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Coaching: An effective practice for business competitiveness

Article  in  Competitiveness Review An International Business Journal incorporating Journal of Global Competitiveness · September 2012
DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

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This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

Coaching: an effective practice for business competitiveness

María Dolores Vidal Salazar 1

Vera Ferrón Vílchez 1

Eulogio Cordón Pozo 1

University of Granada

This research was supported by the Research Project ECO2007-67833 of the Spanish
Ministry of Education.

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This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

Coaching: an effective practice for business competitiveness

Purpose: This paper offers an analysis of the effectiveness of one of the more
widespread techniques for personnel development and training: coaching. This
technique in the business context entails boosting of a manager’s capabilities so as to
improve business results through a combination of experience, knowledge, support and
the motivation provided by advisors who specialise in business management.
Design/methodology/approach: To analyse the effectiveness of this innovative
technique, we have examined a sample of forty small companies located in Ceuta (an
autonomous Spanish city in North Africa) using a Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test.
Participants were divided into two groups; in one group, an individualised audit process
was conducted to obtain an actual picture of managerial practices (focusing on needs
and corrective measures). In the other group, an advising process also complemented a
coaching phase that was implemented to facilitate employee adoption of the proposed
measures. Ultimately, we found differences between these two groups.
Findings: Results indicate that coaching substantially increases the level to which
processes of improvement are established within organisations, consequently
increasing the competitive capability.
Practical implications: The findings highlight the potential benefits of the use of
coaching in the business context. Coaching facilitates the implementation of a set of
improvement measures designed to increase business competitiveness, suggesting that
this type of advising stands to be very beneficial for companies.
Originality/value: Practices that lead to the development of human capital in
organisations are basic tools for managers that are becoming increasingly essential for
achieving business efficiency and strategic change. This study analyses the
implementation of coaching in the business arena, specifically in the case of managers,
which is a novelty given the dearth of empirical research on coaching. Thus, the results
of the paper provide the wider academic community with empirical evidence on how
coaching is a profitable practice for improving human resource management.
Keywords: Coaching, personnel training, competitiveness, implementation of
improvement measures, managers’ satisfaction, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test.

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This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

Coaching: an effective practice for business competitiveness

1. Introduction

To adapt and obtain competitive advantages in the current business context, companies

must implement processes of efficiency improvement. In doing so, managers are

interested in establishing a clear business advantage over competitors. Thus, the

adequate management of human resources is a determining factor for the decisive role it

plays in implementing the business strategy and for its potential in achieving a

sustainable source of competitive advantage (Kamoche, 1996; Mueller, 1996; Vidal,

2009; Wright, McMahan and McWilliams, 1994). Currently, techniques for the training

and development of personnel are encouraged by means of implementing practices that

would facilitate organisational learning and improve efficiency at both the individual

and group levels.

Drawing on human resources management practices, this study focuses on coaching. As

a business technique, coaching constitutes an innovative management practice that

directly encourages personal development while indirectly fostering the economic and

sustainable growth of firms. In the business context, coaching is defined as an

interactive, direct and confidential process by means of which a trainer and another

employee (or a reduced group of employees) attempt to find the most effective way for

achieving objectives while making significant changes within a company (Launer, 2007)

and drawing upon its resources and capacities.

Little is known either theoretically or empirically about how the implementation of

coaching translates into improved business performance. Consequently, the main

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This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

objective of this work is twofold. First, from a theoretical point of view, this work seeks

to delimit the concept of coaching. We do so by exploring the diverse applications of

coaching in the management context and by analysing its influence on internal factors

related to a firm’s ability to compete. Second, using a sample of forty companies located

in Ceuta (an autonomous Spanish city in North Africa), we attempt to empirically

demonstrate the positive relationship between the implementation of coaching and

business improvements. In our empirical research, we analysed whether firms from our

sample that had invested in coaching saw a boost in their business outcomes.

Understanding the importance of coaching is essential for two main reasons. On the one

hand, despite the acceptance of coaching as an innovative human resources

management practice, scepticism still remains regarding its real efficacy, with some

studies questioning the return on investment. Unlike prior studies that have analysed

the influence of coaching on the development of personnel capabilities (at an individual

level), our work focuses on evaluating the organisational effects of implementing

coaching (at a global level), assessing the impact of key strategic changes on business

development.

