IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/loceco/v38y2023i6p617-628.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reflections on high growth firms

Author

Listed:
  • Yasuyuki Motoyama
  • Christina Henderson
  • Morgan Clevenger
  • Sameeksha Desai
  • Sehun Oh
  • Tijs Van Maasakkers

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners have investigated high growth firms because a small number of high growth firms contribute disproportionately to economic development. However, we find that the standard perception and support programs of high growth firms are heavily geared toward to firms in the high-tech sector that seek venture capital investment and hyper growth. The authors in this paper conducted multiple research projects of high growth firms in Kansas City, St Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Montana, and came to conclude that many high growth firms are sector agonistic, locally rooted, grow organically based on market niche, and exist in every city. This alternative model of high growth firms leads to a completely different set of policy and support implications, which we synthesize in eight points.

Suggested Citation

  • Yasuyuki Motoyama & Christina Henderson & Morgan Clevenger & Sameeksha Desai & Sehun Oh & Tijs Van Maasakkers, 2023. "Reflections on high growth firms," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(6), pages 617-628, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:loceco:v:38:y:2023:i:6:p:617-628
    DOI: 10.1177/02690942241246725
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02690942241246725
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/02690942241246725?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bernd Wurth & Erik Stam & Ben Spigel, 2022. "Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 729-778, May.
    2. Morris M. Kleiner, 2006. "Licensing Occupations: Ensuring Quality or Restricting Competition?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number lo, November.
    3. Dean A. Shepherd & Marc Gruber, 2021. "The Lean Startup Framework: Closing the Academic–Practitioner Divide," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 967-998, September.
    4. Decker, Ryan A. & Haltiwanger, John & Jarmin, Ron S. & Miranda, Javier, 2016. "Where has all the skewness gone? The decline in high-growth (young) firms in the U.S," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 4-23.
    5. Manju Puri & Rebecca Zarutskie, 2012. "On the Life Cycle Dynamics of Venture-Capital- and Non-Venture-Capital-Financed Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2247-2293, December.
    6. John Haltiwanger, 2012. "Job Creation and Firm Dynamics in the United States," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(1), pages 17-38.
    7. Alex Coad & Sven-Olov Daunfeldt & Werner Hölzl & Dan Johansson & Paul Nightingale, 2014. "High-growth firms: introduction to the special section," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 23(1), pages 91-112, February.
    8. Alex Coad, 2010. "Exploring the processes of firm growth: evidence from a vector auto-regression," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(6), pages 1677-1703, December.
    9. Werner Hölzl, 2009. "Is the R&D behaviour of fast-growing SMEs different? Evidence from CIS III data for 16 countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 59-75, June.
    10. Sven-Olov Daunfeldt & Niklas Elert & Dan Johansson, 2014. "The Economic Contribution of High-Growth Firms: Do Policy Implications Depend on the Choice of Growth Indicator?," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 337-365, September.
    11. Dean Shepherd & Johan Wiklund, 2009. "Are we Comparing Apples with Apples or Apples with Oranges? Appropriateness of Knowledge Accumulation across Growth Studies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 105-123, January.
    12. Heli Koski & Mika Pajarinen, 2013. "The role of business subsidies in job creation of start-ups, gazelles and incumbents," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 195-214, June.
    13. repec:cup:cbooks:9780521843225 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Zoltán J. Ács & Pamela Mueller, 2015. "Employment effects of business dynamics: Mice, Gazelles and Elephants," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 16, pages 304-319, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Matthias Almus, 2002. "What characterizes a fast-growing firm?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(12), pages 1497-1508.
    16. repec:cup:cbooks:9781107402539 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Barringer, Bruce R. & Jones, Foard F. & Neubaum, Donald O., 2005. "A quantitative content analysis of the characteristics of rapid-growth firms and their founders," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 663-687, September.
