How Successful Knowledge Management and Organisational Capability Strategies Secure Growth Opportunities for SMEs Operating in the UK Technology Sector

Successful organisations survive through their ability to assess their current position, identify and critically appraise threats and opportunities, evaluate their resource availability, and develop a considered, appropriate response. This thesis investigates how efficient and sophisticated approaches to capturing and exploiting business intelligence, also known as Knowledge Management (KM), facilitate the development of Organisational Capability (OC) for successful growth strategies. This thesis focuses on SMEs, representing 99.9% of the UK private sector, as their size and structure present unique approaches to strategy development. Only 41% can expect to survive five years. Drawing from existing literature, a diagnostic model was developed that enables SMEs to identify their current position in terms of KM and OC status, and the potential consequences. By charting the SMEs on the model, decision-makers can develop growthenhancing KM and OC strategies accordingly. This was tested through the development of case studies with three technology SMEs, supported by survey responses. Advocating a distinctive approach to research design that is both immersive and reflexive, this thesis makes four specific contributions: • An advancement of theory relating to dynamic capability development • An advancement of theory relating to SME growth strategies • The development of a practical diagnostic tool to highlight deficits in KM or OC strategy • The classification of three dynamic growth phases that illustrate how the exploitation of KM supports growth by realigning internal structures with external environments, acknowledging that OC evolves from operational to strategic level as the firm grows. The findings will also enable future Government policy makers to better understand SME challenges, and create interventions that can support UK SMEs in achieving sustained business growth.