On the other hand, at present, coaching enjoys extensive acceptance and is generally

understood to be applicable to companies (Goleman, 2000). Increasing corporate

investment in coaching testifies to its perceived importance. For instance, in the United

States, the expense for executive coaching is estimated at $1 billion per year. Hence, by

analysing results from forty companies, our study employs empirical data to clarify the

coaching concept in the management context. Our finding supports the notion that the

implementation of coaching improves a firm’s ability to implement key managerial

changes.

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This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

Consequently, in light of the increasing interest in coaching within the business context,

a greater understanding of this practice seems vital for improving a firm’s

competitiveness.

2. Coaching in the business context.

From a business management perspective, coaching is in its very early stages. Indeed, it

has only recently begun to be mentioned (Colomo and Casado, 2006). That said, Tim

Gallwey (e.g., 1974; 1981; 2000) has been one of the pioneers in demonstrating the

opportunities offered by coaching, arguing that it is a simple and effective means of

achieving personal improvement that it can be easily implemented not only in sports but

also in other fields such as business, health and education, and with highly satisfactory

results (Whitmore, 1993). Business coaching is a practice inspired by great sports

coaches but transferred to and transformed by the organisational arena in an effort to

develop employee competences associated with human resource management as well as

to promote the training of managers. Since the 1980s, several business management

studies started to analyse coaching inside organisations, defining the concept as well as

its field of application. Coaching is a process in which a coach and a coachee (or a small

group of coachees) collaborate to establish and clarify a set of objectives through an

action plan (Zeus and Skiffington, 2002). The coach manages and coordinates the

execution of a program focused on the coachee (or group of coachees), who receives an

offer to grow both personally and professionally, while the coach acts and provides

strategies that lead the coachee to success. To achieve this success, the coachee receives

individualised and practical support throughout the entire coaching process. This

support is focused on improving behaviours, making the most of one’s potential,

assuming new responsibilities, facing different situations within the daily routine and

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This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

ultimately improving one’s overall performance. In a similar vein, for this technique to

work, it is essential that the coachee not play a passive role but be actively involved in

the activities that are developed (Alcalá, 2002). Thus, the concepts of choice and

responsibility are critical, as the effectiveness of the process depends on both the

coach’s contribution as well as the coachee’s will to change. This willingness must also

entail a capacity to set aside pre-established ways of thinking that would restrict the

implementation of new measures, and it certainly demands a willingness to modify one’s

own behaviour. Finally, while the assistance and advice that coachees receive can help

them to make decisions, such assistance and advice does not exempt coachees from their

responsibility for the decisions made (Larez, 2008).

Among human resource practices, this type of professional assistance represents a

modern approach to the staff development and training practices and highlights the

importance of personal relationships, direct interaction and “learning by doing” in

manager training. Moreover, it suggests a departure from the contemporary enthusiasm

for information technologies and distance learning (De la Corte, 2002).

In addition, coaching possesses some peculiarities that make it quite different from

traditional staff development and training practices. For instance, coaching attempts to

reinforce the coachees’ existing capabilities, liberating all of their potential so that they

may be able to attain a peak performance. Thus, coaching is a method designed to “help

to learn” rather than to “help to teach” (Whitmore, 2003), i.e., to re-learn what one has

already learned through experience. To achieve this, coaches must recognise that

knowledge is not within themselves, but rather within the coachees; consequently, a

coach’s work is a process of support and encouragement achieved through a use of the

Socratic method, which is a systematic and dialectical questioning in which participants

are impelled to seek and find answers for themselves (Ravier, 2005).

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In addition, it is interesting to point out that coaching must be adapted and personalised

according to the particularities and needs of the company. Therefore, even though it is a

change-seeking process, coaching remains focused on the current situation (Bou-Pérez,

2007). It is developed within a specific context; thus, it is a process positioned and

modelled with respect to the moment, the place and the circumstances in which it

occurs.

