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Abstract

Research relating to management assumptions1 has largely being confined to mature industries where they are readily recognisable as influential business variables in finance, economics, organisational and business development. These studies have primarily considered senior managerial assumptions as part of the cognitive architecture of the firm, driving many developmental and growth processes of the organisation. This perspective of assumptions acting as intellectual assets of the organisation supporting the firm and its development is however largely absent from entrepreneurial and small business research. This is somewhat surprising given that research on the small firm suggests that entrepreneurs tend to operate on a high assumption to knowledge ratio. This paper, which introduces assumptive-led ‘growth maps’ attempts to address this apparent deficiency and considers how entrepreneurial assumptions impact upon the planning and development of ambitious, owner-managed, indigenous, Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

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