Aprender a crescer: como as micro e pequenas empresas de Santa Catarina podem enfrentar os desafios do crescimento

Abstract

Micro and Small Enterprises face a number of challenges to grow and innovate, especially when operating in dynamic and turbulent environments such as Brazil. For this reason, the purpose of this article is to present how 11 SMEs from southern Brazil have grown and improved their innovative capabilities by applying the methodology Learning to Grow. The study describes the phases performed by entrepreneurs for innovating with focus on performance and team development. As a result, the performance of participant firms was significantly improved by enhancing manufacture planning and control capabilities, product development capabilities and by structuring commercial functions. Differently from traditional consultant efforts, the project benefits were sustainable in most firms, because they developed some capabilities, such as participative leadership, delegation, proactivity, commitment, critical thinking, and teamwork. These new capabilities were used for the firms to execute further “growth projects” without external support. Complementarily, it shows which were the critical success factors for applying the “Learning to Grow” methodology and some relevant considerations for extending it to new contexts. It aims to enhance the entrepreneurs’ ability to act.