Given the specific context, companies can opt to design the coaching process by means

of an internal program, guided and implemented by qualified staff from their own

organisation, or they can do so by means of an external program, where the coach will

be an agent (or professional) not belonging to the organisation. Such a coach is

contracted for providing a service, with the elements of that service or coaching process

negotiated between the two parties (De la Corte, 2002).

Whether or not to contract external people or to use internal staff for the coaching

process remains an open discussion, especially if we bear in mind the existence of

professional associations that are attempting to regulate this field through the

standardisation of a coach’s essential knowledge. This entails the creation of an

academic qualification for coaches that can be obtained by achieving several

requirements, such as the fulfilment of specific learning objectives, an actual training

course or through the certification of some pre-determined experience. The emergence

of this academic qualification has both defenders and detractors. That said, there does

exist some agreement about the basic competences that a coach must have (Cook, 1999;

Dotlich and Cairo, 2002; Gautier and Vervish, 2001; Zeus and Skiffington, 2002). For

instance, it is essential that a coach has experience as a manager to be able to act as a

professional guide for managers; if the expert cannot understand the business world

and has not faced the problems and situations of this field, the work provided will be

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quite shallow. Moreover, regardless of whether the coach is external or internal, such

work is only as effective as the coach. When developing the coaching tasks, the coach

must possess a deep knowledge of the business strategy and an awareness of the

organisational objectives.

3. The importance of coaching in SMEs.

Coaching is a particularly useful tool in the field of human resources for small and

medium enterprises (SME), as the work of many of these companies depends on the

learning of a job. The context for this tool dates back to the ancient guild system where

experience and knowledge was transmitted, usually verbally, from a master to an

apprentice. Indeed, in these contexts, formal education is not effective, as the conditions

of the job vary depending on the company, the sector and the economic, social and

territorial circumstances within which an organisation operates.

However, there is a fundamental difference between coaching and formal education that

involves an adaptability and flexibility to business circumstances and needs, and thus to

the people to be trained. The method moves away from classical training systems based

on homogeneous and predetermined techniques in two principal ways: first, it is tied to

business characteristics and situations; and second, it is adapted to the potential and to

the deficits of the individuals being trained. This adaptation achieves a much higher

level of results by attaining a decidedly more active level of participation and a more

dynamic learning.

In the business context, a coach plays the role of an adviser whose aim is to promote

strategic change through a diagnosis of the business situation and by helping to guide an

individual’s decision-making process, with the purpose of adapting to an organisation in

the midst of a changing environment. Essentially, a coach helps coachees to become

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aware not only of existing imbalances but also of the potential to commit managerial

errors by guiding a coachee from a situation of unconscious incompetence to a situation

of conscious incompetence, which is itself necessary for implementation of correction

measures. Consequently, this work aims to analyze to what extent the coaching could

encourage an atmosphere of greater understanding and acceptance concerning specific

improvements concerning the strategic change of the company. For this reason, our first

objective entails the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1a: Coaching practices facilitate the creation of staff acceptance in

the implementation of certain proposed improvements related to strategic

change.

Note also that coaching can result in an increase in profitability, as a coach gives

coachees the ability to make cutbacks, as well as the ability to become more self-

conscious, to develop an analysis of the situation, and to make corrective plans that take

into account the effects of past performances (Stratford and Alyssa, 2004). At this point,

this work attempts to analyze whether the implementation of coaching within the

company could encourage not only a greater staff acceptance of several improvements

concerning strategic change, but also the correct implementation and application of

these improvements. Consequently, our second research hypothesis is:

Hypothesis 1b: Coaching practices facilitate the correct implementation of

certain proposed improvements related to strategic change.

