Business Theory

Proposed Growth Model for SMEs Using the Delphi Method

Josef Cohen
Sahike Marom

(1) Department of ICT, Sapir College, Israel

(2) School of Business, Kinneret College, Israel

Corresponding author:
Josef Cohen,
Department of ICT,
Sapir College,
Israel
Email: Cohenj@mail.sapir.ac.il

Submitted : September 2021, Accepted October 2021, Published November 2021.

Citation: Josef Cohen, Marom Shaike. Proposed Growth Model for SMEs Using the Delphi Method. Middle East Journal of
Business. 2021; 16(2): 5-19. DOI: 10.5742/MEJB.2021.93890

Introduction
Abstract Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) possess unique
qualities that make them unique from most of the other large
counterparts (Abdulsaleh & Worthington, 2013). Consequently,
Using the Delphi method to engage experts in the field, for SMEs, there is a requirement to incorporate the related ex-
the intention in this paper is to offer a predictive growth isting measurement and growth methods and to recognise
model for small-firm growth. The purpose of this model a pragmatic procedure for the implementation, design, and
is to allow small business owners, decision-makers and measurement of measurement systems based on growth
researchers to assess the growth of the business through strategies (Zortea-Johnston et al. 2012). This research provides
a four-stage model over time. The research used a quali- a brief overview of the current literature related to the dynam-
tative paradigm with a DELPHI approach, involving data ics of growth models for SMEs, which associates with distinc-
analysis using interpretation and structural analysis of tive characteristics, issues, and requirements of growing SMEs.
the data sent by the experts. In this study, a consensus of Models of SME growth suffer from many critiques and are over-
a Delphi group for a proposed small business predictive looked by SME managers and decision-makers (Edvardsson &
model was used. The resulting model may offer a bet- Durst, 2013). Hence, there is a requirement for the critical evalu-
ter fit to small businesses now, and it may be used prag- ation of the current studies relevant to it. The research is based
matically with small business owners and managers in on highlighting a framework based on the concept of pragma-
the future. The results indicated a consensus within the tism, in which it will be represented that the growth of a small
Delphi group, allowing for an understanding that a dif- business is based on the series of 4 stages of growth. Hence,
ferent conceptual framework may impact small business for development, every business has to pass all the stages suc-
growth and future development. cessfully. Using the Delphi method to engage experts in the
field, this paper intends to offer a predictive growth model for
Key words: Growth model, Small-medium enterprise, small-firm growth and measurement in a pragmatic manner
homogeneous that will be served as a huge intangible framework required
for conducting the research. Moreover, business owners and
managers will design policies based on the business growth
phenomenon.

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Literature Review 2. Differentiating Small and Medium Size Enterprises

