Entrepreneurial Outcomes and Organisational Performance through Business Coaching

Dob ea, Mihaela; Maio escu, I ina A icle En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance h ough Business Coaching Am i ea u Economic Jou nal P o ided in Coope a ion wi h: The Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic S udies Sugges ed Ci a ion: Dob ea, Mihaela; Maio escu, I ina (2015) : En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance h ough Business Coaching, Am i ea u Economic Jou nal, ISSN 2247-9104, The Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic S udies, Bucha es , Vol. 17, Iss. 38, pp. 247-260 This Ve sion is a ailable a : h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/168914 S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen: Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den. Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen. 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I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence. h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ Fos e ing En ep eneu ship in a Changing Business En i onmen AE Vol. 17 • No. 38 • Feb ua y 2015 247 ENTREPRENEURIAL OUTCOMES AND ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE THROUGH BUSINESS COACHING Mihaela Dob ea1 and I ina Maio escu2 1) 2) Bucha es Academy o Economic S udies, Romania Please ci e his a icle as: Dob ea, M. and Maio escu, I., 2015. En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance Th ough Business Coaching. Am i ea u Economic, 17(38), pp. 247-260 Abs ac The he eby a icle aims o add ess he main ques ion o whe he o ganisa ional pe o mance is di ec ly o indi ec ly enhanced by business coaching. The esea ch in eg a es a quan i a i e s udy ha ing as majo pu pose he in es iga ion o he manne in which business coaching con ibu es o co po a ion g ow h in s a -up i ms and de eloping companies. The p ima y objec i e o he esea ch is o quan i a i ely de e mine he e ec s enhanced by business coaching on company pe o mance and g ow h o o ganisa ional incomes. SME g ow h and coaching impac a e s udied h ough in e - ela ionships be ween dis inc i e company cha ac e is ics (such as: indus y ca ego y, company ma u i y, numbe o employees), en ep eneu ea u es (among which can be men ioned: leade age, nominal gende , s udies), and en ep eneu cha ac e ( o ins ance: locus o con ol a wo k, sel - e icacy in he wo k place). The compa ison is made be ween wo ypes o en ep eneu s: he ones who ha e ecei ed business coaching p e iously wi h en ep eneu s wi h no p io business coaching expe ience, excep he one a e which esea ch is pe o med. The esea ch concludes ha business coaching has a g ea impac on he de elopmen o en ep eneu s’ locus o con ol and sel -e icacy, hese leading o o ganisa ional g ow h. Keywo ds: Business Coaching, Execu i e Coaching, Financial Pe o mance, Income, En ep eneu ial, Con ol, Sel -e icacy. Clasi ica e JEL: M12, M53, I25 In oduc ion The new economy based on knowledge in eg a es sus ainable de elopmen and inno a ion objec i es, he es uc u ing o he business en i onmen , a he same ime enhancing he b oad access o in o ma ion and knowledge and inc easing he possibili y o economic globaliza ion and g owing social cohesion.  Co esponding au ho , Mihaela Dob ea – [email p o ec ed] AE En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance Th ough Business Coaching Am i ea u Economic 248 A he same ime, a e he c isis o 2007-2008, due o he deepening and unp eceden ed economic challenges and ensions ha he p i a e sec o s a ed o encoun e , i became ob ious he need o a change in business unde he o m o coaching. Thus, along wi h he need o cos s cu ing, i is belie ed ha cu en ly, companies a e o ced o e ocus on he impo ance o employee pe o mance and de elopmen in o de o inc ease o ganisa ional compe i i eness. Gi en ha employees a e he mos aluable asse o o ganisa ions, i is impo an o he manage o bene i om coaching, o be able o wo k as a eam o build an o ganiza ion ha can success ully wo k a any di icul ime. P ac ising new coaching skills, i s o all, manage s lea n how o beha e hemsel es, hen, hei new beha iou will change he way hey ela e o employees and hen will change he way hey a e pe cei ed, o e ing new possibili ies o inc easing he e ec i eness o in e ac ions a wo k, in o de o imp o e o ganiza ional pe o mance. The concep has a posi