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Exploring the lived experiences of owner-managers who thrive at work
Wild, Wendy
Wild, Wendy
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2019-06
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Abstract
This thesis explores how owner-managers of scale-up companies thrive at work and
aims to explore the experiences of owner-managers of these companies who are
thriving at work. Empirical research to date is primarily conceptual and quantitative
and conducted outside the UK with employees. This research addressed the literature
gap by undertaking interpretative phenomenological analysis with owner-managers
in the UK.
Key findings both support and challenge the existing thriving at work construct
proposed by Spreitzer, Sutcliffe, Dutton, Sonenshein & Grant (2005). Whilst this
study was a based on a small number of atypical individuals, this appreciative
inquiry extended existing knowledge by describing the insights and experience of
owner-managers who were thriving at work using their own taxonomy, clearly
expressing their need for self-development and energy, but combining these with a
third dimension of being happy on a daily basis. For some, the number of
participants might suggest that the findings have to be interpreted cautiously,
however the underpinning methodology provided a robust rationale for such
numbers to gain a deeper understanding of the idiographic experience ownermanagers have when they thrive at work. This research also contributes to the body
of knowledge on spill-over, between home and work, as owner-managers were
happy to have, and accepted, that their work-life and home-life would be
intertwined.
In the UK the Scale-up Institute report of 2014 recommended that an eco-system be
developed to support these companies, and the findings of this thesis produce
practical insights for stakeholders within this eco-system. Educationalists in
particular should be facilitators who focus on the strengths of owner-managers,
recognise that owner-managers are paratelic learners, so enable them to spot and
respond to challenges to support their thriving, but importantly recognise that the
speed of change could be gender specific. It is incumbent on stakeholders in the ecosystem to invest in external peer groups as a place in which owner-managers can be
authentic, as inside their organisation they see themselves as role models to their
staff, recognising the contagious effect their mood could have on those around them.
Citation
Wild, W. (2019). Exploring the lived experiences of owner-managers who thrive at work (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, UK.
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University of Chester
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Thesis or dissertation
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en