Strategic leadership in super-growth companies—a re-appraisal

Strategic Leadership in Super-Growth Companies- A Re-appraisal R. Tonge, P. C. Larsen and M. Ito

S EVERAL ACADEMIC AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY

studies have looked for the secrets of significant and sustained growth in business enterprises. These studies examine the strategic processes and operational implementation of a whole range of issues and from these identify the factors crucial to success i.e., that are common to a number of high performing organisations. The research has been predominantly quali- tative and while still being rigorous and disciplined has not always incorporated an analytical approach associated with “scientific research”’

A case study approach was adopted by Goldsmith et al.’ and Waterman3 The successful approach to the management in the companies is based upon the analysis of large companies that have an established reputation in their industrial sector and publicly available financial data which also suggests an out- standing company such as General Electric Company, Marks & Spencer and IBM.4 An in-depth analysis of the role of strategy and management can be found in Page et al. ,4-6 Taylor et alu7 and Todd et al.' Whereas an analytical approach by 3i and Coopers and Lybrandg,lo was used to draw generalised conclusions based upon survey data. Both approaches have their merits and failures and the research has been advanced either by focusing on one particular approach or a combination of the tw0.l

In the specific context of the medium-sized enterprise, recognition is given to the role of high growth medium-sized enterprises to a nation’s economic development. l,g,lo Research indicates that these enterprises create new employment, develop and launch new products and services and cultivate new markets at home and abroad.” In fact, 3ig concluded that “super-league” companies (i.e., fast-growing pri- vately-owned medium-sized companies) were con- tributing nearly E.4 billion of added value to GDP and providing for a 30% increase in employment over a

This article reports on a research project to identify the attributes of high and super growth medium-site companies, the strategies they employ to maintain growth and the critical success factors they consider vital to achieve rapid growth.

Pronounced differences were found in the preferences between both groups when ranking seven critical success factors: (I) Flexibility; (2) Product diversification; (3) Attracting and holding quality staff; (4) Niche marketing; (5) Early entry into growth markets; (6) Quality; (7) and Frequent innovation. There were also differences in their strategic objectives, as well as, in the ages of the growth companies. 0 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

two-year period. Nash,” 3ig and Todd et al.* identified that this group of companies had performed well over the longer term even when the UK economy was declining.

Clifford et al.’ was one of the earliest studies to focus upon success factors as they are related to medium-sized enterprises. That particular study found that high growth companies exist even in declining industries and hence denied conventional wisdom that growth could be achieved only in attractive sectors. The same key success factors were observed as for large scale companies, namely-attention to the needs of customers, a market orientated strategy, innovation, high quality products and highly motiv- ated employees. In addition, medium-sized enterprises tended to focus on a niche market. Also, as a

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growing business gets larger in size and moves through the phases of small, medium and large, the culture and the role of leadership and management changes.

Modiano et a1.l’ studied medium-sized enterprises in the electronics sector which had an impressive record in turnover and profit growth and the following characteristics for successful companies were identified. They should: avoid head-on competition, creating value not low-priced products; be fast and flexible in response; expand into overseas markets at an early stage; and be customer orientated in their products and services.

Page et al.‘” looked at high growth companies from a different perspective and made a series of obser- vations linked to the qualities of leadership. Rather than focusing on the strategies, systems and process drivers of the organisations, the role of leadership in the organisation was examined and the research highlighted the need for; setting a clear direction; identification of obstacles; an adaptive management style; the need to change the organisational structure; and the application of an appropriate control system.

Taylor et ~1.~ studied medium-sized enterprises in the UK and combined the two approaches identified above through an investigation of competitive strategies and leadership styles. The study found the characteristics in these successful companies were similar to those of Clifford et al.,l that is, the role of niche markets, unique products, diversification, flexibility, added value products, the attracting and holding of quality staff, the use of management control systems and stressed the role of strong leadership, as did Page et a1.l”

Todd and Taylor’ undertook a longitudinal study of rapidly growing companies between 1980-1990. The companies were found to often be niche players in markets where barriers to entry were low and they did not have to face large competitors. The study helped to clarify the main constraints or barriers to growth and the tactics employed to overcome them which were: access to technology; availability of appropriately skilled or qualified staff; access to finance: access to distribution channels; and the ability to realise international expansion opportunities.

