Methodology
The case is a longitudinal field study of an entrepreneur’s control of his Australian-based multinational packaging machinery supplier with annual sales in excess of $A60 million. The field study began over 10 years ago. It was first written up in 1992 and updated in 1995. At that time it was reviewed by the entrepreneur, who provided clarification and additional information. The case was updated in 1999 and again in 2001. Again, the entrepreneur reviewed the paper, corrected some minor errors of fact and amplified certain points.
The field study data was collected through meetings over the 10-year period. These took place largely outside the Monday–Friday 9–5 working day and were in locations such as the entrepreneur’s or researcher’s home, or in a restaurant or pub. During these meetings, which took place throughout the field study period, the researcher was able to collect data from the entrepreneur and from a variety of organizational participants, including employees across all the functional areas of marketing, research and development (R&D), production and finance, as well as customers and suppliers. These employ-ees were based in various sites around the world but all the meetings took place in either the UK or Australia. During these meetings, the researcher was also able to observe the relationship between the entrepreneur and his employees, customers and suppliers. More formal interviews were conducted with the entrepreneur after his review of each draft of this paper. In total, there are several hundred hours of data collection over the period.
These meetings had a particular style as a result of their social setting and the very nature of the entrepreneur’s management style, discussed later in this paper. The method of data collecti ...