Owner-managers’ approach to strategic management : a case study from a small creative and cultural industry company in Finland

Abstract

This thesis studies how owner-managers in a small Finnish creative and cultural industry company approach strategic management. The aim is to provide the owner-managers an analytical overview of the methods, processes, and tools they utilise. Analysis of the research findings may provide a basis for development of strategic management processes in the company.

This qualitative, descriptive single case study form its theoretical framework around strategy, strategic management, arts management, and creative and cultural industries. As methods of data collection, the thesis utilises semi-structured interviews with owner-managers and company’s internal strategy documentation. The findings suggest that the owner-managers approach to strategic management is primarily informal and based on routines. The owner-managers are not particularly familiar with strategic language and rhetoric, and they have developed their own methods and processes over time.

Strategizing in the company is done mainly by the owner-managers and their ability to do deeper strategy work is hindered by limited resources (primarily time). Strategizing and strategy creation is seen as an important and mandatory activity. Additional findings show that the owner-managers identify a challenge in managing creativity and the balance between employees’ artistic ambitions and financial pressures of commercial productions.