Background: The rare ability to manage simultaneous high growth and entrepreneurship is pivotal for a thriving business. Be leveraging intention, ability and opportunity the post growth actions of Swedish high growth SMEs facilitate effective and profitable operations. Sweden, the country with the largest share of high growth SMEs in EU, offers an ideal setting for gaining a comprehensive understanding of these operations. Purpose: The study aims to examine the impact of the pre-growth factors: intention, ability and opportunity on post high growth actions taken by Swedish high growth SMEs and identify differences and similarities regarding the use of these strategies between the firms in the sample. Method: The study is a multiple case study using semi structured interviews with six Swedish high growth SMEs. The study uses an interpretivism perspective with an abductive research approach and empirical data is analyzed through a mechanisms data analysis. Conclusion: The study concludes that firms pre-growth factors significantly impact their post high growth actions. Risk-prone firms with strong growth intentions view high growth as essential for organizational improvements, while more risk-averse firms view organizational improvements as a prerequisite for high growth. Firms with strong growth intentions employ strategic exit to align their pre-growth factors, especially when lacking investment. Firms with more passive growth intentions consider strategic exit as a last resort. Developing support functions is closely tied to firm size and ability while investments into internal competency is crucial for firms in fast-changing markets where opportunity is vital. Keywords: High growth SMEs, Pre-growth factors, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Strategic exit, Human resource management

The topic of this thesis is economic dynamism. The five articles contribute to the literature on firm entry and firm growth. Studies are based on a dataset covering all Swedish limited liability firms between 1997 and 2010. The first article investigates conditions for firm entry in Sweden, distinguishing regular entrants from entrants that survive for at least two years, modelling the firm entry decision using count data models. While high income and a well-educated population had a positive effect, the effect was more important for surviving entrants. The second article uses a similar method, but focuses on wholesale industries and distinguishes between regular entry and in migration of firms, i.e. when an incumbent firm relocates its operations. Access to a university, many educated workers and low local taxes had positive effects. Better access to infrastructure had a strong positive effect on entrants, but it was smaller for in-migrating firms. The third article investigates if the industry context matters for whether Gibrat’s law holds, i.e. whether firm growth is independent of firm size. The law is found more likely to be rejected in industries with a high minimum efficient scale and a large number of firms located in metropolitan areas, but more likely to hold in industries with high market concentration and more group ownership. The fourth and fifth article contribute to the high-growth firms (HGFs) literature. In the fourth article it is examined whether the way HGFs are defined matters for the policy implications. It is found that the economic contributions of HGFs differ significantly depending on definition. Young firms are however more likely to be HGFs irrespective of definition. The fifth article considers the frequent argument that policymakers should target high-tech firms, i.e., firms with high R&D intensity, because such firms are thought more likely to become HGFs. We examine this assumption by studying the industry distribution of HGFs. Results indicate that industries with high R&D intensity, ceteris paribus, can be expected to have a lower share of HGFs than can industries with lower R&D intensity. By contrast, we find that HGFs are overrepresented in service industries with a high share of human capital.

Bakgrund: Snabbväxande företag bidrar med majoriteten av alla nyskapade jobb i Sverige. Tidigare forskning har dock visat att dessa företag får problem i och med snabb tillväxt, något som leder till att de inte blir uthålliga över tid. Vid en kartläggning av tidigare studier påträffades en avsaknad av forskning som har till syfte att förklara varför snabbväxande företag inte är uthålliga, varav vi ansåg det vara av intresse att studera fenomenet interna tillväxthinder.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att genom grundares perspektiv identifiera interna tillväxthinder inom snabbväxande företag. I samband med detta undersöks hur de snabbväxande företagen tar sig an och överkommer dessa barriärer. Genomförande: Denna studie har utgått från en kvalitativ forskningsmetod, med ett induktivt angreppssätt för att kunna utforska fenomenet interna tillväxthinder. Studien har genomförts med utgångs-punkt i intervjuer med fyra grundare av tillväxtföretag. Slutsats: Studien har kunnat identifiera fyra områden som utifrån företagsgrundares berättelser haft särskild betydelse för överkomsten av tillväxthinder. Studien indikerar att de fyra områdena kan utvecklas till tillväxthinder om snabbväxarna inte arbetar med dem på rätt sätt, men kan med största sannolikhet omvandlas till tillväxtmöjligheter om grundaren inser värdet av att arbeta med dessa. / Background: High-growth firms contribute to a majority of all newly created jobs in Sweden. Recent studies have shown that these companies encounter problems and growth barriers as a result of their rapid growth. After investigating the study field of high-growth firms we found an absence of research that seeks to explain why they are not persistent over time. We consider it to be of interest to study the phenomenon of internal growth barriers.  Aim: The aim of this study is to identify internal growth barriers in high-growth firms through the perspective of the founders. In relation to this we examine how the high-growth firms undertake and overcomes these barriers. Completion: This study is based on a qualitative research strategy, with an inductive study approach, to enable an exploration of the phenomenon internal growth barriers. The study was conducted based on interviews with four founders of high-growth firms. Conclusion: The study has been able to identify four areas based on the founders' dictums, which had special significance for the emergence of internal growth barriers. The four areas can be developed to emerging growth obstacles if the high-growth firms do not consider their importance. This study suggests that the growth barriers most likely can be converted to growth potentials if the firms realize the importance to develop them.