Although the literature addresses SMEs as a united, well-de-
fined, homogeneous group, for this paper, we have elected to
1. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises address only small business enterprises (Marom et al., 2019).
Different jurisdictions, such as the European Union and the Some argue that small business owners lack the expertise
United States, have varying definitions of the size of busi- and the resources to grow (Krajnáková, Navikaite & Navickas,
nesses that fall into the category of SMEs. The European Union 2015; Peake et al., 2019). Therefore, it can be estimated that
comprises businesses that have a workforce of fewer than 250 they will remain small, and instruments related to the policy
employees. SME businesses are divided into groups, including are designed in a way that will help the overall growth pro-
micro-businesses i.e. up to 9 workers, in addition to the entre- cedure of SMEs and it can also be estimated that it will have a
preneur, small businesses i.e. up to 10-49 workers, and medium- minor, or no impact on this kind of businesses. Furthermore,
sized businesses i.e. up to 50-250 workers (Neagu, 2016). In the the vast majority of small firms are more interested in main-
USA, the Small Business Administration or SBA, the standard taining their current levels of profit than in expansion (Ndubisi
size for small businesses is dependent on the explicit sector of & Iftikhar, 2012). Another attribute is that most of the work-
the industry. According to the North American Industry Classi- ing capital comes from the owners themselves, which limits
fication System or NAICS, classification has been done to reflect resources (Bamiatzi & Kirchmaier, 2014). Besides, and by their
the differences between labour-intensive and capital-inten- nature, small businesses capture only a small share of the mar-
sive businesses; however, federal agencies typically consider- ket in which they are operating (Parnell et al. 2015). Most of
ing the corporations with around 35.5 million dollars in sales the qualitative attributes of small businesses, such as manage-
and around 1,500 workforces as a small business (Prieto-San- ment structure, are not embedded in the core of their clas-
doval et al. 2018). As the definition varies with the state, there- sification by government and public institutions, as they are
fore, it has been described in Israel differently. The small busi- difficult to gauge and codify.
ness is one working with only 50 or fewer employees (Cagno &
Trianni, 2013). Owners usually make decisions in small businesses. However,
due to the idiosyncratic conduct of some owners (Sundgren &
SMEs are considered the backbone of the modern economy, Svanström, 2013), managerial duties and operations are often
and most businesses are SMEs. It has been reported that carried out by the same people, leaving little if any time for the
around 99.7 per cent of the businesses running in the USA process of management and decision making (Müller, 2019),
are SMEs (Karadag, 2015). Here in the USA, SMEs are contribut- or for gaining new information about the business. In addi-
ing to offer around 1.86 million job opportunities every year tion to this, the managerial infrastructure of such kind of small
