Strategic Management in Small Metal Job Shops in Sweden and the U.S.

Abstract

Strategic management can be defined as an ongoing process to analyze and learn from the internal and external environments, in order to establish direction and create strategies that help to achieve business goals. Strategic management is defined in different ways and interpreted from different perspectives in the literature. Strategic management theories provide different tools for analysis and for helping managers to make the best decisions in order to reach desired goals. In this article, I discuss management in small metal job shops and how the managers use available tools, as related to strategic management theories. The discussion is based on case studies in about 30 small companies in Sweden and the U.S. and shows that management in small firms in many ways diverges from the theoretical concepts.