3i and Cranfield European Enterprise Network undertook research into high growth companies in the UK.” They emphasised the contribution that this sector makes to the UK economy and a statistical analysis highlighted certain key features; leadership in the chosen niche market; frequently exporting on a world-wide basis; the ability to grow rapidly by using the advantage of small size, that is, achieving flexibility of response and having the opportunity to obtain finance. Subsequent work by Coopers and Lybrandl’ on 26 hypergrowth companies compared these with 475 other middle market companies that were part of Coopers and Lybrand’s study Made in

the UK Middle Market Survey (1994).‘4 They defined a hypergrowth company as a medium sized business which grew in turnover and employees by more than 100% over the last three years. The study found that the following distinctive strategies and approaches which enabled companies to achieve fast growth:

l improve time-to-market for new products and services (e.g., 85% launched one or more new products or services every year),

l use joint ventures to reduce business risks, l adopt alternative methods to acquire new tech-

nology, l collaborate in marketing to ‘leverage’ limited

resources, l adopt a strategic approach to exploiting overseas

markets, l avoid confrontation with large players, l use competitive benchmarking, and employ novel

supply techniques, l develop close relationships with larger customers, l recruit educated and ambitious senior managers

from outside the industry, l structure remuneration to favour long-term rewards, l make acquisitions to gain skills and achieve critical

mass in new markets, l delegate general managerial tasks and focus instead

on wooing investors and raising finance, l make corporate accountability a high priority, l increase equity finance and widen share ownership, l reduce debt finance and use cheaper non-bank debt.

Taylor,” in Secrets of the supergrowth league, identified four lessons that other entrepreneurs of businesses should follow if they wanted their companies to grow:

Lesson 1: Lesson 2:

Lesson 3:

Lesson 4:

Find a market niche you can defend. Compete in areas that require speed, flexibility and customer service. Diversify into related products and adjac- ent markets. Leave the industry before the window of opportunity closes.

From the literature it is evident that high growth companies enjoy their success because of the vision and commitment of their leaders to seven key strategic areas of the business (see Table 1).

Objectives From the literature review, seven critical success factors were identified; flexibility; product diversification; attracting and holding quality staff; niche marketing; early entry into growth markets; quality; and frequent innovation. Are these critical success factors common to both types of growth companies?

Long Range Planning Vol. 31 December 1998

Key areas Strategy £ Million Number of respondents

Customer Strong relationship Market Niche marketing

Leader in market Creating new markets Early entry International market

(UK firms) Product Innovative

Quality not price Customer orientated Recent established

technology Employee Motivation Finance Tight control

Financing Supplier & Distributor Unilateral techniques Organisation No bureaucracy

Flexibility

What are the most important attributes of leadership? Are there any differences in these attributes between high growth and super growth companies? What is the strategic focus of the leader?

The main objectives of this research were to determine the critical success factors for business growth and the attributes and strategic attitudes of the leadership of high growth and super growth companies.

To achieve these objectives, a research project was developed to identify for high and super growth companies:

• the critical success factors to which they attribute their success,

• the attributes of leadership, • the strategic focus and strategies adopted, • past and future internal and external strategic activi-

ties.

15-20 2 20-40 8 40-60 6 60-80 6 80-100 5

100-120 2 120-150 2

were mailed out to the managing directors of the one- hundred companies selected.

Profile of Companies There were 38 replies from the one hundred companies surveyed, representing a response rate of 38%; however, seven of these refused to take part.

A majority of the companies participating in the survey had a level of turnover o f£20-80 m (see Table 2).

In terms of growth, two peaks were identified: the first was around the 20-30% mark; the second was 40-50% and above. The companies were analysed as two separate groups, "high growth companies" and "super growth companies." The super growth companies were those which had an annual compound growth rate over a three year period above 40% (see Table 3).

We wished to determine whether the two groups of companies had differences in leadership, strategy and the seven success factors previously identified, which might help to explain their differences in growth performance.

A statistical profile of the two groups of companies was prepared based on the calculation of average turnover and average compound growth. The growth rate is relatively higher when the turnover is from a lower base and vice-versa. However, four companies

Methodology One hundred companies were selected from the CD- ROM in FT-EXTEL based on specific criteria relating to turnover and growth. The criteria required the companies to have a turnover o f£15-150 m for either the year 1995 or 1996 and a three-year compound growth rate in turnover of at least 15% for either the years 1993-1995 or 1994-1996. The company industrial classification excluded businesses in financial services due to the special nature of their tax and legal framework. In September 1996, the questionnaires

Percentage growth rate Number of respondents

20-25 5 25-30 5 30-35 3 35-40 3 40-50 6 50-100 6 Over 100 3

* 3-year compound annual growth rate

Strategic Leadership in Super-Growth Companies--A Re-appraisal

TABLE 4. Statistical profile6

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Super growth High growth

Number of Average Turnover Average growth (%I companies (fm) 3-year compound annual

15 52.19 74.25 16 73.16 28.50

achieved a compound growth rate over 40% with turnover levels over E80 m (see Table 4).

Findings Leadership The role of the leader is of fundamental importance to the success of a medium-sized enterprise. This includes many aspects e.g., visionary, motivator, enabler, facilitator and watch-dog, Its importance has been identified in the work of FawnI and Leavy? This particular part of the research aimed to establish the portfolio of attributes exhibited by leaders in the two groups of companies. Our purpose was to determine to what extent they had characteristics that were common to all high growth companies and to establish to what extent there was any difference between the two groups (see Table 5).

The attributes with the highest ranking are those which are intuitive and require general management skills i.e., direction, vision, selection of key personnel, people motivation and communication. Direc- tion, selection of key personnel, vision, etc. are held to be of the same significance by the leader of both groups of companies. The differences are not significant, but there is a more meaningful picture of leadership when the 3ig companies are considered in total.

Table 5 shows that as enterprises change from a small to a medium sized company an evolution is taking place. At the start-up stage of a business, the

managing director is responsible for the supply of the product or service, the administration, the management, the sales and marketing, etc. In effect the business is the leader and the leader is the business. As the business grows, the managing director has to con- centrate on the overall strategic direction and delegate some of the operational or technical decisions to appointed staff and employees. The leader has to give responsibility on the basis of trust or design control systems to monitor individual activity. Hence the appointment and selection of key personnel becomes an absolutely crucial issue as it provides the con- fidence for a relationship based on trust to be developed in preference to extensive monitoring and control procedures with all the transactions costs that ensue. Nevertheless, some control systems have to be put in place. In fact, the reasons why many SMEs fail include inadequate cost controls and low margins which result from improper pricing McAuliffe.l* The managing director has two basic options, either to learn the necessary financial skills or to employ staff with the specialist skills. The most efficient option would be to employ specialist staff. In the case of product and/or service knowledge there are similar factors to be considered. In order for the business to grow, sales revenue must increase which means that more products are manufactured or quality is improved to justify an increased unit price or the product range is increased or the products func- tionality and features are improved or a combination of these factors. To keep pace with such demands

TAELE 5. Attributes of leadership

Most important Important Rarely important

High Super High Super High Super (15) (16) (15) (16) (15) (16)

Direction 13 10 2 4 0 Selection of key personnel 12 10 3 5 0 Vision 11 10 4 5 0 People motivation 10 10 5 5 0 Communication 10 8 3 5 0 Financial skills 7 8 9 7 0 Product/service knowledge 4 3 10 11 1


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Financial result Long term performance capabilities Building and enhancing customer relationships Organisational integration of systems and people Competitive position

High growth

(16)

Priority high

growth

Super growth

(151

often requires technological advances which in turn requires employing specialist staff.

Strategy Senior management in the UK has regularly been criti- cised for placing too much emphasis on short-term financial results at the expense of long term strategic development. This approach has resulted in inherent weaknesses in the structure of the UK economy.1g By contrast, it is felt that companies should pursue long- term performance strategies and not aim to make a quick profit to ensure business survival. In the survey, managing directors were asked to select one or more of the factors that represented their company’s future focus and then to prioritise them (1 for most important, 2 for next most important and so on-see Table

61. The results in Table 6 demonstrate that the leaders

of the super growth companies were preoccupied with financial performance which they place significantly above any of the other ‘future focus’. Also, the super growth companies are more inclined to be concerned with their competitive position. While it was only considered of relevant concern by half the group, this is well above that for the high growth companies, where only three companies recognised it to be an area of any real concern. High growth companies appeared to be looking for a more balanced focus for the future between financial results, long-

12 1.4 15 1.6 10 1.4 10 1.9 10 2.2 10 2.4 4 4.0 5 3.0 3 3.3 8 3.5

Priority super

growth

term performance capabilities and, building and enhancing customer relationships. To that extent, it can be seen that high growth companies have reached a critical mass which enables them to think about the issues related to the business’s long-term profit drivers, whereas the super growth companies are still preoccupied with financial performance as it relates to profitability, cash flow and the raising of finance.

Bain and Company’g researched companies “future focus” from a world-wide perspective and found that UK companies demonstrated a significantly higher concern for financial performance and that this was then followed by a range of other strategies including: long-term performance capability: customer relationships; competitive positioning; and organisational integration. This survey confirms the results of Bain and Company’s study to the extent that it can clearly be seen to apply to super growth companies, whereas the high growth companies are providing a more balanced portfolio of future strategic intentions where the financial result is just one priority alongside the issues of capability and the customer.

The information shown in Table 7, past and future strategies and their relationship with growth, focuses upon the dynamics of the change in strategic choice as it affects the development of the business; that is, it represents an examination of the strategies under- pinning growth in the past and whether they will be the same ones providing the impetus for growth in

TA8t.E 7. Growth strategies

Past Future

High growth Super growth High growth Super growth (16) (15) (16) (15)

Product and service innovation 12 6 13 11 Internal investment 12 5 8 6 Acquisition 11 11 8 7 Market development 10 8 10 11 Business and organisational control 8 13 8 7 Joint ventures 2 2 6 3

Strategic Leadership in Super-Growth Companies-A Re-appraisal

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TABLE 8. Date of incorporation

1984-1995 1973-1983 1962-1972 Before 1962

High growth Super growth companies companies

4 10 5 2 3 1 4 2

the future. To that end, it is obvious that a number of companies involved in the survey, in both high and super groups, saw acquisition as an important strategic objective in the past and would have provided a major spurt to growth. Beyond acquisition the two groups of companies prioritise differently. The high growth companies see product and service innovation and investment in capability as crucial, while the super growth companies felt they had the need to provide for business and organisational controls as a key strategy. It is evident that both groups of companies have tried to adopt a balanced approach to growth incorporating both acquisition and organic growth strategies.

For the future strategic thrust of the business, both groups of companies make changes. High growth companies seem to be moving away from acquisition and investment in capability to the development potential of joint ventures, with the opportunity that this could bring a shared risk, specialist skills and new markets. The super growth companies are looking to a change of emphasis away from business and organisational control to issues to do with market development and product and service innovation. As super growth companies focus upon these strategic options their emphasis is moving in the direction of the pattern indicated by the high growth companies, both with regard to their past objectives, but more importantly their future objectives. This provides a real indication that a process of convergence is taking

place, apart from one area which is joint ventures. In this last category the high growth group seem to be attracted to this avenue or opportunity to a greater extent. Why might this be so?

The sample of companies surveyed were asked to state their date of incorporation and the profile of the two groups of companies is shown in Table 8.

It is evident that the two groups of companies have a very different age profile and that the high growth companies have a level of maturity (in terms of business longevity) in their respective markets that the super growth companies would aspire to. The focus of the super growth companies may be linked to their “youth”, but as they develop they will probably adopt the characteristics of the mature companies within their sector. The super growth companies appear to be converging on the high growth companies and adopting their strategic profile. The high growth companies are leading the way, looking for new methods of maintaining or sustaining their growth and profitability, for example, through the use of joint ventures.

Tables 9 and 10 deal with strategic activities. The activities listed are those identified as being most likely to correspond with the various company development strategies previously identified. They are div- ided between those with an internal focus and those of an external focus, so a relative balance can be investigated.

The study shows that an emphasis is placed on customer related activities i.e., the addition of new customers, the understanding of customer needs and the desire to increase sales to existing customers. In addition the proposal to offer better after sales service appears to be winning increased favour, most noticeably amongst the super growth companies. This result supports the results of Bain & Company’g which identified UK companies as having a strong focus on customer related issues, placing customer needs, quality and the addition of new customers at the head of the list.

It is harder for medium-sized firms to attract and

TABLE 9. Strategic activities-external aspect

Past Future


Add new customers 13 11 14 13 Understand customers’ needs 13 9 12 11 Exploit niche markets 9 7 12 9 Increase sales to existing customers 8 12 12 12 Analyse competitors 8 8 8 8 Improve distribution/delivery systems 4 3 5 5 Offer best after-sales service 3 4 5 10


Past Future


Manage cultural changes 11 9 9 10 Improve information systems 11 8 11 11 Reduce costs 10 8 14 9 Increase product/service quality 10 6 12 12 Develop new products/services 10 4 11 7 Increase team work 9 8 9 10 Redesign organisational structure 7 7 7 7 Develop new process technologies 6 3 9 4 Improve employee satisfaction 4 7 8 7 Increase organisational learning 3 5 8 7 Improve strategic planning systems 1 3 8 9

recruit high quality staff than for large firms. The medium-sized firms recognise the value of their employees and pay more attention to the retaining of these staff once recruited. The super growth companies demonstrate a particularly high commitment to this factor and see their strength, and hence their ability to grow, as depending on the quality of their employees. When quality staff are then combined with quality of service and a flexible response, financial success and high or super growth is generated by an effectively integrated organisation. Their phil- osophy for success would appear not to be primarily “the niche market”, but that the business should respond in a flexible way, driven by the desire to provide a quality product or service using high quality staff to meet the needs of the individual customer (be they niche market or otherwise).

In Table 7, the number of high growth companies undertaking internal investment in the future can be seen to reduce significantly. This can be related to their activity schedule which envisages a reduction in costs as being of growing importance and suggests that the cost reduction will not be achieved through new investment, but through stream-lining resource and financing costs while maintaining the existing investment base. However, this action must not be at the expense of product or service quality. The reduction in costs could be achieved through the development of new process technologies, which has growing support within the group, but would be hard to achieve without making investments. In addition the cost reduction must be balanced against the need to ensure improved employee satisfaction, organisational learning and strategic planning. As a result cost reduction will have to be selective and sensitive to the needs of employees both in terms of motivation and as it contributes to the organisational learning process. An important difference existed between the

high growth group and the super growth group of companies in terms of the importance placed on employee job satisfaction and organisational learning, with the super growth companies placing greater emphasis on these activities. They also appear to see greater potential in “after sales service” as a way to ensure continued growth.

While the main priority of the super growth companies for the future appears to be achieving the financial result (Table 6), they recognise that this will be achieved by improving product and service quality (especially in the area of after sales service) in order to increase sales to existing customers, as well as, adding new ones. Half the super growth companies have adopted a more consistent approach (both past and future) to achieving employee satisfaction and organisational learning.

Critical Success Factors Critical Success Factors (CSFs) depend upon the nature of the business activity and its relationship to the external environment. Given that a wide range of variables could influence the situation we expected that a wide range of CSFs would be highlighted. How- ever, a few factors were of central concern to the group and to the sub-groups of high growth and super growth companies.

Each of the managing directors was asked to rank the critical success factors that were responsible for the rate of growth of their company, under the head- ings of; strongly agree, agree and rarely agree (see Table 11).

Both groups ranked “attract and hold quality staff”, “quality product and service” and “flexibility” as of the highest importance. However, super growth companies considered “attract and hold quality staff” higher than the other two options.

Twice as many high growth companies selected


Attract and hold quality staff Quality product and service Flexibility Early entry into growth markets Diversification Niche marketing Frequent innovation

Strongly agree Agree Rarely agree

High Super (16) (15)

High Super (16) (15)

5 2 3 5 5 6 8 4 7 8 2 8 8 10

High (161

Super (15)

11 13 12 9 11 9 4 6 4 5 8 4 3 2

0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 4 1 4 2 2 1

niche marketing, as did the super growth companies in the “strongly agree” category. In the “agree” category, the findings were reversed with four times as many super growth companies selecting “niche marketing”, as did their high growth company counter- parts.

The findings from our survey rank “niche marketing” and “early entry into growth markets” very low, which is in stark contrast to the findings of previous research7-10,12 which found that these two factors were highly influential. They were influential on the basis that the niche market and early entry strategies were seen as important for success due to the avoidance of head on competition ensuring a dominant market position. The surveyed companies focus on issues related more to individual customers relations.

“Frequent innovation” was ranked of least importance in the strongly agree category. This again disagrees with previous research,‘.‘.” which would suggest that this critical success factor was far more important.

