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Identifying high growth firms: Where are we?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2015

Bruce Dwyer  and
Bernice Kotey
Bruce Dwyer*
Affiliation:
Business Custodians, 76 Sundance Way, Runaway Bay, QLD, Australia
Bernice Kotey
Affiliation:
UNE Business School, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
*
Corresponding author: bdwyer@businesscustodians.com.au
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Abstract

The article reviews the literature for the key markers of high growth firms, which create the majority of new jobs. From the review, a template is developed comprising the key markers. They include: training and experience in entrepreneurship and management; and strategies that emphasise innovation, marketing and employee and organisational learning. High growth firm owners take steps to access management skills that complement theirs through employment of a management team, outsourcing management tasks or making decisions with oversight from an informal board. Good reward structures, which may include ownership interests, are essential to performance of the management team. Access to resources, especially finance and human capital is critical to growth but abundant resources could compromise efficiency. The article finds that personality characteristics of owners and postgraduate education in management are not effective identifiers of high growth firms. Some of the barriers to identifying high growth firms are presented and suggestions made to overcome them.

Keywords

entrepreneurshigh growth firmspsychological traitsstrategic orientationmanagement practices
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , July 2016 , pp. 457 - 475
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2015 

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