(Neagu, 2016). By considering the private sector, it has been re- businesses is usually based on simplicity, but informal with the
ported that around 50.9 per cent of the employees are work- social perspective, the link present between the associates are
ing here. Not only this, but they also account for around 50.7% in most cases do not follow any sort of hierarchical structure,
of the production based on local business in the country. In the organisation typically does not depend on distinct goals.
the OECD, over 95% of enterprises are SMEs, and they account Moreover, the valuable tools required for successful manage-
for 60%-70% of employment in most countries (Okręglicka et ment are not utilised hence, the overall business is found to
al. 2015). Some researchers make the point that governments be managed without the element of perfection as compared
cannot rely on SME growth, and they have raised significant to huge companies (Wynarczyk et al. 2013). Some argue that
doubts over the effectiveness of government policy to in- small businesses are different from medium-sized businesses
crease the performance of SMEs (Edvardsson & Durst 2013). in management, resources, and goals. It is not always clear
that most small businesses want to grow into larger busi-
nesses, thereby increasing the workforce, administrative work,
In Israel 99.5% of businesses are SMEs, employing around 1.1
etc. (Voss & Voss, 2013). Further, given the unpopularity of us-
million workers, hence it can be identified that 55 per cent of
ing qualitative measures within the business at large (Welch
the employees are constituted in the public sector (Tomšič et
and Piekkari 2017; Pett & Wolff, 2016), classifications of small
al. 2015). SMEs are recognised as engines for creating jobs and
businesses tend to rely on quantitative measures. Most such
economic growth. Data reported from one of the authentic
classifications use two measures of size: the number of em-
sources known as the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics or CBS
ployees and a financial indicator such as annual sales (Garay
depicts that around 51 per cent of the businesses running in
& Font, 2012). This may limit perspectives and knowledge for
Israel are running based on self-employment hence, they are
not involved in the activities to employ someone. On the other researchers, owners, and the government.
hand, it has been observed that around 70 per cent of these
businesses hire workers limited to 4 and 92 per cent of these 3. Marketing Capabilities and Accounting Capabilities of
kinds of businesses hire workers up to only 20 (Neagu, 2016). SMEs
From the data, it has also been evaluated that the SME busi-
According to Sekhar et al. (2015), the components that make
nesses that are newly started (2012) in Israel, are successful
the dynamic capabilities include marketing and account-
in providing around 84,400 employment opportunities (CBS
ing capability. In this context, Cho and Lee (2013) stated that
n.d.). This result has supported the concept that SME busi-
there is a fundamental relationship between the competitive
nesses are running in large numbers especially in Israel. Not
only this, they have a strong contribution to the growth of the advantage and dynamic capability, one of which is
economy in Israel. regarded as marketing capability. Marketing capa-

