The growth strategies of women-controlled SMEs:A case study on Finnish software companies

This article addresses the issue of excellence through the analysis of the growth strategies and practices performed in women-controlled companies operating in a high-growth industrial context. Taking the strategy-as-practice perspective and drawing on qualitative and interpretative methodologies, the article examines how women owner-managers view themselves as strategy makers and how they describe their strategy practices as well as their growth strategies in relation to the rapidly growing Finnish software industry. The results show that in a high-growth industrial culture, the women owner-managers articulate growth as a taken-for-granted objective and as an unquestionable source of future success for their companies. Furthermore, the women owner-managers position themselves as experienced and competent leaders of various types of growth strategies.