Gathering some of the latest research in the field, this book provides an exciting and timely overview of management in small and medium enterprises and new ventures. This clear and accessible volume also offers practical recommendations on strategic planning, human resource management, entrepreneurial teams, and learning and innovation.

Part 1: Strategic Planning and Management 1. Pre-Startup Planning Sophistication and its Impact on New Venture Performance in Germany (Reinhard Schulte) 2. Short-term planning sophistication in SMEs: The Relationship with Strategy and Perceived Environmental Uncertainty (Ann Jorissen, Anne-Mie Reheul, Eddy Laveren and Rudy Martens) 3. Strategic Management in the German 'Mittelstand' - An Empirical Investigation (Klaus Deimel, Sascha Kraus and Sebastian Reiche) 4. Explorative Research on Strategic Management Competence in the Small and Medium Sized Growth Firms in the South Ostrobotnia Region in inland (Marko Kohtamäki, Erno Tornikoski, Elina Varamäki and Teemu Kautonen) Part II: Human Resource Management 5. The Impact Of Human Capital On The Sustainability and Growth of Entrepreneurial Ventures (George Solomon, William Dennis and David Tomczyk) 6. HRM in SMEs - Linking Embedded HR-Practices to Performance and Employee Wellbeing (Essi Saru) 7. Human Resource Management in Small New Zealand Firms: The Following or Flouting of Good Practice? (Kate Lewis and Claire Massey) 8. Entrepreneurial Management of Labour Market Constraints and Human Resources (Colin Gray) 9. Human Resource Management in SMEs: Empirical Results from Poland (Janusz Struzyna, Tomasz Ingram and Sascha Kraus) 10. Tasks of Human Resource Departments in Austrian SMEs (Julia Brandl and Matthias Fink) Part III: Entrepreneurial Teams 11. Defining Entrepreneurial Teams and Modelling Entrepreneurial Team Performance (Leon Schjoedt) 12. Reasons for Management Teams and Team Formation in Small Firms (Sanna Tihula and Jari Huovinen) 13. Familiness in New Venture Teams (Daniela Almer-Jarz and Erich J. Schwarz) 14. Founder Team Interaction in Young Software Ventures and its Effects on Customer and Competitor Orientation (Thilo A. Mueller and Hans-Georg Gemünden) Part IV: Experience, Learning and Innovation 15. Systematic Innovation Management and the Genesis of Follow-up Innovation in New Technology Based Ventures (Rainer Harms and Thomas Meierkord) 16. Market Experience or External Knowledge? - Types and Sources of Knowledge Used by Internationalising SMEs (Margaret Fletcher, Marion Jones and Lucrezia Casulli) 17. Are Entrepreneurial Opportunities Recognized or Constructed? An Information Perspective on Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification (Ivan P. Vaghely and Pierre-André Julien) 18. The Role of Adaptation and Learning of Entrepreneurs in Managing Outsourcing Relationships (Miroslav Rebernik and Barbara Bradac)