Small Business Operations Strategy: Aligning Priorities and Resources

This article reports the perceptions of small business owner/managers in Jamaica regarding how to use operations strategy for improving firm profitability. The perspectives of classical economics and behavioral theory were integrated to evolve a model of small business operations. Two relevant hypotheses were examined using data from a survey of 101 owner/managers. Product quality is perceived to be of paramount importance but new firms may be less consistent than older small businesses. Owner/managers also perceive that a combination of priorities is necessary with technology adopted to improve the use of labor and materials. Labor emerged as the critical resource factor for executing competitive priorities. The findings have important implications for small business development and turnaround.

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