Johan Wiklund

This insightful volume presents a collection of innovative works by two of the leading researchers of firm growth. The studies extend previous research by providing stronger theoretical underpinnings and using longitudinal databases that can separate in time the firms' growth from its presumed causes. They also break new ground by examining different modes of growth, such as sales growth vs. employment growth, and organic growth vs. acquisition-based expansion. Further, the studies investigate the drivers of firm growth and take a critical look at the effects, such as under what circumstances high growth is associated with high profitability. The issue of how firm growth is achieved and managed, and what consequences it has for different stakeholders is both theoretically interesting and practically important. The book will strongly appeal to academics of entrepreneurship, small business management and strategy. Contributors: L. Achtenhagen, G. N. Chandler, P. Davidsson, F. Delmar, J. Fitzsimmons, S. Girma, A. Lockett, A. McKelvie, L. Naldi, H. Patzelt, D. A. Shepherd, P. Steffens, J. Wiklund

This insightful volume presents a collection of innovative works by two of the leading researchers of firm growth. The studies extend previous research by providing stronger theoretical underpinnings and using longitudinal databases that can separate in time the firms' growth from its presumed causes. They also break new ground by examining different modes of growth, such as sales growth vs. employment growth, and organic growth vs. acquisition-based expansion. Further, the studies investigate the drivers of firm growth and take a critical look at the effects, such as under what circumstances high growth is associated with high profitability. The issue of how firm growth is achieved and managed, and what consequences it has for different stakeholders is both theoretically interesting and practically important. The book will strongly appeal to academics of entrepreneurship, small business management and strategy. Contributors: L. Achtenhagen, G. N. Chandler, P. Davidsson, F. Delmar, J. Fitzsimmons, S. Girma, A. Lockett, A. McKelvie, L. Naldi, H. Patzelt, D. A. Shepherd, P. Steffens, J. Wiklund

What characterizes the phenomenon of (small) firm growth, and how can it best be studied? Why and how do firms grow - and why don't they? Is firm growth externally determined or the result of managers' visions and actions? What are the different paths that firms follow in order to achieve high growth? Is growth evidence of entrepreneurship - and is growth always desirable? In this book, three leading scholars have integrated some of their most important research in order to answer these questions on firm growth. The result is a volume that builds on studies of many thousands of firms in several different projects. It offers deep insights into the firm growth phenomenon and how it can be studied. This research-based study promises to be a valuable resource for academics and students focussing on business and management, and, more specifically, entrepreneurship. Researchers who aspire to design and conduct further studies leading to deeper and better established insights into firm growth will also find the book invaluable, as will those who encourage and assist firm growth as part of their profession.

What characterizes the phenomenon of (small) firm growth, and how can it best be studied? Why and how do firms grow - and why don't they? Is firm growth externally determined or the result of managers' visions and actions? What are the different paths that firms follow in order to achieve high growth? Is growth evidence of entrepreneurship - and is growth always desirable? In this book, three leading scholars have integrated some of their most important research in order to answer these questions on firm growth. The result is a volume that builds on studies of many thousands of firms in several different projects. It offers deep insights into the firm growth phenomenon and how it can be studied. This research-based study promises to be a valuable resource for academics and students focussing on business and management, and, more specifically, entrepreneurship. Researchers who aspire to design and conduct further studies leading to deeper and better established insights into firm growth will also find the book invaluable, as will those who encourage and assist firm growth as part of their profession.

The authors of this comprehensive study address why it is that some small firms perform well and others don't, and whether high-performing firms share characteristics that distinguish them from low-performing firms. By exploring bundles of resources and their interaction with other factors, the authors explain important small business outcomes such as growth, performance, entrepreneurial activity, and the chance of receiving debt or equity capital. The authors find that while resources may be valuable, it is essential that small businesses have the processes to facilitate the manipulation of resources into value-creating strategies. Rather than reaching the conclusion that more is always better, the authors tease out the conditions under which certain resources are particularly valuable, as well as the conditions under which these and other resources are less valuable. The resource factors examined range from aspects of the human capital of the small business manager, such as length of education or prior experience with business start-ups, to social capital variables and firm-level resources, such as access to financial capital and competence. Representing leading-edge research across several levels of analysis, this volume will be a useful resource for scholars and students of entrepreneurship and small business, as well as for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Policymakers will find the volume helpful in understanding the effect policies may have on small businesses and the subsequent impact on the economic performance of a region.