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Managerial Growth Challenges in Small Software Firms: A Multiple-Case Study of Growth-Oriented Enterprises

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Software Business (ICSOB 2010)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 51))

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Abstract

Notwithstanding the importance of small software firms, research focusing on understanding the growth challenges faced by their management is close to non-existent. By taking a life-cycle approach and focusing on managerial challenges, the aim of this paper is to analyze the growth process of small software firms. After forming a synthesis of possible growth challenges from relevant literature, the results are reflected upon case software firms using thematic interviews and questionnaires. According to the analysis of four software firms, managing human resources represents the greatest challenge for software services firms. Additionally, other challenges stem from competition and sales-related activities. Comparative analysis of the literature and the cases leads toward a theoretical conceptualization of growth challenges from small software firm’s perspective.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of CS and IS, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Oskari Miettinen, Oleksiy Mazhelis & Eetu Luoma

Authors
  1. Oskari Miettinen
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  2. Oleksiy Mazhelis
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  3. Eetu Luoma
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, 40014, Finland

    Pasi Tyrväinen

  2. IUtrecht University, PO Box 80.089, 3508TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Slinger Jansen

  3. MIT Sloan School of Management, 50 Memorial Drive, 02142-1347, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Michael A. Cusumano

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Miettinen, O., Mazhelis, O., Luoma, E. (2010). Managerial Growth Challenges in Small Software Firms: A Multiple-Case Study of Growth-Oriented Enterprises. In: Tyrväinen, P., Jansen, S., Cusumano, M.A. (eds) Software Business. ICSOB 2010. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 51. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13633-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13633-7_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-13632-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-13633-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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