Abstract

Micro-enterprises represent more than 95% of European enterprises. In the European Union, smaller firms contribute to job creation on a larger scale than larger firms; however, micro-enterprise is only occasionally present as a unit of analysis in the European management literature. In particular, there is a lack of literature concerning the early-stage growth management priorities of micro-enterprises. Furthermore, location is a key factor in business development, and several studies have indicated differences between urban and sparsely populated areas. To address this gap, this multiple-case study aims to answer the following research question: What are the critical managerial incidents that occur during the growth of technology-based micro-enterprises in sparsely populated regions? The study answers this question by analysing and describing in detail the management priorities of the owner-managers of five technology-based micro-enterprises located in a sparsely populated region.