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Table 4 shows the proportions of older (i.e. older than the median age in years) and younger firms about their median sizes when classified by growth mode. For France, the data suggest that acquisition is a more successful growth mode than organic growth for older firms (Yates corrected ?2 = 8.78; p<0.005). However, in the same test on younger firms, the null hypothesis of no difference in proportions could not be rejected at the 0.05 level (Yates corrected ?2 = 3.43; p<0.1). This supports hypothesis 4. However, the median test is rather weak, and there is at least visual evidence that acquisition is a more successful (though rare) growth mode than organic growth from the French and Irish data for both young and old firms. It appears, however, that the frequency of use of acquisition as a growth mode increases slightly with age.

TABLE 4
Actual and (expected) numbers of young growing firms about their median size, classified by age group and mode of growth France

older firms younger firms

	acquisition	organic	row total		acquisition	organic	row total
>median	16	54	70	>median	12	62	74
(89)	(9.5)	(60.5)		(83.5)	(8)	(66)
<median	3	67	70	<median	4	70	74
(89)	(9.5)	(60.5)		(83.5)	(8)	(66)
column total	19	121	140	column total	16	132	148

Ireland

older firms younger firms

	acquisition	organic	row total		acquisition	organic	row total
>median	3	9	12	>median	2	10	12
(81.5)				(68)
<median	0	12	12	<median	0	13	13
(81.5)				(68)
column total	3	21	24	column total	2	23	25

Scotland

older firms younger firms

	acquisition	organic	row total		acquisition	organic	row total
>median	1	10	11	>median	0	11	11
(105)				(61.5)
<median	0	11	11	<median	0	11	11
(105)				(61.5)
column total	1	21	22	column total	0	22	22

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