levie

Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research
1997 Edition

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PATTERNS OF GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF YOUNG GROWING VENTURES IN FRANCE, IRELAND AND SCOTLAND

Jonathan Levie, London Business School

INTRODUCTION
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND HYPOTHESES
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESULTS

TABLE 1: The sample: descriptive statistics
TABLE 2: Diversification strategy choices and performance
TABLE 3: Actual and (expected) numbers of young growing firms about their median size, by diversification strategy type
Table 4: Actual and (expected) numbers of young growing firms about their median size, classified by age group and mode of growth
Spawning of daughter firms
Table 5: Actual and (expected) numbers of young growing firms about their median size, classified by technology level and mode of growth
Comparison with other cohorts

DISCUSSION
Acknowledgement
REFERENCES

ABSTRACT

The growth patterns and performance of 381 young independent manufacturing ventures in France, Ireland and Scotland were studied. Ventures were classified by type of product/market growth (single business, related, vertical integration, unrelated) and mode of growth (organic, acquisition). The largest firms tended to be acquisitive firms in low technology industries with a joint related diversification/vertical integration growth pattern. Mode of growth did not seem to affect growth rates among high technology firms. Acquisition and the spawning of new daughter firms was comparatively rare in Scotland. Differences in Government regulations may in part account for this.

Return to 1997 Topical Index