Growth requires managers’ passion and compassion

Associate Professor Tove Brink wrote the arcticle based on research within the project abbreviated LIV – in English: Agricultural Innovative Enterprises.

The article emphasizes the importance of duality between compassion and passion for the ideas of the managers to lead to growth. Especially compassion is a driver. This has not previously been highlighted by quantitative evidence in literature on growth in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMVs).

The article can be read here until the end of May 2016.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of the impact of passion and compassion on innovation and growth and, in this way, add to the current knowledge on organising growth in the context of networking small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted in three networks with a sample of 55 separate SMEs. Through a quantitative study, the anticipated positive impact of passion and compassion on growth and on intermediate innovation issues were tested.

Findings

The analyses reveal no direct significant impacts of passion (own-profitability and interest) and compassion (other-profitability and interest) on growth. However, compassion had a very significant positive impact on manager ideas, which in turn had a positive impact on growth. Passion also had a positive impact, but this was proportionally much smaller. Moreover, the ability to organise the dualities of passion and compassion made a contribution to growth.

Research limitations/implications

The results of the research enhance the understanding of an integrative approach of passion and compassion to innovation in a network context.

Practical implications

Networking SMEs can use the findings to better understand and organise own actions to pursue growth. Policy bodies can use the findings to motivate SMEs to pursue growth.

Originality/value

The findings of this study enhance the theoretical understanding of passion and compassion and their integrated impact on growth. In firm networks, compassion and passion have a dual impact with compassion being most significant to enable innovation and growth. A contribution is hereby made to organise growth in firm networks.

Keywords: Innovation, Growth, Compassion, Network, Passion, Organising

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited