Terri Byers, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College

Trevor Slack, De Montfort University

This paper explores the manner in which decisions are made in small leisure businesses and the factors that constrain the decision choices of their owners. The data for the study come from in-depth interviews with 16 small business owners. The results show that these individuals engage primarily in adaptive decision-making. Their decision choices are constrained by factors such as limited time, the desire to retain control of their business, and maybe unique to the leisure industry, the fact that in nearly all the cases studied the activity which formed the basis of the business was also the owners' hobby. This latter factor was constraining in that the individuals involved still wished to pursue their hobby while simultaneously operating their business.

KEYWORDS: Strategic decision-making, leisure organizations, small business, hobby motive

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2001.11949934