    18. Ensley, Michael D. & Pearson, Allison W. & Sardeshmukh, Shruti R, 2007. "The negative consequences of pay dispersion in family and non-family top management teams: an exploratory analysis of new venture, high-growth firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 1039-1047, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Demir, Robert & Wennberg, Karl & McKelvie, Alexander, 2016. "The Strategic Management of High-Growth Firms: A Review and Theoretical Conceptualization," Ratio Working Papers 273, The Ratio Institute.
    2. Yannis Caloghirou & Ioannis Giotopoulos & Alexandra Kontolaimou & Aggelos Tsakanikas, 2022. "Inside the black box of high-growth firms in a crisis-hit economy: corporate strategy, employee human capital and R&D capabilities," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 1319-1345, September.
    3. Erhardt, Eva Christine, 2018. "Firm performance after high growth: A comparison of absolute and relative growth measures," MPRA Paper 88077, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Daniele Moschella & Federico Tamagni & Xiaodan Yu, 2019. "Persistent high-growth firms in China’s manufacturing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 573-594, March.
    5. Diego F. Grijalva & Valeria Ayala & Paúl A. Ponce & Yelitza Pontón, 2018. "Does firm innovation lead to high growth? Evidence from Ecuadorian firms," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, vol. 37(75), pages 697-726, May.
    6. Erhardt, Eva, 2017. "Who persistently creates jobs? Absolute versus relative high-growth firms," MPRA Paper 79307, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Maks Tajnikar & Nina Ponikvar & Petra Došenovič Bonča, 2016. "Characteristics Of Firms With Different Types Of Growth: The Case Of Slovenia," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 61(208), pages 27-48, January -.
    8. Francisco Rodrigues & Nuno Tavares & Gabriel Osório Barros, 2021. "Drivers of exceptional job creation – a dynamic probit approach using portuguese firm-level data," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 20(1), pages 45-69, January.
    9. Eva Christine Erhardt, 2021. "Measuring the persistence of high firm growth: choices and consequences," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 451-478, January.
    10. Alex Coad & Sven-Olov Daunfeldt & Dan Johansson & Karl Wennberg, 2014. "Whom do high-growth firms hire?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 23(1), pages 293-327, February.
    11. Alex Coad & Werner Hölzl, 2012. "Firm Growth: Empirical Analysis," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 24, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Westerberg, Hans, 2019. "High-growth firms and the labor market entry of first generation immigrants," HFI Working Papers 2, Institute of Retail Economics (Handelns Forskningsinstitut).
    13. Sven-Olov Daunfeldt & Niklas Elert & Dan Johansson, 2016. "Are high-growth firms overrepresented in high-tech industries?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(1), pages 1-21.
    14. Ho-Chang Chae, 2024. "In search of gazelles: machine learning prediction for Korean high-growth firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 243-284, January.
    15. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & McKelvie, Alexander & Seerar Westerberg, Hans, 2023. "Right time or the right person? Investigating the hires of high-growth new ventures," HFI Working Papers 25, Institute of Retail Economics (Handelns Forskningsinstitut).
    16. Friesenbichler, Klaus S. & Hoelzl, Werner, 2022. "Firm-growth and Functional Strategic Domains: Exploratory evidence for differences between frontier and catching-up economies," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    17. Serban Mogos & Alex Davis & Rui Baptista, 2021. "High and sustainable growth: persistence, volatility, and survival of high growth firms," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 135-161, March.
    18. Krafft Jackie & Quatraro Francesco & Colombelli Alessandra, 2011. "High Growth Firms and Technological Knowledge: Do gazelles follow exploration or exploitation strategies?," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201114, University of Turin.
    19. Werner Hölzl & Klaus Friesenbichler, 2010. "High-growth firms, innovation and the distance to the frontier," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(2), pages 1016-1024.
    20. Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Seerar Westerberg, Hans, 2017. "Are unemployed immigrants more likely to be hired by high-growth firms? Evidence from matched employer-employee data," HUI Working Papers 128, HUI Research.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:loceco:v:38:y:2023:i:6:p:617-628. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/index.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.