TY - JOUR

T1 - On the consequences of firm growth

AU - Freel, Mark

AU - Gordon, Ian

PY - 2022/9/30

Y1 - 2022/9/30

N2 - Recent contributions to the literature on small firm growth have been marked by a growing sense of frustration with the state-of-the-art and what it implicates in both theory and policy. In short, while growth episodes appear relatively common, a tiny proportion of firms sustain growth and ‘scale’. This calls into question the very basis upon which policies seeking to target high growth firms (HGFs) rest. In addition, it cautions against perspectives that view growth as the essence of entrepreneurship. In this paper, we argue that understanding the frequency of growth episodes and the rarity of sustained growth requires a better understanding of growth consequences. To this end, we describe case study evidence from ambitious entrepreneurs whose firms experienced an episode of high growth followed by longer periods of mixed performance. Our goal is to shed light on how the experience of growing affects further growth. Our data provide initial insights into the mechanisms linking past growth to growth motivations and into the ways in which past growth lays the foundations for future performance.

AB - Recent contributions to the literature on small firm growth have been marked by a growing sense of frustration with the state-of-the-art and what it implicates in both theory and policy. In short, while growth episodes appear relatively common, a tiny proportion of firms sustain growth and ‘scale’. This calls into question the very basis upon which policies seeking to target high growth firms (HGFs) rest. In addition, it cautions against perspectives that view growth as the essence of entrepreneurship. In this paper, we argue that understanding the frequency of growth episodes and the rarity of sustained growth requires a better understanding of growth consequences. To this end, we describe case study evidence from ambitious entrepreneurs whose firms experienced an episode of high growth followed by longer periods of mixed performance. Our goal is to shed light on how the experience of growing affects further growth. Our data provide initial insights into the mechanisms linking past growth to growth motivations and into the ways in which past growth lays the foundations for future performance.

KW - growth

KW - case studies

KW - motivation

KW - ambidexterity

U2 - 10.1177/02662426221074053

DO - 10.1177/02662426221074053

M3 - Journal article

VL - 40

SP - 684

EP - 709

JO - International Small Business Journal

JF - International Small Business Journal

SN - 0266-2426

IS - 6

ER -