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Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

Coaching is characterised by the close proximity of the participating agents, by the

strong links created, and by the depth of treatment and the contents analysed during the

process. To obtain positive results, it is essential that the coach controls the emotional

component (Schlegelmich and Fresco, 2005). Although such control is certainly difficult

within an organisation, an adequate management of feelings and emotions helps to

overcome the change resistance that hinders an individual from making actions and

obtaining results (Haneberg, 2006). Thus, a coachee’s willingness is necessary for

completion of the process. In the case of a manager that is being advised, the coach must

be a highly trained and impartial interlocutor with enough confidence to share ideas,

plans, and strategies (Bolch, 2001; Jones and Spooner, 2006). A coach’s efficacy is based

on a control of competences related to emotional intelligence, on the ability to make

detailed observations, and on the quality of the corresponding interactions with the

coachee (Dilts, 2004). In doing so, the coach can alter thinking patterns and foster new

perspectives in the coachee, promoting professional growth as well as the capability of

thinking differently before being faced with new challenges. To do this, a coach must

improve a coachee’s training while decisions are being made (Álvarez and Obiols, 2009),

not only from the perspective of competences (i.e., knowing how to make decisions) but

also along emotional and affective dimensions (e.g., psychological aspects) as well as the

social dimension (e.g., effects produced by decisions in the groups affected by these

decisions). Therefore, our second hypothesis indicates that:

Hypothesis 2: Coaching practices increase the satisfaction of participating

managers.

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4. Research methodology.

4.1. Sample and variables

To empirically contrast our hypotheses, the study was based on data obtained from two

projects belonging the INNOEMPRESA program, which is an initiative financed by the

European Regional Development Fund and the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism

and Trade. Both projects were developed in 2009 and aimed to improve the

competitiveness of all of forty sampled businesses located in Ceuta. To do this,

individualised strategic diagnoses of the companies were made in an effort to decide for

each business which strategic management models should be implemented; different

models were recommended depending on the deficits detected.

The same procedure was followed for both projects, using an auditing process to detect

areas for improvement and to establish a plan of corrective measures specifically

adapted to the situations of each business. One of the projects was completed by

applying a coaching service to the consulting process itself (the coached group), while

the other was finished by writing a report that included the diagnosis and the measures

proposed (the non-coached group). Consequently, we gathered two samples of twenty

businesses each: the coached group and the non-coached group.

4.2. How was coaching conducted?

To conduct the coaching technique in the coached group, a business management expert

helped each manager individually, meeting them in their own homes. This consultation

entailed providing a detailed explanation of existing problems, deficits, a proposed

action plan, measures to implement, and how best to do so with the resources available.

Ultimately, managers were guided and coached in the application of these measures.

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The coach paid particular attention to opportunities for persuading managers that they

needed to modify certain habits that had become obsolete or outdated. Another

important aspect of the process was its emphasis on the emotional dimension, as

emotions are decisive for identifying or modifying attitudes and behaviours. Lastly,

through an intense interaction with their coachees, coaches emphasise the motivation of

a managers’ learning according to a constructivist approach to the psychology of

learning. Thus, coachees are active members in a learning process, where they are

encouraged to participate in all solutions and decisions.

To analyse the effectiveness of coaching (and the implementation of corrective

measures), we compared the results with those from non-coached businesses by

sending questionnaires to managers in businesses from both coached on non-coached

groups. By comparing data from both samples, we endeavoured to determine if

implementing a series of practical tutorials positively influenced three key aspects

related to improving the effectiveness of an auditing process: first, the level of

acceptance of the proposed improvement measures (Hypothesis 1a), second, the level of

application of the measures (Hypothesis 1b), and third the level of satisfaction among

participating managers (Hypothesis 2).

To analyse the second aspect, that is, the level of application of the measures, we

recognised that the level of difficulty varied depending on whether the change was

structural, managerial (administrative, financial and commercial), customer-related or

related to adaptation to information technology; thus, we classified the measures

according to type.

Furthermore, in light of the reports provided by the coaches themselves, we also had

qualitative data at our disposal. These reports referred to a coachee’s abilities and

attitudes observed during the coaching sessions, in the context of being given advice and

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directives. These reports provide impressions about the effectiveness of the directives

and additional information about the staff and the companies themselves.

4.3. Statistical methods

In light of the non-normality of most of the variables we considered as well as our

relatively small sample, we opted to use the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test (WMW) to

identify significant differences in the effectiveness of business improvement plan

implementation between a group that received a coach’s assistance and a group that did

not. The WMW test is similar to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) but is applicable to

small sample sizes and to situations where the normality criteria are not met (Stokes,

Davis and Koch, 1995; Darnall and Edwards, 2006). Thus, the results obtained are

statistically equivalent to those found in an ANOVA procedure (Darnall and Edwards,

2006).