i e impac on pe o mance and employee de elopmen , and inspi es a signi ican compe i i e ad an age o an o ganiza ion as a whole. I is an app oach based on he beha iou , ele an o all manage s, which should ecognize his as an ac i i y ha is pa o how manage s conduc human esou ces. In his con ex , he e is a g owing consensus o opinion suppo ing he idea ha he ela ionship be ween he manage and he employee is essen ial o s imula ing a posi i e disc e iona y beha iou a wo k (Misiukonis, 2011). Howe e , in his con ex , many ac o s can ep esen challenges o his aspi a ion such as: o ganiza ional cul u e, manage ’s ime, na u al disposi ion and skills. Gi en he ac uali y and complexi y o he p oblem, he main aim o he p ojec is o esea ch he heo e ical and me hodological bases o knowledge-based coaching echniques, o assessmen i s cu en de elopmen and o d aw ecommenda ions on imp o ing he compe i i eness o he p i a e sec o . The main objec i e o he a icle is o de e mine he ex en o which business coaching (BC) is an incen i e o a d i e o inancial pe o mance and o compe i i eness in he p i a e sec o . Acco ding o he de ini ion o e ed by Clegg, Rhodes, Ko nbe ge and S ilin (2005), he he eby a icle de ines business coaching as a collabo a i e ela ionship be ween coaches and en ep eneu s, wi hin which coaches b ing business expe ience and ocus p ima ily on i m pe o mance, business goals, and indi iduals’ con ibu ions o ha end. Empi ical esea ch su ounding business coaching is limi ed, he e o e, i is necessa y o d aw upon heo y and e idence om execu i e coaching (Clu e buck, 2008). Acco ding o Zeus and Shi ing on (2008), he bo de be ween coaching o execu i e manage s and business coaching is s ill unclea and, in espec o his ma e , G ay (2006) s a es ha manage s use business coaching as an impo an ool o business de elopmen . Resea ch sugges ha he e is a high need o business coaching, especially o manage s (She in and Caige , 2004). Ne e heless, he app oach o business coaching is in con as o execu i e coaching, which concen a es on indi idual pe o mance (Pel ie , 2001). Thus, execu i e coaches wo k mainly in beha iou al de elopmen business a ea, meanwhile business coaches help hei clien s o de elop en ep eneu ial knowledge and business skills. The concep has a posi i e impac on pe o mance and employee de elopmen , and inspi es a signi ican compe i i e ad an age o an o ganiza ion as a whole. I is an app oach based on beha iou , ele an o all manage s, who app ecia e, a hei eal alue, human esou ces Fos e ing En ep eneu ship in a Changing Business En i onmen AE Vol. 17 • No. 38 • Feb ua y 2015 249 wi hin he o ganisa ion. In his con ex , he e is a g owing consensus o opinion suppo ing he idea ha he ela ionship be ween he manage and he employee is essen ial o s imula ing a posi i e disc e iona y beha iou (coaching elies on sel -de elopmen , he assump ion o asks and esponsibili ies and less on a ge ing and con ol) wi hin he o ganiza ion (Misiukonis, 2011). Howe e , eaching his objec i e can conduc o many challenges such as: poo o ganiza ional cul u e, lack o a a ou able clima e, lack o manage ial skills, and o he s. Gi en he ac uali y and complexi y o he p oblem, he main aim o he a icle is o esea ch he measu e in which, inancial pe o mance o o ganisa ions is di ec ly o indi ec ly enhanced by business coaching. The main objec i e o he a icle is o de e mine he ex en o which business coaching (BC) is an incen i e o a d i e o inancial pe o mance and o compe i i eness in he p i a e sec o . 1. Li e a u e e iew wi h majo aim o iden i y ele an issues o business coaching In oday’s compe i i e en i onmen , en ep eneu s as well as o ganisa ional manage s encoun e mo e and mo e ma ke p essu es and eques s o sus ained pe o mance and compe i i eness. In he con ex in which he a icle e e s mainly o manage s, i is seen as necessa y o hem o adequa ely add ess he p oblems and challenges encoun e ed in day- o-day ope a ions (Bennis and O’Toole, 2005), in o de o inc ease hei o ganisa ional compe i i eness. Acco ding o some schola s, a manage is somebody who is esponsible o one o mo e eams and o whom hese a e di ec ly subo dina ed (Pu cell and Hu chinson. 