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advantage and dynamic capability, one of which is regarded and capabilities, the SMEs are required to develop their adapt-
as marketing capability. Marketing capabilities are considered ability through marketing for developing an understanding
identical for capabilities and competencies but they are not of their inner business and capitalise on those opportunities
limited to capabilities (Pulka et al., 2018). Marketing capabili- (Murwatiningsih et al., 2019). The monetary circumstances of
ties are also identical to a process that is designed for the busi- the region where the SMEs are operating will be improved
ness marketplace. By this process, the collective knowledge, due to the ability to adapt and maximise the performances of
resources, skills of SMEs are integrated which enables the ad- the business. The changes in the business enable the owners
dition of the goods and services that are competitively valued of SMEs to determine and prioritise the strategies in order to
and hence, meet the requirements of the business (Rekarti et overcome the challenges that arise for becoming competent
al., 2018); for instance, in the restaurant business, the presen- and remaining relevant within the SME sector (Rekarti & Dok-
tation of food (menu, look, temperature, freshness and taste). toralinak, 2017).
Michna (2018), predicted that the satisfaction of the custom-
ers meets the expectations; even though there might be 4. Impact of Marketing Capabilities and Accounting
some gaps of dissatisfaction; but the customers must express Capabilities on Performances of Business
satisfaction. Thus, SMEs are required to develop this capabil-
ity dynamically. It is extremely significant for the business to According to Takata (2016), the better market sensing, de-
develop the capabilities by acknowledging the uncertainty velopment of the customer relationship and the ability for
within the environment of the organisation that is faced by strengthening the bonds among the channels within the mar-
them (Eikelenboom & de Jong, 2019). ket can be provided by the marketing capabilities. Thus, the
activities of the business can be widened and more market
can be attained by the organisation having marketing capa-
According to Rekarti & Doktoralina (2017), in the role of pro-
bilities (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016). The SME having marketing
fessional reporting, the accounting capability plays a signifi-
capabilities are enabled to perform efficiently as compared
cant role. Nevertheless, the extensive use of external account-
to its competitors with regards to growth, the satisfaction of
ants’ services is used by some of the SMEs for their business
the customers, profitability, and adaptability due to the strong
reports. Moreover, by acknowledging the speed of changes
market research, distribution capabilities, and marketing man-
in technology, the owners of SMEs are required to consider
agement. The increase in the business activities will certainly
the technological developments within their organisation
increase the transactions of the business that will further gen-
by understanding the accounting information system (AIS)
erate the source of income for SMEs (Liu et al., 2015). Moreover,
(Trabulsi, 2018). Implementing the technological develop-
Wilden and Gudergan (2015) determined that the perform-
ment within the organisation for the accounting information
ance of marketing is positively affected by the marketing ca-
system can enhance the gathering and handling of the ac-
pabilities of the organisation. Therefore, the performances of
counting data beginning from the primary data to the final
the organisation are significantly affected by the marketing
reporting of the transactions, for providing the valuable infor-
capabilities of the organisation and the income is regarded as
mation to the decision-makers of the organisation. Owing to
one of the measurements of the performances (Hernández-
the quality information, the quality decisions will be made by
Linares et al., 2021).
the decision-makers which will further enhance the perform-
ance of the organisation (Sekhar et al., 2015). For adapting the
environment of the business, the performance of the business Takata (2016) stated that the organisations having account-
is the organisation’s ability which escorts the changes in the ing capability will tend to produce quality information due
environment of the business that includes competitors, cus- to which the quality business decisions will be made within
tomers and other various power forces, by which the working the organisations. Therefore, the accounting capabilities play a
environment of the business can be altered. The ability of the significant role in determining the performances of SMEs. The
management for developing harmony between the internal main concern of the decision is how the financial resources
organisation and the environment are the factors on which a are being used within the organisation to operate, or how they
good strategy is dependent; therefore, the ability to adapt is are being used for generating revenues with the minimum
enormously significant (Rekarti et al., 2018). amount for the sustainability of the SME organisation along
with the improvement in the performance of the results for
sales growth of SMEs (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016). The account-
Floricic (2016) stated that the taste of the markets will change
ing information system supports the quality decision that can
tremendously by the occurrence of the several new modern
be used within an indefinite market in order to identify the
culinary offers along with the occurrence of competitors from
viability of the economics and finance ROI (return on invest-
comparable culinary traditions. Moreover, adaptability is not
ment) by which the quality of the product can be affected (Liu
only important for keeping up with the changes but instead,
et al., 2015). Wilden amd Gudergan (2015) identified that the
anticipating them. Therefore, business persons are required to
effectiveness of the business can be increased by an account-
be more creative and innovative (Yacob et al., 2020). For gen-
ing information system; therefore, the corporate earnings will
erating the growth in performances of sales and profitabil-
be increased from the total cost incurred by the investment
ity, the SMEs are required to be more innovative, courageous,
capital, relationships, increased profitability, and the measure-
and proactive for performing the strategic risks behaviour
ments of non-financial performances.
and the non-financial behaviour follows this approach. Due
to this reason, in order to grab the accounting opportunities