5. Results

The average size of the participating companies was 6.38 employees (standard deviation

of 9.54), and no statistically significant differences were found between coached

companies and non-coached companies for this parameter. In addition, we found that

50% of the businesses sampled were publicly owned companies while the other 50%

were freelance entrepreneurs (these percentages were similar to those found in coached

companies, i.e., 55% vs. 45%, as well as in non-coached companies, i.e. 45% and 55%).

Table 1 shows the results of the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, in which the analysed

variable was coached vs. non-coached company.

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Table 1. Results of the WMW test.

Analysed aspects (Variables) Coached Average Contrast


N
rank significance
2
No 0 14.00
Level of understanding of proposed Z= -3.577
measures (H1a) 2 P < 0.01
Yes 0 27.00
2
No 0
20.05 Z= -0.334
Level of application of structural changes Non-
(H1b) 2 significant
Yes 20.95
0
No 2 16.98
Level of application of changes related to 0 Z= -2.114
management measures (H1b) 2 P < 0.05
Yes 24.03
0
2
No 0
17.43
Level of application of changes related to Z= -1.711
customer service measures (H1b) 2 P < 0.1
Yes 0 23.58

No 2
0 16.45
Level of application of human resources Z= -2.351
measures (H1b) 2 P < 0.05
Yes 0 24.55
2
No 0 18.95 Z= -0.94
Level of application of IT use measures
Non-
(H1b) 2 significant
Yes 0 22.05
2
No 16.18
Participating managers’ level of 0 Z= -2.347
satisfaction (H2) 2 P < 0.05
Yes 24.83
0

There were statistically significant differences in five of the seven variables considered,

supporting Hypothesis 1a, which indicated that coaching practices help a company’s

staff to more easily accept the implementation of several proposed improvements

related to strategic change because there is a statistically significant difference

concerning the item “Level of understanding of proposed measures” (Z=-3.577; p<0.01).

The results also supported Hypothesis 2, which proposed that coaching practices

increase the satisfaction of participating managers because there is a statistically

significant difference concerning the item “Participating managers’ level of satisfaction”

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(Z=-2.347; p<0.05). However, Hypothesis 1b, which suggested that coaching practices

facilitate the correct implementation of several proposed improvements related to

strategic change, achieved only partial support, as several measures showed higher

levels of application in coached companies (i.e., management measures, measures of

customer service and human resources measures), but there are other areas in which

the level of application is not influenced by participation in a coaching program (i.e.,

structural change measures and the use of information technology measures).

6. Conclusion: discussion, limitations and future research lines

6.1. Discussion

This work attempts to offer empirical evidence that coaching can increase the

effectiveness of implementing several improvement processes within a company. Our

results show that coaching is a practice related to human resources management with

tremendous potential and applicability, not only in the sports arena but also in the

business context.

In our study, coaching was based on a behaviourist approach in which experienced

coaches promoted organisational changes to improve business performance. In addition,

the study provides evidence of coaching’s benefits to participating companies compared

to those that did not implement coaching. Consequently, and according to our results,

coaching achieves the results expected of it.

With respect to the achievement of a firm’s proposed objectives, our results show that

executive coaching may foster a more intimate and quicker learning. Thus, in our

empirical research, the managerial coaching conducted in one of our two company

groups notably increased the level of understanding of proposed improvement

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measures among the coached managers. Thus, coaching may ultimately increase the

probability of a company’s success when such measures are implemented.

Similarly, the level of satisfaction was higher in the coached group than it was in the

non-coached group. This is not surprising, as coaching seeks both behavioural and

personal change to benefit the organisation; it is able to reach a higher level of

satisfaction as it depends on the enhancement of motivation. Coaches have been able to

generate confidence among participating managers, instilling in them a sense of

responsibility and commitment, and to develop in their coachees the capacity to

innovate and create. These facts ensure that superior implementation of improvements

in the coached group are superior.

