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The life cycle of a small family-run entrepreneurial organization: A case analysis of change and growth
Abstract
A qualitative case study traced the evolution of a family-run entrepreneurial organization through six periods of development. The company, with approximately fifty employees, manufactures custom molded rubber parts. The development of the organization was analyzed using two models: Noel Tichy's (1983) technical, political, cultural framework and Cameron and Whetten's (1983) summary model. Tichy's open system model was used as the structure upon which data were collected on eight organizational dimensions. Those data were analyzed using both Tichy's (1983) and Cameron and Whetten's (1983) schema's. Tichy's (1983) framework was used to describe and explain the organization's three subsystems (technical, political, cultural) and their adjustments to uncertainties in the external and internal environments. Cameron and Whetten's (1983) model was used to trace the organization's evolution through four distinct stages of development. Both models were then combined in an integrated format to describe and explain JRW's evolution. This research study found that JRW did evolve through four stages of development from 1975 to 1989. The findings also confirmed that the organization's subsystems (Technical, Political, Cultural) adjusted to events in and outside of the organization during that period. The dissertation concluded with a discussion of the significance of the study and suggestions for future research.
Subject Area
Social studies education|Management|Individual & family studies|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Stacey, Michael John, "The life cycle of a small family-run entrepreneurial organization: A case analysis of change and growth" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9132917.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9132917