New environmental stimuli, challenges of entrepreneurial firms and growth leaps: evidences from multisector case studies

Abstract

This paper conceptualises and delineates five challenges – faced by entrepreneurial firms in responding to the stimuli for growth provided by the new environment of globalisation, deregulation and liberalisation. It identifies key managerial actions that lead to growth leaps in the context of these challenges. It provides evidences from case studies in three different sectors – software, aviation and energy – in support of its contention. It also articulates how entrepreneurial firms miss the growth leap opportunity. Though the literature is replete with studies on enterprise growth, the knowledge about challenges in responding to growth stimuli provided by the new environment is limited. This paper is a contribution in this direction.