What holds back high-growth firms? Evidence from UK SMEs

Neil Lee

Small Business Economics, 2014, vol. 43, issue 1, 183-195

Abstract: High-growth firms are seen as vital for economic growth. It is important for policy and theory to consider the barriers faced by firms achieving high growth and those with the potential to do so. This article uses data for 4,858 UK SMEs to investigate the obstacles perceived by two sets of firms: (1) firms in periods of high growth and (2) potential high-growth firms, which are observationally similar but are not achieving high growth. The results suggest high-growth firms perceive problems in six areas: recruitment, skill shortages, obtaining finance, cash flow, management skills and finding suitable premises. Potential high-growth firms feel held back by the economy, obtaining finance, cash flow and their management skills, but are less likely to perceive regulation is a problem. The results have implications for theory on high-growth firms and policies focussed at them. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Keywords: High-growth firms; Barriers to growth; Gazelles; SMEs; Entrepreneurship; L0; D21; L2; L10; L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (55)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:43:y:2014:i:1:p:183-195

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DOI: 10.1007/s11187-013-9525-5

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