Pathways to success in SMEs

A ‘pathway to success’ is a prescribed method that an SME (Small-Medium Enterprise) should follow to help it become more successful and ultimately fulfil the aspirations of the principal stakeholders – typically the owner-manager. The pathways to success were devised as part of the PhD programme of the lead author and as part of his regular duties at the SME Support Network within the University. The paper discusses the underlying concept and goes on to discuss the research methodology. It then introduces the five pathways to success that have been validated through case studies within local SMEs.