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5. Business Adaptability, Accounting and Marketing of the SMEs face the issues of competitive disadvantage due
Capability to their geographical isolation. Despite this fact, many econo-
mies rely on SMEs especially for generating employment op-
According to Johnson & Schaltegger (2016), SMEs that are de-
portunities. Notwithstanding its perceived weaknesses, SMEs
veloped, positively have a long-term orientation, which means
are not cleared with the process of regional integration and
their prime focus is on the future sustainability of the organi-
globalisation, but instead of that the role of SMEs have evolved
sation. Due to this, it is determined that all the businesses are
and changed, due to which they are internationally competi-
required to change their course of action according to the de-
tive and collectively regarded as the significant source of em-
velopment of the environment and the markets. The business
ployment generation (Bilal & Al Mqbali, 2015).
can lead to a difficult situation to sustain and survive within
the market if the changes are delayed within the organisation.
Moreover, the delays in the changes will tend the organisation Nkwabi & Mboya, (2019), determined that one of the significant
to display a constant process that enables the organisation to challenges that are faced by SMEs is the lack of information in-
balance the active agents along with a dynamic environment frastructure that is required to be addressed. The information
(Michna, 2018). However, offers are regarded as the products of is dealt with intrinsically by the financial industry; however,
local traditions that require some adaption to the conditions the problem between the suppliers and the demanders of
of the market for obtaining good performances within the funds, in general, is inappropriate information. Therefore, the
SMEs. Furthermore, Farida et al. (2017) argued that better mar- infrastructure of information is essential to address this issue.
keting analysis can be specifically provided by the marketing Moreover, another main challenge that is faced by SMEs is the
capabilities that transform the relationship of the customers low level of research and development (R&D). The expenditure
and the ability for strengthening the bonds among the chan- of any organisation in R&D is considered significant for driving
nels with the market. However, value of the prevailing market innovation and economic growth within the organisation. The
is the basis on which this change is still based on, as according SMEs are accountable for the significant share of the total busi-
to the traditions that are offered by the SMEs. Hossain et al. ness R&D effort. This may be due to a large body of SMEs or to
(2020) stated that the changing situations within the market SMEs, which perform a huge amount of R&D. For instance, the
or the region must be adapted quickly. Naturally, by fulfilling specialised units of R&D are part of the larger group. Afolayan
the obligations of a careful citizen and by respecting their tra- et al. (2015), stated that another main challenge that is faced
ditions (Hanifah et al., 2019). by SMEs is the lack of use of advanced information technology.
In recent years, information technology has been rapidly in-
creased. The ownership of mobile phones, tablets, computers
It is extremely significant that adaptability is committed with
and smartphones have also increased in recent years. Hence,
the organisation as the objectives of the organisation can be
most of the consumers prefer internet sales and therefore,
shaped with capability by the commitment and it will also
for individuals, the e-commerce market is expanding. Conse-
determine the final way to act in the long term along with
quently, SMEs are identified to be unable to utilise such op-
respecting the right environment in shaping the goals and
portunities. Most of the SMEs do not have their own websites
relationships within the organisations. Thus, the SME will be
due to which, they face the issues of competitive advantage
responding by the awareness of the change (Laine & Galkina,
(Avevor, 2016).
2017). Moreover, the organisation will be encouraged to act
in the market context due to the awareness of change. Many
SMEs are not able to sustain in the market and its environment 7. SME Growth
because they possess low marketing capabilities. In fact, con- During the past decade, the failure of SMEs to transform them-
fidence and encouragement to the organisations is provided selves into large firms regionally and globally has been of great
by the high marketing capabilities, in order to implement concern (Schoonjans et al. 2013). Researchers have argued that
changes, due to which adaptability is highly needed by the constant growth with interest has been observed for around
SMEs (Sulistyo, 2016). Hermawati, (2020) determined that the 50 years. The complete knowledge is not available associated
understanding of the internal capabilities of the organisation with this type of occurrence, therefore, misunderstanding and
are the basis on which the awareness and an ability to imple- conflicts are present related to it; they have called for more
ment changes are dependent. The quality of the accounting theoretical development on the subject of business growth
information system determines the understanding of the in- (Eggers et al. 2013). In the context of SME growth, there is still
ternal conditions. Therefore, the accounting capability is enor- limited research, and most such studies have proposed holistic
mously significant for determining the availability of the right models (Eggers et al. 2013). It can be critically evaluated that
information completely and accurately. The organisations are smart growth stage models are easily obtainable by SMEs for
allowed to use the internal strength for adaptive decision mak- addressing their limitation related to the business skills and to
ing by this information (Johnson & Schaltegger, 2016). evaluate SME’s growth (Karadağ, 2016), However, for the review
of relevant material in this article it has been recommended
6. Challenges faced by SMEs that this identified supposition might be doubtful, precisely as
a result of the position of this kind of growth stage models
According to Avevor (2016), the increase in the competition,
(Simpson et al. 2006).
the ability to adapt to rapidly changing market demand, tech-
nological change, and capacity constraints that are related to
innovation, knowledge, and creativity are the components by Researchers tend to agree that there are life cycles in the devel-
which a lot of challenges are faced by SMEs. In addition to this, opment of SMEs (Yukhanaev, et al. 2015) and that the life cycle
Vendrell-Herrero et al. (2017), identified in his study that most phenomenon is significant for business owners and managers