Conclusion A survey of the literature on high growth medium sized companies 1,7-10,12-15 found that seven areas were crucial to their success. These included: the customer, the market, the product and/or service provided, the employee, finance, supplier and distribution issues, as well as organisational factors. Successful companies place great store on satisfying the needs of the customer, through the supplying of innovative and high quality products. To fulfil this strategy it is recognised that there is a need to ensure the organisation is flexible, thus permitting a quick response to a changing environment. In addition, the growing medium-sized company tends to search out and exploit a niche market due to the low entry barriers, while at the same time avoiding direct confrontation with large competitors. As a result, a keen

sense of the market brings about an understanding of customer preferences and results in the business gaining a dominant position in the market.

Such literature provides almost a model for the strategic management of a successful medium-sized enterprise and it was decided to investigate for the various themes identified in the literature review. The analysis took the form of a survey of high and super growth medium sized companies in the UK at the end of 1996 to see to what extent the factors still held true or whether there had been any major changes since the previous studies. It was felt that this would encap- sulate the businesses’ changing attitudes in response to an environment which is very dynamic and changes due to economic, political and social pressures.

Comparative analysis between the two groups (high and super growth companies) suggest from our findings that in terms of leadership, factors such as, direction, selection of key personnel, vision, etc., are held to be of the same significance by the leadership of both groups of companies. The differences are not significant enough to try and draw distinctive conclusions for each of the two groups.

However, analysis of strategic issues demonstrates a preoccupation for the super growth companies with financial performance. Super growth companies are also more inclined to be concerned with their competitive position than high growth companies. High growth companies appeared to be looking for a more balanced focus for the future between financial results, long-term performance capabilities and building and enhancing customer relationships. To that extent it can be seen that high growth companies have reached a critical mass which enables them to think about the issues related to the business’s long- term profit drivers, whereas the super growth companies are still preoccupied with financial performance as it relates to profitability, cash flow and the raising of finance. These findings confirm the results of Bain & Company’g, but only to the extent that it can clearly be seen to apply to super growth


companies, whereas the high growth companies are providing a more balanced portfolio of future strategic intentions and hence conveys the perspective that the financial result is but one theme alongside the issue of capability and the customer.

In the analysis of past and future strategies and their relationship with growth, it is obvious that a number of companies involved in the survey, in both high and super groups, saw acquisition as an important strategic objective in the past which would have provided a major spurt to growth. Beyond acquisition the two groups of companies prioritise differently. The high growth companies see product and service innovation and investment in capability as crucial, while the super growth companies felt they had the need to provide for business and organisational controls as a key strategy. It is evident that both groups of companies have tried to adopt a balanced approach to growth incorporating both acquisition and organic growth strategies.

The biggest differences to be found within the survey group between high growth and super growth companies relates to the stress that the latter places on the financial targets as a strategy in contrast to high growth companies. One factor that may well be having an impact on this particular finding is the age of incorporation of the business. Research by McGahan and Porter” found that the age of a business effected profitability. The findings from our survey suggest that the super growth companies have an age profile which is a lot younger than that of the high growth companies and hence the need to establish the business in terms of its financial security and the desire to access its own funds for further growth might be forcing this particular issue. By contrast, the more mature high growth companies will have access to their own accumulated funds and have an established track record for third party lending which enables them to set that aspect of their strategic thrust in context against other operational and trading issues.

There is also evidence within the survey of some convergence going on between the two groups of companies and that factors at work in the environment are forcing such developments i.e., the role of joint- ventures and the issue of after sales service. In addition, it is not inconceivable that as the super growth companies establish a maturity about them- selves, they will gradually adopt a profile not dis- similar to existing high growth companies.

The results from this study shows that an emphasis

References

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The findings from our survey rank “niche marketing” and “early entry into growth markets” very low, which is in stark contrast to previous research7-‘o~‘2 which found that these two factors were highly influential. Identifying a niche market and early entry strategies were seen as important for success because of the need to avoid head on competition and still achieve a dominant market position. The surveyed companies focus on issues related more to individual customers relations. “Frequent innovation” was ranked of least importance in the “strongly agree” category. This again disagrees with previous researchl”.” which would suggest that this critical success factor was far more important.

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Midori Ito is Investment Assistant with NatWest Gartmore Investment Management Japan Ltd, Japan.

I

Richard Tonge is Senior Lecturer in Stra- tegic Management Accounting at Ports- mouth University, UK.

Dr Povl Christian Larsen is a Research Fellow in Accounting and Small and Med- ium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at Portsmouth Business School, UK.


Strategic leadership in super-growth companies—a re-appraisal

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