High-growth firms in Czechia: geographical and sectoral specifics Abstract This theses focuses on high-growth firms in Czechia, defined as firms with a predetermined year-on-year increase in turnover between years 2012 and 2015. First part is about putting high-growth firms to the context of selected theories of regional development and it also discuss factors of the firm's growth. Further the high-growth firms are analyzed with an emphasis on spatial, sectoral and other specifics. A part focused on revealing specific factors of business growth uwing qualitative methods is also included. The analysis shows that high- growth firms in Czechia are concentrated to metropolitan areas, and whole one third of them are based in Prague. High growth firms are concentrated to the manufacturing and retail and wholesale sectors. The work has suggested that individual companies may have different growth factors and and there is no one specific strategy for a successful firm growth. Keywords: High-growth firms, gazelles, economic geography, small and medium-sized enterprises

This research explores a problem important to both management strategists and policy-makers: what makes some companies grow rapidly? This topic is important as high-growth companies create a disproportionally high percentage of new jobs. The literature frequently cites sustainable competitive advantage as an explanation for firm performance and growth. Companies can build competitive advantage through the accumulation and development of resources, strategic orientations and unique capabilities. More recently, researchers have looked outside the firm for explanations, concluding that inter-firm co-operative networks and alliances are also important sources of competitive advantage leading to firm growth. While there is an extensive body of literature on firm growth, few studies have specifically addressed the antecedents of rapid firm growth. Much of the available literature is descriptive, for example Birch’s (1987) study of gazelle firms or the OECD (2008) report on high-growth firms. There are however few theoretic models or empirical tests to explain the success of these firms. In response this research explains the occurrence of high-growth firms in terms of the resource- and knowledge-based view, dynamic capabilities, core competencies, and strategic orientation theories. Structural equation and growth mixture models were tested using data gathered from a survey administered to a cross-industry sample of Canadian businesses. The study found that high-growth forms were more likely to be innovators, as well as to have a combination of strong entrepreneurial and market orientations and the ability to manage their business networks. These findings highlight the importance to management of not only responding to market demands but leading the market with innovation and extending firm capabilities and reach through networking. In addition, this research indicates that institutional support for innovation, networking and market development would assist in developing high-growth firms in Canada.

This research explores a problem important to both management strategists and policy-makers: what makes some companies grow rapidly? This topic is important as high-growth companies create a disproportionally high percentage of new jobs. The literature frequently cites sustainable competitive advantage as an explanation for firm performance and growth. Companies can build competitive advantage through the accumulation and development of resources, strategic orientations and unique capabilities. More recently, researchers have looked outside the firm for explanations, concluding that inter-firm co-operative networks and alliances are also important sources of competitive advantage leading to firm growth. While there is an extensive body of literature on firm growth, few studies have specifically addressed the antecedents of rapid firm growth. Much of the available literature is descriptive, for example Birch’s (1987) study of gazelle firms or the OECD (2008) report on high-growth firms. There are however few theoretic models or empirical tests to explain the success of these firms. In response this research explains the occurrence of high-growth firms in terms of the resource- and knowledge-based view, dynamic capabilities, core competencies, and strategic orientation theories. Structural equation and growth mixture models were tested using data gathered from a survey administered to a cross-industry sample of Canadian businesses. The study found that high-growth forms were more likely to be innovators, as well as to have a combination of strong entrepreneurial and market orientations and the ability to manage their business networks. These findings highlight the importance to management of not only responding to market demands but leading the market with innovation and extending firm capabilities and reach through networking. In addition, this research indicates that institutional support for innovation, networking and market development would assist in developing high-growth firms in Canada.

No description available.

No / Organisational learning is often presented as one way in which firms may respond to increasingly competitive market conditions by managing their knowledge assets in more effective ways. Although theoretically and conceptually plausible, there is limited empirical evidence, particularly from smaller firms, in support of this view. This study aims to provide some evidence that links organisational learning and performance. Extant theory suggests that organisational learning may range from a passive orientation (working within a current paradigm) to an active orientation (questioning a current paradigm) at both the individual and the collective levels. This study examines the learning orientations of 300 smaller manufacturing and service firms in terms of an active¿passive learning construct. The results suggest that higher-growth manufacturing firms have a more active learning orientation. These firms make greater use of knowledge assets than do their lower growth counterparts, and this may have important implications for the management of learning in smaller manufacturing firms.

