Organizational growth of SMEs in Serbia: Governance as a built-in limiting growth factor

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the characteristics of governance structures in three Serbian medium-sized enterprises and, particularly, whether the corporate governance influences organizational growth prospects of these firms. The results suggest that in all the companies owners held a tight personal control over all activities, not being willing to delegate any authority to professional managers. This unwillingness of owners to delegate authority actually presents the main barrier for further organizational growth for their firms, and such behavior is, we believe, deeply rooted in the values of the Serbian national culture.

Keywords

• organizational growth
• corporate governance
• national culture
• organizational culture
• centralization