What can Latin‐American entrepreneurs learn from Catalan gazelles?
Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración
ISSN: 1012-8255
Article publication date: 23 August 2013
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to systematize the strategic capabilities of seven surviving industrial Catalan companies which were going through explosive growth in 1999.
Design/methodology
We use the comparative case studies method to draw on the common features among the seven in‐debt cases we built. We are well aware that the method of comparative case studies does not provide a sufficient base for bold generalizations. However, the qualitative approach adopted here allows for the first in‐depth look at the strategies that bring surviving entrepreneurs from explosive growth to a more balanced growth path.
Findings
We identify four organizational capabilities as key to the survival of these businesses ten years later: first, ability to prioritize product and market development, including internationalization, over operations; second, ability to reorganize internally and delegate in a timely manner; third, ability to manage innovation and support creativity linked to productivity; and finally, ability to manage economic and financial resources.
Social implications
Implications for the culturally proximate and less‐studied Latin‐American gazelles are presented.
Propósito
El propósito de este artículo es sistematizar las capacidades estratégicas de siete empresas catalanas sobrevivientes y consideradas gacelas en 1999.
Metodología
Se usa el método de estudio de casos comparativos para identificar las características de interés investigativo. Se es consciente de que el método de estudio de casos empleado, no proporciona una base suficiente para hacer generalizaciones de los hallazgos. No obstante, el enfoque cualitativo adoptado proporciona una primera mirada en profundidad de las estrategias que permitieron a los empresarios que sobrevivieron al crecimiento explosivo, seguir una senda de crecimiento más equilibrada.
Resultados
Se identificaron cuatro capacidades organizacionales consideradas clave para la supervivencia de la empresa diez años después del crecimiento explosivo: 1) capacidad para priorizar dentro de sus operaciones el desarrollo de productos y mercados, incluyendo la internacionalización, 2) capacidad de reorganizar internamente y delegar de manera oportuna, 3) capacidad de gestión de la innovación y apoyar la creatividad ligada a la productividad y 4) capacidad de gestionar los recursos económicos y financieros.
Consecuencias (Implicaciones) sociales
Se presentan implicaciones para las gacelas localizadas en países latinoamericanos, las cuales son culturalmente próximas y escasamente estudiadas.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper is based on the interviews done for the study by Amat et al. (2010) published in the series Papers d’Economia Industrial of the Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise of the Catalan Government. This study received financial support from the European Commission through the Integrated Project CIT3‐513420, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, through grants ECO2008‐01116, ECO2010‐20829 and ECO2011‐29445; the Catalan Government Science Network SGR2009‐359 as well as from XREPP‐Xarxa de referència en Economia i Política Públiques. The authors thank Elvira Salgado, Enrique Ogliastri and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions. The authors take responsibility for all remaining errors.
Citation
Andonova, V., Stoyanova, A., Valencia, C. and Juliao‐Rossi, J. (2013), "What can Latin‐American entrepreneurs learn from Catalan gazelles?", Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 290-317. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARLA-06-2013-0069
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited