Why we should dare to manage growth responsibly

Abstract

Purpose This paper seeks to suggest that the responsible management of the growth process can prevent the organization from becoming “too big to fail”. Moreover, responsibly managing growth enhances the organizational propensity to experience healthy longevity. Design/methodology/approach Four growth‐related challenges provide the basic framework that organizes the discussion and inspires the main dimensions that make up the responsible management of growth. Findings Responsibly managing growth comprises providing responsible responses to the growth challenges. It encompasses nurturing continued value creation; performing responsible risk management; securing value capture for the businesses (profits) and for the organization as a whole (legitimacy); performing systematic scanning of the environment; responsibly reacting to external pressures, preferably in anticipation of upcoming changes; sustaining the firm's integrity, in face of increasing diversity; and equipping the organization with the right amount and variety of skills at the right time. Practical implications Management should keep under close scrutiny the growth challenges and develop systematic procedures to check the impact of decisions and actions on the growth challenges. Originality/value The paper advances the notion that organizations exhibit a dual nature. Growing organizations can develop a potential ability to renew and self‐perpetuate; but they can also sow the seeds of their own destruction.

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