2007). Coaching can be iden i ied unde a ious o ms, “being applied o a wide ange o ac i i ies in a wide ange o popula ions and p oblems” (Passmo e, 2010, p. 48). Bu , i was only soon ha coaching was ecognised as a majo managemen ool, and especially as a knowledge managemen ool. Thus, coaching is mo e and mo e accep ed as a means o indi idual de elopmen , allowing, on he one hand, he inc ease o manage ial pe o mances and, on he o he hand, he inc ease o compe i i eness be ween co po a ions (Oli e o, Bane and Kopelman, 1997; Zeus and Ski ing on, 2000). In spi e o all hese, coaching is a new iled o esea ch, no widely known by analys s bu wi h high po en ial wi hin an o ganisa ion (Hagen, 2012). As SMEs a e ope a ing in compe i i e and u bulen en i onmen s, hey a e unde going e o s o cons an ly imp o e pe o mance and deli e powe ul inancial esul s. Acco ding o specialis s, coaching will no only inc ease jus he indi idual po en ial o employees (in ellec ual capi al), bu can also b ing, angible bene i s ha will suppo he o e all o ganiza ional e o s S obe (2008). Cu en ly, „coaching is inc easingly ecognized as a me hodology ha aims o inc ease he e ec i eness o he dialogue o a be e analysis and e o mula ion o alues and goals in o de o ind solu ions o p oblems” (Zeus and Shi ing on, 2008, p. 4). Empi ical esea ch on coaching is limi ed (Pe e s and Ca , 2013). A e iew o he ele an li e a u e (Kau man and Bachki o a, 2008; Visse , 2012) sugges s ha knowledge based coaching can be assessed s a ing om physical and obse able e en s, and al e na i ely, om iews o beha iou al de elopmen and men al-emo ional g ow h. AE En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance Th ough Business Coaching Am i ea u Economic 250 In his con ex , he e a e ou main easons o in es iga ing he ela ionship be ween knowledge based coaching, en ep eneu ial skills, pe o mance and compe i i eness o o ganisa ions in he con ex o his pape . The i s eason may be due o a de eloping li e a u e base (Fille y-T a is, 2011). In spi e o he ac ha knowledge based coaching echniques a e c oss-disciplina y, esea ches led o a limi ed numbe o in es iga ions ha a e based on s udies eme ging om disciplines such as psychology, business managemen , human esou ces managemen , p ima ily ocusing on execu i e coaching (S obe and Pa y, 2005). Secondly, cu en ly coaching esea ch is la gely based on case s udies, and ela i ely ew o hese in es iga ions inco po a e con ol me hods o analyze causal ac o s and exclude compe i o ac o s (G an , 2005). Thi d, exis ing esea ch has no been done sys ema ically o e alua e and measu e he e ec o execu i e coaching echniques on changes ela ed o pe o mance, e iciency, e ec i eness and compe i i eness wi hin o ganisa ions (Leedham, 2005). Las bu no leas , he e is li le esea ch on he esul s o execu i e coaching echniques in companies be o e and a e he a ending o en ep eneu s o coaching p og ams (S obe and Pa y, 2005). Signi ican con inuing g ow h has been occu ing in he ield o coaching o e he pas h ee decades and a hal wi h inconspicuous o igins occu ing du ing he 1980’s (Na ale and Diaman e, 2005). Ga man, Whis on and Zla ope (2004) conduc ed a li e a u e e iew o 72 coaching a icles appea ing be ween 1991 and 1998 and ound exponen ial g ow h in he amoun o a en ion gi en o coaching. This phenomenon has con inued a a simila a e as can be seen by he inc ease in companies aining new coaches, along wi h inc eased cos s associa ed wi h he p ac ice wi hin o ganisa ions (Penning on, 2009; Ne es, Jo dão and Cunha 2013), which explains he impo ance o he opic. 2. Resea ch Me hodology, Objec i es and Resea ch Hypo hesis Acco ding o he esea ch hypo hesis, “business coaching has a majo impac on he de elopmen and g ow h o o ganisa ional pe o mance”. In his con ex , he cu en a icle epo s on he pa ial indings o a s udy made in 2014, implying business coaches and en ep eneu ial manage s, making use o quan i a i e esea ch me hods. The esea ch d aws also a compa ison o he pa icipan s (manage s) who expe ienced mo e sessions o business coaching (BC) agains hose who had aken only one session o business coaching ( he one he cu en s udy bases i s esul s on). The design o esea ch is p esen ed below, in able no.1. Da a a e analysed using SPSS o es ablish ela ions exis ing be ween examined a iables and o discuss he impo ance o business coaching in inc easing inancial pe o mance o o ganisa ions. Pa icipan s o he esea ch a e 125 en ep eneu s/manage s om companies who eques ed business coaching. Da a a e analysed using desc ip i e s a is ics and