Search
Search

Working paper No. 273: The Strategic Management of High-Growth Firms: A Review and Theoretical Conceptualization

PublicationWorking paper
Alexander McKelvie, Företagandets villkor, Företagsekonomi, Handelshögskolan Stockholm, Karl Wennberg, Robert Demir, Snabbväxande företag
rd_kw_am_Strategic_Management_of_HGFs_273
Download

Abstract

Scholars’ knowledge of the factors behind high-growth firms remains fragmented. This paper provides a systematic review of the empirical literature concerning high-growth firms with a focus on the strategic aspects contributing to growth. Based on our review of 39 articles, we identify five drivers of high growth: human capital, strategy, human resource management, innovation, and capabilities. These drivers are combined to develop a conceptual model of high-growth firms that includes potential contingency factors among the five drivers. We also propose a research agenda to deepen the study of high-growth firms in strategic management.
Related content: The Strategic Management of High-Growth Firms: A Review and Theoretical Conceptualization

Demir, R., Wennberg, K., & McKelvie, A. (2016). The Strategic Management of High-Growth Firms: A Review and Theoretical Conceptualization. Ratio Working Paper No. 273. Stockholm: Ratio.

Similar content

Does local government corruption inhibit entrepreneurship?
Article (with peer review)Publication
Wittberg, E., Erlingsson, G. Ó., Wennberg, K.
Download
Publication year

2024

Published in

Small Business Economics, 62(2), 775-806

Abstract

The dominant ‘sand in the wheels’ view holds that entrepreneurship is strongly inhibited by corruption. Challenging this, the ‘grease the wheels’ view maintains that corruption might increase entrepreneurship in highly regulated economies. We extend the basic predictions of these theories by examining entrepreneurs’ start-up decisions, as well as their location choices, in a seemingly low-corruption environment: Swedish municipalities. Combining a validated index of corruption perceptions in local government with population data on new entrepreneurs, nested logit models reveal that even in a low-corruption setting such as Sweden, perceptions of corruption can deter latent entrepreneurs. We also find that a minority of entrepreneurs relocate from their home municipalities to establish their start-ups elsewhere. Surprisingly and contrary to expectations, these relocating entrepreneurs often relocate from relatively low-corruption municipalities to others that are more corrupt. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.

The Impact of Networking With Knowledge-Intensive Professional Service Firms on Speed to Market and Product Innovativeness
Article (with peer review)Publication
Soetanto, D., & Demir, R.
Download
Publication year

2024

Published in

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

Abstract

During the new product development (NPD) process, exploitation and exploration are important, especially for small manufacturing firms (SMFs). However, limited resources and a lack of internal knowledge capacity have forced SMFs to work with knowledge-intensive professional service firms (KIPSFs). This article investigates the impact of SMFs’ networks with KIPSFs on the performance of NPD. Using data from 164 SMFs in the northwest of England, this article reveals a linear relationship between firm’s product innovativeness and its network with KIPSFs for exploitation, and a curvilinear relationship between firm’s speed to market and its network with KIPSFs for exploration. A curvilinear relationship was also found between networks with KIPSFs for ambidexterity and firm’s product innovativeness and speed to market. These results lead to several practical implications for networking strategy as each network supports different innovation activities and produces different outcomes.

A microfoundational view of the interplay between open innovation and a firm’s strategic agility
Article (with peer review)Publication
Hutton, S., Demir, R., & Eldridge, S.
Download
Publication year

2024

Published in

Long Range Planning

Abstract

Open innovation can support firms looking to deploy strategic agility through product innovations during periods of market and technological change. However, existing research lacks a comprehensive understanding of the microfoundations that underlie strategic agility in the context of open innovation. We address this gap using an in-depth analysis of a firm’s open innovation activities in support of new product development (NPD). Our analysis reveals that open innovation can help leverage NPD processes to drive technological innovations in response to changing market conditions. Under such circumstances, open innovation enables firms to deploy strategic agility by continually developing the product portfolio. Our study reveals six mechanisms that enable three mutually complementary practices of agility: knowledge-based agility at the firm-environment interface, behavioural agility in the firm’s decision-making process, and organisational agility in the internal NPD process. We theorise the interplay between the mechanisms that constitute each practice and, in doing so, shed light on how they contribute to firm-level strategic agility.

Show more