Special Issue Call for Papers
INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP & MANAGEMENT JOURNAL (IEMJ)
Volume 7, Issue 1, March 2011
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“Strategic Marketing Management in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises”
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Submission Deadline (Complete papers only): May 31, 2010
Special issue editors:
Prof. Audrey Gilmore, University of Ulster, UK
Prof. Sascha Kraus, University of Liechtenstein, FL
Dr. Michele O’Dwyer, University of Limerick, Ireland
Prof. Morgan Miles, Georgia Southern University, USA
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often face diverse strategic
challenges and opportunities when operating in a variety of different
industrial and geographical contexts. Traditionally, the marketing
concept and strategic marketing management have often been perceived as
corporate management philosophies driven largely by the needs and
capabilities of larger organisations. Although the intrinsic value of a
traditional approach to marketing management concepts is acknowledged,
it is also recognised that a context specific approach may more
effectively leverage the marketing and entrepreneurial capabilities of
SMEs (Hills, 1987). Indeed there has been a recent shift towards
“rethinking marketing” in terms of SMEs from an entrepreneurial and
management perspective (Carson et al., 1995; Coviello and Brodie, 2000;
Bjerke and Hultman, 2002; Morris et al., 2002; Schindehutte et al., 2009).
Management in SMEs has been of interest to researchers for some time
(Hills 1984, 1987; Bjerke and Hultman, 2002). A number of conceptual
frameworks have been proposed, for example the stages/growth model, the
management style model, the management function model and the
contingency approach (Siu and Kirby, 1998). Each of these models has
some relevance to SMEs facing different marketing contexts, but none
fully capture the domain of strategic marketing issues in SMEs.
Initially SMEs (like many organisations) often start out embracing
entrepreneurship in order to succeed in an increasingly competitive and
dynamic environment. However as companies grow, they tend to become
increasingly administrative and less entrepreneurial as management
refocuses on the tactical marketing activities (Stevenson and Gumpert,
1985). Intrapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship initiatives,
including corporate venturing and strategic renewal, have been discussed
as a way to renew entrepreneurship within an existing firm, but very
little has been done to better understand how SMEs might encourage these
entrepreneurial initiatives to renew their competitive position
(Carrier, 1996).
Given that marketing plays a boundary-spanning role between SMEs and
their stakeholders, it encompasses the activities that identify customer
requirements and areas of potential competitive advantage for an SME.
SMEs operating in competitive environments use marketing to create
value, generate sales and drive organisational performance, and over
time tend to engage in innovative marketing, strategic planning,
entrepreneurial marketing and internationalisation as renewal mechanisms.
This IEMJ special issue aims to advance theoretical and empirical
understanding of strategic marketing management in the context of SMEs.
It also aims to explore how SMEs strategically use intrapreneurship
(Burgelmen, 1983; Carrier, 1996). Papers should aim to advance our
theoretical understanding of the strategic marketing process in SMEs. We
welcome in particular new conceptual perspectives, and comparative
assessments of the suitability of alternative theoretical perspectives.
Papers may also integrate contemporary theories of management,
entrepreneurship and resources with traditional theoretical concepts and
frameworks.
These theoretical advances should explain the marketing management
challenges faced by SMEs, such as:
- How do SMEs leverage entrepreneurial marketing processes to enhance
their competitive position?
- How do / should SMEs strategically manage induced and emergent
entrepreneurship within their own organisation?
- How do SMEs use intrapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship,
including venturing and strategic renewal, to gain or renew competitive
advantage?
- How do internationalised SMEs manage their business in a diversity of
local contexts?
- How do SMEs manage networks in dynamic global markets?
- How do specific aspects of context, for example cultural norms,
influence SME strategies and operations?
- How do SMEs design, select and adapt their business models for
different markets?
All submissions will be expected to develop strong theoretical
foundations and implement rigorous methodologies. The special issue
welcomes a broad range of methodologies in enhancing our understanding
of the aforementioned processes. These include quantitative studies,
qualitative and case studies, multi-country comparative studies,
replication studies and studies of specific SMEs operating in multiple
contexts.
Submissions:
Papers should be submitted by email to
aj.gilmore@ulster.ac.uk or
mmiles@georgiasouthern.edu.
The editors welcome informal enquiries and can be contacted by email:
sascha.kraus@wu-wien.ac.at,
michele.odwyer@ul.ie,
mmiles@georgiasouthern.edu.
aj.gilmore@ulster.ac.uk.
Papers will subject to the IEMJ review procedures. Papers should be
formatted using the IEMJ style guidelines:
http://www.springer.com/business/entrepreneurship/journal/11365
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