uni a ia e and mul i a ia e s a is ical echniques o d aw a compa ison be ween o ganisa ional cha ac e is ics and en ep eneu s’ ea u es as well as be ween pa icipan s who expe ienced coaching o who did no . Fos e ing En ep eneu ship in a Changing Business En i onmen AE Vol. 17 • No. 38 • Feb ua y 2015 251 Table no. 1: Design o he esea ch Scope Resea ch Ques ion Me hodology Coho Es ablishing esul measu es o business coaching Wha di e ence, i any, does business coaching make o en ep eneu s’ pe cep ions? P e-pos pilo esul s udy o SMEs P e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session (n=45) / No p e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session (n=80) Es ablishing he con ibu ion o BC o he g ow h o companies Does business coaching con ibu e di ec ly o indi ec ly o he g ow h o companies? P e-pos pilo esul s udy o SMEs P e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session (n=45) / No p e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session (n=80) Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch me hodology Pa icipan s we e asked o comple e a ques ionnai e made up o wo pa s, he i s one e e ing o i m demog aphics and en ep eneu cha ac e is ics, and he second pa conce ning pe cep ions o coaching impac o pa icipan s. The esul s o he su ey we e in oduced bo h in SPSS and Mic oso Excel p og ams, whe e hey we e analyzed in e ms o hei s a is ical signi icance. Acco ding o he esul s, nea ly 2/3 o he o al pa icipan s (64 %) had used coaching be o e en olling in he esea ch. Fu he on, we e iden i ied he domains on indus ies whe e en ep eneu ial pa icipa ion o coaching is bigge . Table no. 2 shows he dis ibu ion o manage s who bene i ed o one o mo e coaching sessions acco ding o he indus y sec o s o en ep eneu s’ companies. Table no. 2: Indus y Sec o o en ep eneu s’ companies Indus y Sec o P e ious BC be o e s udied coaching session (mo e coaching sessions) (n=45) No p e ious BC be o e s udied coaching session (one session) (n=80) IT&C 62% 82% Manu ac u ing 20% 18% Educa ion 9% - Re ail 7% - T ade 2% - To al 100% 100% Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch me hodology As shown in able no. 2, companies unde bo h condi ions end o be p edomina ely ep esen ed in he IT&C ield. Thus, acco ding o he esul s o he esea ch, almos 62% (28 esponden s) among hose bene i ing om se e al coaching sessions and 82% (66 esponden s) among hose bene i ing om one coaching session belong o his ield. In he comme ce a ea a e e y ew manage s bene i ing om coaching. AE En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance Th ough Business Coaching Am i ea u Economic 252 Fu he on we e analysed demog aphics ega ding company age and numbe o employees, and he esul s can be seen in able no. 3. Table no. 3: O ganisa ion Demog aphics O ganisa ion Demog aphics P e ious BC (mo e coaching sessions) (n=45) No p e ious BC (one session) (n=80) Company Age Range - yea s 1 - 19 yea s 1 - 17 yea s Mean (S anda d De ia ion) 3.53 (3.99) 4.42 (4.44) Median 2.0 3.0 Numbe o Employees Range - employees 0 - 20 employees 0-20 employees Mean (SD) 3.07 (3.91) 4.05 (4.88) Median 2.0 2.0 Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch esul s calcula ions made in SPSS p og am As iden i ied in able no. 3, median i m age is simila (2-3 yea s), and bo h coho s employ a median o wo ull- ime equi alen s a . Table no. 4 shows cha ac e is ics including en ep eneu age, gende , and s udies. Table no. 4: Da a conce ning pa icipan s’ cha ac e is ics Pa icipan s’ cha ac e is ics P e ious BC (mo e coaching sessions) (n=45) No p e ious BC (one session) (n=80) Age (yea s) < 30 36% 20% 30 - 50 51% 60% > 50 13% 20% Gende Male 84% 83 % Female 16% 16% S udies Seconda y 7% 14% Ce i ica e/Diploma 24% 15% Te ia y 40% 45% Pos G adua e 29% 26% Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch esul s calcula ions made in SPSS p og am As shown in able no. 4, en ep eneu ea u es be ween p e ious business coaching and no p e ious business coaching end o be simila (30-50) age ange (51%; 60%), a e mos ly male (84%; 84%), holding e ia y o pos g adua e academic quali ica ions (69%; 71%). The e a e h ee main a iables ha he p e- and pos - es ques ionnai es ha e in iew: he ole o business coaches, session ocus o business coaching, and sa is ac ion and business coaching (see able no.5). In he ques ionnai es, hese a e measu ed h