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(Xheneti & Bartlett, 2012). A brief look at SME-related research It has been extracted that the size, diversity, complexity, and
will show that models based on the life cycle of any organisa- individual management aspect of the standard SME growth
tion and SME development phases have often been used as model can be considered as the drawback, as this failed to ad-
variables to understand the changes and problems SMEs face. vance the business practices for each sort of small business
These models used 3 to 5 steps for highlighting the growth (Xheneti & Bartlett, 2012). Other than this, it has been observed
of SMEs on which any business will grow during the life cy- that robust growth rate and lack of business skills are among
cle of the organisation. Ullah (2020) argued that the needs of the factors that do not work efficiently for advanced small
the research are required to incorporate the most innovative businesses. The study of Khan et al. (2012) suggested that the
method of the research for addressing the numerous queries small business realm is based on the growth model consid-
which will remain untied. Consequently, intrusions from both ering the manpower as the major functions; however, this is
of the mentioned sectors persist to be sub-optimal (Khan et considered as the drawback along with the financial indica-
al. 2012) tors. Apart from this, Schoonjans et al. (2013) shared that the
business growth model has 4 stages of development that are
Marjanski et al. (2019) applied a lifecycle model with 4 stages directed to the unique configuration of the variables, hence
of development: (a) start-up, (b) extension, (c) maturity, and these variables do not apply to all small businesses therefore
(d) diversity. Their research describes the growth phase as a are considered as a drawback.
unique configuration of variables relating to the organisa-
tional context or structure. Contextual dimensions include the The current models offer no pragmatic, easy-to-follow, method
size and age of the organisation, the pace of growth, and the for assessing the outcomes at each stage of the model. How-
challenges it faces (Mutalemwa, 2015). Structural dimensions ever, the notion that upholding strategy will induce growth
include structural form, formalisation, centralisation, vertical is agreed upon among researchers (Ullah, 2020), but it lacks
distinction, and several organisational levels. pragmatism. The assessments the models offer may be per-
ceived as descriptive only, which may make it difficult for a
To date, most measurement of businesses in the SME sector small business owner to follow a model to achieve movement
has relied only on manpower and financial indicators. Some towards the next stage of growth. Thus, we address the gap in
have suggested that this may not be sufficient, especially in knowledge about SME growth, as described by O’Farrell and
the small business realm. A company’s ability to increase prof- Hitchens (Marjanski et al. 2019):
itability, to survive or expand, is a more complicated issue
these days due to the existence of the free market and fierce “Which firms achieve growth? Our thesis is that it will be those
competition (Xheneti & Bartlett, 2012). which can identify the key criteria upon which to compete
in certain segments (for example, design, after-sales service,
Thus, more than ever it may be argued that there are other price, quality, delivery reliability, and so on) and can then build
measures for SMEs’ growth (Rafiki, 2020). Some have proposed a competitive advantage based upon these criteria.”
increased employment as a possible measure of growth
(Marjański et al. 2019), even though the owner of the SME may According to Marjanski et al. (2019), with the changes in com-
not refer to increased employment as a business goal and it petencies of business, there is a need to change the business
may be perceived as more of a government goal (Stoian et model for innovation and practical transformation. Moreover,
al. 2018). SME growth has also been measured through the Mutalemwa (2015) mentioned the need to include the model
growth of sales and turnover (Khan et al. 2012). Thus, there is practices that would be in the favour of external and internal
widespread agreement among researchers that it is difficult knowledge of business so that this can emerge as the changes
to determine one best measure for small business growth required by the management.
(Shinozaki, 2012). Moreover, using different measures may
produce different results (Eniola & Ektebang, 2014). The model We address this gap in the knowledge by adding a flow of
of Mutalemwa (2015) offers limited reference, since it covers stages in key areas for SMEs such as marketing and business
businesses in the technology sector only, and it does not rep- process that can be measured pragmatically.
resent all businesses, let alone small business.
Methodology and Research Design
The above models do not offer explanations for various small
This chapter describes the research method, the participants,
business processes such as the need to manage external and
the research setting, and the procedure.
internal knowledge of the business. Additionally, the Lewis and
Xheneti & Bartlett (2012) model offers a direct relationship be-
tween business growth and manpower, which does not neces- We used a qualitative paradigm (Mohajan, 2018) with a DEL-
sarily hold in the contemporary, technological era. In modern PHI approach, involving data analysis using interpretation and
times, the use of ICT in business organisations is common in structural analysis (Basias & Pollalis, 2018) of the data sent by
facilitating operations (Pisar & Bilkova, 2019). Furthermore, the the experts. We performed this analysis using the software ap-
Eniola & Ektebang (2014) model mainly refers to the organisa- plication ATLAS.ti 8.
tional, hierarchical side, and it does not relate to the marketing
aspect of the business, which is particularly crucial for SMEs The Delphi method was developed by the Rand Corpora-
(Shinozaki, 2012). tion during the 1950s and the 1960s to gather information
from different experts about future technology trends for

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issues, or desirable directions in specific research fields content analysis methods, which related to participants’ de-
(Ngozwana, 2018). The Delphi group aimed to achieve consen- scriptions, feelings, and sensations while emphasising how
sus between experts in their judgments on certain issues by what they said and how they said it aligned with a structural
using group communication while using a series of question- analysis of the contents, a combination of the analytical per-
naires interspersed with controlled opinion feedback (Glesne, spective and the analytical standards taken from the literature.
2016). Data analysis was performed while gathering data and again
subsequently. The data analysis process was divided into four
Different scholars have addressed the minimum target, with stages: the initial stage, the charting stage, the focused stage,
some arguing that just 51% consensus is required (Mohajan, and the theoretical stage (Kezar & Maxey, (2016).
2018), while others require 51-75% consensus (Basias &
Pollalis, 2018). Data analysis was performed with ATLAS.ti 8 a qualitative data
analysis program designed to examine the information col-
It is important to point out that the goal of the Delphi process lected in the form of visual data, audio data and in text form.
and the comprehension of external support was to validate This also helps to analyse or interpret the data with the help
the model before further research. of coding and other annotating activates as shown in sample
analysis (see Appendix A).

We began by approaching 14 experts, of whom only 8

participated through the full process. We set criteria for the The issue of the model inclusion for all businesses, part of small
Delphi experts as follows (Glesne, 2016): experts has difficulty to generalize and there is an application
to qualify under the field, size, etc., for measurement.
• Minimum of 10 years of working with SMEs in different
capacities
This subject occurred at one research proposition 3, 6, and
• Minimum of 1 article published regarding SME. phases 2 study proposition 6.
• Hold a senior position.
Regarding the issue of measurement, it was proposed by one
• Have direct involvement in the organisational process, specialist to make the measurement steps simpler. The expert
marketing operations, or human resources in their organisat expressed concern that the measure will be complicated to
ion of employment. part of the businesses, this concern expressed by the expert
• Experts must be interested in and well informed on the topic. reinforces the concern of the expert to the inclusion suggest-
ed by the proposed model.

The Delphi process was administered according to the follow-

ing guidelines (Hsu and Sandford 2007):
Proposed SME Growth Model

• All the information was written and emailed to avoid misun-

The growth model for SMEs has been described that is based
derstandings.
on the results of the Delphi process. The purpose of this model
• All communications were discrete, preventing a bias in the is to allow small business owners, decision-makers, and re-
results and avoiding conflict within the Delphi group. searchers to assess the growth of the business through a four-
stage model over time.
• An online two-round Delphi study was performed among
eight experts. Representative interpretation and structural Table 2 (page 12) shows the proposed growth model and
analysis (Basias & Pollalis, 2018) of the data sent by the experts thinking and working assumptions for the model.
in the first and second rounds were analysed using ATLAS.ti 8
The model offers different thinking about small business
software.
growth based on several assumptions:
• Experts replied openly to statements provided with the theo-
1. There is no critical need to increase staff numbers to ex-
retical text to 10 statements in the first round and 6 statements
perience an improvement in business results, as other models
in the second round.
suggest.
• A feedback report was provided in Rounds 1 and 2, including
2. Small businesses differ materially from medium businesses
response percentages and answers to all questions in the pre-
in their resources and objectives.
vious round. Round 3 was considered unnecessary due to the
majority agreement and the scope of the questions (Figure 1) 3. There is a basic ‘layer’, a common ground, that is equivalent
to all businesses, which in its very existence will provide a sol-
id basis for the growth of the business, such as the need for
Data analysis
marketing operations, the need to develop unique knowledge
Data analysis is a process of arranging and structuring the supporting the operations of the business, the need for obser-
information gathered to interpret it and to understand its vation of the market, clients, law, etc.
meanings (Brady, 2015). In qualitative research, there are two
4. Small businesses may or may not experience better busi-
approaches to data analysis: structural analysis and thematic
ness eesults due to intangible assets.
analysis. The current study used both structural and thematic

