Strategy and professional identity of VSE owner-managers

Abstract

This study shows how the professional identity of owner-managers of VSEs guides their strategy and enterprise growth. The literature on VSEs considers that owner-managers play an important role in the strategic orientation of their enterprise. While we join this stream of literature, our article highlights the role of this rarely analysed factor. We studied several cases in order to illustrate the effects of the owner-manager's professional identity. The two VSEs studied are pharmacies – an activity sector that is atypical and unstable. The analysis of these contrasting cases shows they adopt different strategies that depend on whether they attach more importance to the 'health professional' or 'retailer' dimension of their job. By combining professional identity with 'owner-managers', this research illustrates the importance of conceptions of 'the job' on strategic behaviour.