ough 7-poin Like scales. En ep eneu le el o con idence was also measu ed in o de o ind ou impac s o en ep eneu locus-o -con ol (in e nal and ex e nal) and sel -e icacy on o ganisa ional g ow h. Fos e ing En ep eneu ship in a Changing Business En i onmen AE Vol. 17 • No. 38 • Feb ua y 2015 253 Table no. 5. Va iables o he Ques ionnai es and Connec ed I ems on Business Coaching Va iable Ques ion I em Wha ole played you business coach:  Ne wo k acili a o  Sounding boa d  Lis ene  Ad iso  Counsello Role o business coaches You business coach e e al o specialis se ices  Legal ad ices  Financial ad ices  Business ad ices  Psycho he apy/Counselling Session ocus o BC Du ing he coaching sessions, did you ocus mainly on:  Visions/s a egies/goals  Clien s  P oduc ion  P ocesses  Indi iduals Sa is ac ion and business coaching Did you business coaching expe ience b ing you sa is ac ion?  Business coaching pe iod  Deli e y me hod o sessions  Rela ionship wi h he coach  The s yle o he business coach  Role/s played by business coach  Ou comes o business coaching Sel -e icacy Is i ue ha :  Whene e I y ha d I manage o sol e p oblems.  When a pe son opposes me, I always ge wha I wan .  I I no di icul o me o espec my aims and each my scopes.  I can handle e icien ly un o eseen issues.  Due o my ingenui y, I can deal unexpec ed si ua ions.  Wi h he necessa y e o , all p oblems can be sol ed.  I am able o s ay calm when acing p oblems as I coun on my coping capabili ies.  Whene e I ha e a p oblem, I ind mo e solu ions.  When in ouble, I can gene ally ind a solu ion.  I gene ally sol e e e y hing. Locus-o - con ol (in e nal + ex e nal) Is i ue ha :  Se e al pe sons un he wo ld and I can no do any hing abou i  Company g ow h depends on he igh place and ime.  Poli icians can no be con olled.  I ha e li le in luence o e wha happens o me.  Bad o une may occu and his is why I ne e make plans. Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch esul s AE En ep eneu ial Ou comes and O ganisa ional Pe o mance Th ough Business Coaching Am i ea u Economic 254 Resea ch esul s The Role o Business Coaches The e we e analysed i e oles o coaches, pa icipan s egis e ing highe sco es on h ee o he business coach oles analysed, namely ha o counsello (44) = -3.54, p<0.05, ad iso (44) = -2.98, p<0.05, as well as ha o ne wo k acili a o (44) = -2.82, p<0.05. On he o he hand, pa icipan s hold lowe sco es on oles o sounding boa d and lis ene wi h no majo di e ences signi ican ly be ween p e- and pos - es , acco ding o he able no. 6 below. Table no. 6: Business Coach Role Mean, S anda d De ia ion, and Co ela ed -Tes S a is ics P e/Pos - es * (n=45) Business Coach Role: P e- es * (n=45) X (SD) Pos - es * (n=45) X (SD) Sounding boa d 6.07 (1.14) 6.22 (.98) - 0.77 0.11 Lis ene 5.67 (1.64) 6.07 (1.2) - 1.71 0.25 Ad iso 5.36 (1.57) 6.11 (.98) - 3.54** 0.47 Counsello 5.49 (1.53) 6.16 (1.07) - 2.98** 0.41 Ne wo k acili a o 3.22 (2.23) 4.51 (1.93) - 2.82** .39 Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch esul s, calcula ions made in SPSS * Manage s who had had p e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session **p<0.05. Acco ding o hese indings, business coaches ac as ad iso s, counsello s and ne wo k acili a o s. The e o e, hey pass down o o he s hei wisdom and skills a he same ime being an ad oca e and o e ing access o capi al. Also i should be no iced ha en ep eneu s highly alue he ole o business coaches as counsello a bo h p e/pos - es , his meaning a imes he o e lapping o coaching wi h counselling. Fu he on was examined he ex en o which business coaches e e ed pa icipan s o o he se ices. Acco ding o he esea ch (see able no.7), as a esul o business coaching session, he incidence o e e al o business ad ice g ew. Table no. 7: Business Coaching o ien a ion owa ds o he specialis se ices P e ious BC No p e ious BC O ien a ion owa ds specialis se ices: P e- es * (n=45) Pos - es * (n=45) P e es ** (n=80) Pos - es ** (n=80) Legal ad ices 28.9% 17.8% 6.5% 28.9% Financial ad ices 17.8% 8.9% 8.6% 17.8% Business ad ices 26.7% 33.3% 9.7% 26.7% Psycho he apy/ Counselling 4.4% 2.2% 2.2% 4.4% Sou ce: au ho s, acco ding o esea ch esul s, calcula ions made in SPSS * Manage s who had had p e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session ** Manage s who hadn’ had p e ious business coaching expe ience be o e s udied coaching session