Purpose – The presented research aims to explain, describe and analyze the process of dynamic strategy development in high growth firms. Accordingly the research seeks to investigate how dynamic strategies are used within high growth firms and how strategic learning affects the process. Design/methodology/approach – The authors presents a review of theoretically relevant studies of high growth related to strategy, and two original studies examining the impact of dynamic strategy on high growth. A theoretical framework for the study of dynamic strategy processes is developed. The study comprehends eight interviews divided over five high growth firms, where high growth is defined by the OECD (2008) standard. Findings – In the study, the researchers finds significant evidence for the active and deliberate use of dynamic strategy in the high growth firms of the study. The implication of strategic learning on the dynamic strategies is found to be substantial. The findings shows that dynamic strategy development are used to a large extent and considered vital for achieving growth within in the high growth firms of the study. Research/theoretical implications/limitations – The findings demonstrate that dynamic strategy development is actively used in high growth phases of the firms studied. This has implications on the extension of previous research, as it shows the actual use of dynamic strategy and further emphasizes the importance of strategic learning within this process. With the important limitation that the study is considered too small to generalize over a larger population, which implies that further research on the subject is needed. Managerial implications – The findings provide guidelines for managers of how to handle strategy development in high growth, however due to the previous limitation this is presented as the way the high growth firms within this study handles this development. The guidelines could be used by anyone in managerial positions, thus increasing the understanding of how high growth firms handle strategy.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2017-06-29T21:17:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Gustavo Abrantes Condeixa - 2016.pdf: 3193344 bytes, checksum: 7b93bf3023bf4922198bf2823e501815 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-07-10T10:38:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Gustavo Abrantes Condeixa - 2016.pdf: 3193344 bytes, checksum: 7b93bf3023bf4922198bf2823e501815 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T10:38:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Gustavo Abrantes Condeixa - 2016.pdf: 3193344 bytes, checksum: 7b93bf3023bf4922198bf2823e501815 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-18 / High growth is a phenomenon that occurs for a small group of companies and, it is related to fast growth caused by new jobs creation or superior growth compared to other companies. Researchers and public politics makers showing interest for companies with high growth is motivated by the fact that those companies are perceived as important factors for a dynamic economy and, job creation. They are also known for creating and diffusing new technologic knowledge, contributing for regional development. To analyze the relation between science, technology and innovation's regional indicators, as well as the entrepreneurship indicators of high growth in the Brazilian states, the collected data composed a cross-section within the 27 Brazilian federation states, between the years of 2008 and 2012, having its explanatory variables grouped into four indicators of ST&I that corresponds to ST&I infrastructure, ST&I Human Resources, Investment in R&D and Innovation. Stacked data was utilized and the estimated method adopted was the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS).To better adjust the proposed model the dependent variable TEAC general was segregated for the Service, Industry and Commerce sectors.16 logistics regression specifications was studied in reference to the four proposed equations, segregated in function of the four dependent variables mentioned. The results shown in this work demonstrate the existence of a low correlation between ST&I and TEAC general. It also suggests that the activities sector is an important component in relation between ST&I and TEAC, although the ST&I indicators present larger impact for Industry Sector's TEAC. Another significant result was that a better human resources qualification results in better TEAC. To prove the theory, it was verified a strong correlation among people hired with bachelor's degree while a person holding a master or Ph.D. degree didn't present significance to the study. / O Alto Crescimento é um fenômeno que ocorre em um número pequeno de empresas, estando relacionado a um crescimento acelerado, proporcionando uma expressiva geração de novos empregos. Esta condição, aliada a outros fatores, imprime uma importância estratégica ao fenômeno do alto crescimento tanto para pesquisadores quanto para decisores políticos. Diante desta importância, a presente pesquisa buscou compreender quais fatores se mostram determinantes na criação de empresas de alto crescimento. Optou-se por focar na análise da relação entre os indicadores regionais de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (CT&I) e a taxa de empreendedorismo de alto crescimento (TEAC) nos estados brasileiros por meio de uma crosssection para as 27 unidades da federação do Brasil, entre os anos de 2008 a 2012, cujas variáveis explicativas foram agrupadas em quatro indicadores de CT&I, as quais correspondem à Infraestrutura para CT&I; aos Recursos Humanos para CT&I; ao Investimento em P&D; e à Inovação. Com o objetivo de melhor ajustar o modelo proposto, a variável dependente TEAC geral foi segregada entre os setores de Serviço, Indústria e Comércio. Para a obtenção dos resultados apresentados neste trabalho, foram utilizados dados empilhados, sendo o método de estimação adotado o de Mínimos Quadrados Ordinários (MQO). Como resultado, este trabalho demonstrou que a relação entre os indicadores regionais de CT&I e a TEAC de forma geral apresentou uma baixa correlação. Contudo, quando analisados os efeitos relativos aos setores segregados, verificou-se que os resultados estão diretamente relacionados ao setor ao qual a empresa está baseada, confirmando também que as diferenças de crescimento podem ocorrer em função da segmentação do setor. Também é verificado um maior impacto proveniente da relação entre os indicadores regionais de CT&I para a TEAC do setor da indústria, sugerindo que empresas que possuem maior relação com inovação podem ser mais beneficiadas com investimentos regionais em CT&I. Finalmente, a contratação de pessoal com nível superior também se mostra como um elemento favorável à promoção do alto crescimento.