Appendix Three
Author’s Recommended Resources for Further Inquiry: A Sample

Introduction

Because of the diverse range of management science disciplines covered throughout SME Business Manifesto: Strategies for Profitable Growth, including business strategy, marketing, innovation, and organisational behaviour, carefully screened books and textbooks on specific subject areas are recommended for readers interested in greater depth of study.

Textbooks are invaluable resources in this regard. A standard definition of a high-quality business or management textbook is “a critical evaluation of the extant literature”, primarily an objective assessment of empirical, evidence-based research from leading peer-reviewed journals combined with insights from discussion-focused journals such as the Harvard Business Review, the California Management Review, and the McKinsey Quarterly.

General business books are less reliable than high-quality textbooks in terms of evidentiary veracity. Still, they frequently capture the imagination of practising managers and often significantly impact how businesses are managed, ranging from inspirational texts on leadership philosophies to treatises on operations management. Publications such as the Financial Times and Management Today regularly review a broad cross-section of business books, providing expertise and editorial insights which can be considered a proxy for quality and relevance.

Author’s Recommended Books

The textbooks I recommend have been selected because they:

      1. Are up to date.
      2. Are pitched at the right intellectual level for this book’s audience.
      3. Are fully referenced and indexed to guide readers towards original sources (e.g. peer-reviewed academic journals) for areas of specific interest to them.
      4. Have many illustrative examples and thought-provoking case studies to enhance readers’ learning experience.
      5. These activities complement all the other activities that are typically undertaken during taught courses, workshops, think tanks, etc.
      6. Are, in most cases, supported by a comprehensive web resource.

New editions of these books are common (another indicator of a text’s quality), so please check for the latest version at, for example, Amazon.com, where you will also find ISBN details and ‘verified reader’ reviews.

Author’s Recommended Business Biographies

Over many years, my business and management students, whether at universities or participating in company seminars and workshops, have requested recommendations for insightful business biographies and autobiographies.

Business biographies contribute significantly to our understanding of management practice and often provide unique insights into topics such as leadership, company histories, economics and political economy. The selection here includes:

      • Autobiography.
      • Authorised biographies.
      • Unauthorised biographies.
      • Authorised business biographies,
      • Unauthorised business biographies.
      • ‘Whistle-blower’ insights.
      • ‘Events-focused’ business and economic histories, e.g. the 2007/08 financial meltdown, COVID-19.
      • Scholars’ biographies.
      • Political biographies.

Readers will be aware that variations on ‘the truth’ will feature in such an eclectic selection, and the spectrum of objectivity/subjectivity is indeed broad, ranging from ultra-objective to ultra-hubristic. My assessment is made in the relevant chapters of this book; readers, I am sure, will draw their own conclusions!

 

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