Our results show that the implementation of the proposed measures was higher for the

coached group than for the non-coached group in the management (administrative,

financial and commercial), customer service and human resources fields. A better

understanding of the measures, the advice received when implementing these measures

and the increased motivation are associated with higher levels of implementation for the

coached group compared to the case of managers who only received audit reports.

These managers had to analyse conclusions and results for themselves; they had to

implement tasks related to the proposed improvements without the benefits of any

advising service.

However, with respect to the application of measures related to structural changes and

the use of new technologies, the differences were not statistically significant between

our two groups. This finding is consistent with what we expected in light of the

important economic and organisational efforts that structural changes likely imply for

small-sized companies (substantial investments, installation changes, adaptations for

disabled/handicapped people, and alterations in shop windows). In addition, the use of

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new technologies might entail minor expenses and/or investments (e.g., internet use,

use of management software, computerised monitoring of stocks, etc.). With respect to

both types of measures, the role of coaches did not significantly influence managerial

attitudes. Moreover, qualitative information provided by coaches showed that (in most

cases) managers understood the importance of the proposed measures, the lack of

resources and that the long term necessary for investment amortisation was more

important than the necessity to face the proposed improvements.

In sum, our work contributes both theoretically and empirically to the existing

literature. From a theoretical view, this study enriches the otherwise limited state of the

literature concerning the positive effects of coaching in the business context. Moreover,

we offer empirical results that support the use of coaching in a business context,

encouraging the corporate use of this personnel training and development practice.

6.2. Implications for practitioners and regulators

In addition to the research implications of our work explained above, our findings have

important implications for practitioners and public regulators. In the case of

practitioners, the statistically significant and positive relationship between coaching and

the implementation of a set of improvement measures designed to increase business

competitiveness suggests that this type of advising stands to be very beneficial for

companies. In the case of SMEs in particular, due to their size and lack of managerial

resources or time for specialised advising, the superior adaptability of coaching (both to

the company’s circumstances and to the managers’ characteristics) allows for quick and

effective results, efficiently incorporating new business concepts, innovative

management techniques and tools that enhance a manager’s global vision and ultimately

the company’s profitability.

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With respect to regulators, our results support the effectiveness of coaching for

improving business competitiveness. It is essential that regulators and public agencies

develop programs and formative courses on coaching so that managers are able to

benefit from the advantages of this technique concerning human resources

management. In the same way, the civil service must take into account that, frequently,

the training offered free of charge by public organisms is too generic and is barely

related to the tasks performed by those that receive this training, which indicates that

managers do not show an interest towards it because of its low effectiveness. Since

coaching is a specific type of training that could be adapted and personalised according

to the particularities and needs of the company focusing on the current situation (Bou-

Pérez, 2007), its development within the company implies a process positioned and

modelled with respect to the moment, the place and the circumstances in which it

occurs. As a consequence, regulators are encouraged to make efforts via fiscal

deductions, subsidies, etc., to support the use of coaching within companies.

6.3. Limitations and Future Works

There are several limitations to our work that should be considered in future research.

First, our sample is based on a limited group of small-sized companies. This was itself a

consequence of the complexity of conducting the audits, the time required for the

coaching process and the financial resources available for this research. To obtain more

generalisable results, future work should implement a more comprehensive quantitative

study with a larger sample. Second, results were measured only over the short term; the

time between administering of the audits and the implementation of coaching was six

months. It is therefore likely that several improvement measures could be implemented

in future research. Our research is certainly limited in that we are largely incapable of

18
This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

determining the long- and medium-term effects of coaching. Future research on the

effects of coaching could be analysed by means of a longitudinal study. Finally, our

sample is formed exclusively by SMEs located in Ceuta, which ultimately impedes a

wider generalisation of our results. We expect that other studies will have the

opportunity to sample larger companies located over a wider range of regions and

countries.

19
This is a preprint of a work to be published in Competitiveness Review©. 2012.
Vidal Salazar, M.D., Ferrón Vilchez, V., Cordón Pozo, E. Vol. 22(5), pp. 423 – 433. DOI: 10.1108/10595421211266302

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