ types - based on orientation towards risk, underlying personalities and world views. The study also revealed a phase pattern of strategy formation - an early fluid, quasistrategic phase linked through a 'defining episode’ (usually a crisis) to a more formal and focused strategic phase. This phase model is developed in the study and presents a perspective on strategy formation in S M E s which departs from the normative rational planning model that still tends to dominate in the literature on SMEs.\ud
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Among its other findings, the study highlights h o w the risk-taking capacities of entrepreneurs are seen to change over time due to both intrinsic and extrinsic influences; the study reveals h o w entrepreneurial effectiveness varies more generally over time and tenure; and attention is drawn to some of the 'darker’ elements in the entrepreneurial personality. The implications of these and other findings for future research and practice are discussed