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Table I gives a short, anonymised description of the Delphi

group

Figure 1: Delphi Process

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Table 2: Four Stages of SME Development

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Figure 2: The Four Stages of Development

The working assumption is that management and stakehold- times in the literature: enterprise is under pressure to grow. To
ers are interested in continuing to invest energy and resources survive in spite of the competition, the enterprise must main-
for the continued development and growth of SMEs. Addition- tain its growth by improving its capability. Further, in recent
ally, pragmatic evaluation of the firms’ growth phase will fol- decades, the business environment has been experiencing
low the following stages (Figure 2): instability due to changes in economic, social, and technologi-
cal issues; these may be better resolved using the proposed
• Stage 1: An evaluation can be performed through compa-
model with small businesses.
ny documents and accountancy as it passes the break-even
point; thus, the profits cover all costs of the business, including
salaries. The definition of SME may impede business growth, and there
was a consensus in this paper on the importance of a new
• Stage 2: An evaluation can be carried out through ques- perspective. This perspective approaches SME segmentation
tionnaires for employees and management and through a with an in-depth resolution offering to analyse the SME group
systematic examination of the organization based on existing in smaller segments with specific needs, rather than using a
models. broader approach.
• Stage 3: An evaluation can be performed through omnibus
research and the financial reports of the organization. The proposed pragmatic model can be applied to any small
• Stage 4: An evaluation can be carried out through question- enterprise. However, an adaptation of the different stages may
naires for employees and management, omnibus research, be necessary to meet the internal and external context of each
and the financial reports of the organization. small enterprise. For instance, the manufacturing and service
sectors may present different external difficulties and oppor-
Summary and Conclusion tunities. Further, different managerial paradigms may allow
for different interpretations and operations in different small
This study offers a new predictive model for small enterprises firms. Small enterprise growth should be considered a contin-
to serve as a practical, pragmatic tool to measure and delin- uous process that requires the collaboration of all stakehold-
eate firm development toward growth based on the writer’s ers. The study of firm growth is a complex phenomenon, and
practical experience and theoretical review. it needs pragmatic models specifically designed for unique
specifications of a segment in the business complexity that is
Pragmatic models for small business development are very not generic. Accordingly, our model gives a direction on how
important and scarce: they must be very resource-effective to predict small enterprise growth. Moreover, this research
and produce notable short-term and long-term benefits. also provides a broader understanding of the significance of
marketing and accounting capabilities for the growth, sus-
tainability, and survival of SMEs. The marketing capabilities
In this study, a consensus of a Delphi group for a proposed
of the businesses enable the organization to develop good
small business predictive model was used. The resulting mod-
customer relationship, better market sensing, and the ability
el may offer a better fit to small businesses now, and it may be
for strengthening the bonds among the channels within the
used pragmatically with small business owners and managers
market. Furthermore, a significant role is played by accounting
in the future.
capability, as the organization that possesses the effective ac-
counting capability will be producing quality information that
The results indicated a consensus within the Delphi group, will highly affect the business decisions positively.
allowing for an understanding that a different conceptual
framework may impact small business growth and future de-
velopment. The need for business growth was discussed many

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Eggers, F., Kraus, S., Hughes, M., Laraway, S., & Snycerski, S. (2013).
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Appendix A
Delphi stage 1:

(continued)
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Appendix A (continued)

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Appendix B
Delphi stage 2:

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