High growth trajectories in small and medium sized enterprises: a comparative study
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
ISSN: 1462-6004
Article publication date: 11 November 2014
Abstract
Purpose
Rapid growth constitutes both a theoretical and an economic issue. Thanks to a comparative study of five high growth small and medium sized enterprises located in Rhône-Alp and Provence (France), the authors propose a processual analysis of high growth trajectories. The purpose of this paper is to identify trajectories and tools implicated in the construction and maintenance of a high growth trajectory.
Design/methodology/approach
The contribution is a comparative, qualitative study of five medium size companies in France that have experienced growth of more than 20 percent annually for at least four years. This study is based on 25 semi-directive interviews with company managers.
Findings
First, high growth is a result of the psychological state of the company leader. Second, high growth is a manifestation of a secure enterprise geographically based where the company originated. This, however, implies discomfort once high growth occurs when physical expansion obliges moving to unfamiliar locations. Finally, in companies with high growth trajectories, support functions develop relatively late.
Originality/value
The results corroborate certain previously presented findings and bring forth new conclusions particularly concerning the place of the leader, the existence of thresholds and the relative homogeneity of trajectories.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR). Program “Enterprises and economic structures. Risks, transformations and constants” 2007-2010. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. The authors also like to thank the participants of the 2010 RENT Conference in Maastricht for their helpful feedback on an earlier version of this paper.
Citation
Chanut-Guieu, C. and C. Guieu, G. (2014), "High growth trajectories in small and medium sized enterprises: a comparative study", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 623-637. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-09-2014-0151
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited