Entrepreneurial Growth in Finnish SMEs - a qualitative exploration into the business practitioner's perception

International audienceThis paper investigates the various ways in which Finnish entrepreneurs perceive company growth. The data include an MBA alumni survey, a Linked In sub-group and semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs. The method is a mix of quantitative and qualitative thematic content analysis, providing an understanding of growth embedded in entrepreneurs' own experience. This was found to be holistically framed, with a discourse far removed from the abstractions of economics and commerce as conventionally conceived. Rather the entrepreneurs had a strong sense of collective responsibility to their group and issues of personal development figured highly. The early results underline a model of entrepreneurship as culturally embedded