engleski

Exploring change managament in Croatian SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered great contributor of economic growth. Their importance in national economies is not reflected only in their share in the total number of enterprises but also in their share of the realized value of GDP and exports and their great contribution to employment. However, it is not enough to start small businesses and ensure their survival, but a critical factor of SMEs’ influence on economic growth is the propulsion of their growth and development. This research assumes that the way SMEs manage the changes determines their development potential and consequently their success and its associated longevity. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the studied enterprises could be categorized with recognizable features concerning the mode these SMEs manage organizational and strategic changes. Therefore, a cluster analysis is used on the sample of 190 established SMEs in the Republic of Croatia. The results indicate the distribution of analyzed SMEs in four clusters that show significant differences between selected classification variables of organizational and strategic dynamics and their related performance. In cluster of SMEs with the strongest organizational and strategic dynamics are the enterprises that show the highest level of performance. More than 60% of the enterprises with the potential (fast-growing, high-tech and innovative SMEs) are in this cluster. Based on the conducted research, practical recommendations may be provided for resource allocation on certain aspects of organizational and strategic dynamics with the aim of increasing SME’s development potential and their long-term performance. From the theoretical viewpoint, this research gives a new insight into the specificities of change management in SMEs in relation to large enterprises. It also unfolds arrays of new research to include new samples and longitudinal approach. This would allow a comparison of results and further expansion of knowledge in this specific area.

small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), change management, cluster analysi

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