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High and sustainable growth: persistence, volatility, and survival of high growth firms

Author

Listed:
  • Serban Mogos

    (Carnegie Mellon University
    Universidade de Lisboa)

  • Alex Davis

    (Carnegie Mellon University)

  • Rui Baptista

    (Universidade de Lisboa)

Abstract

In most developed countries, high growth firms (HGFs) are disproportionately responsible for net job creation, yet there is little information about how well such firms sustain their performance over time. Using GMM on a panel of 79,200 Romanian SMEs from 2000 to 2012, this paper evaluates the extent to which HGFs register stable and sustained growth over time, accounting for a variety of definitions for “high growth” that have been used in academic and policy literatures. Our results indicate that high growth SMEs are unable to maintain high growth rates for long, but do register lower volatility in growth rates and higher chances of survival. Identification of HGFs and results regarding growth volatility and persistence vary significantly with the specific definition of “high growth” used, as well as with the specific variable used to measure growth (e.g., revenue, employees, profit, productivity). Our findings have direct implications for growth policies and programs that depend on identifying HGFs.

Suggested Citation

  • Serban Mogos & Alex Davis & Rui Baptista, 2021. "High and sustainable growth: persistence, volatility, and survival of high growth firms," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 135-161, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurasi:v:11:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s40821-020-00161-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s40821-020-00161-x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hugo Castro-Silva & Francisco Lima, 2023. "The struggle of small firms to retain high-skill workers: job duration and the importance of knowledge intensity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 537-572, February.
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    4. Emma Lappi & Johan E. Eklund & Johan Klaesson, 2022. "Does education matter for the earnings of former entrepreneurs? Longitudinal evidence using entry and exit dynamics," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 827-865, July.
    5. Alex Coad & Sofia Amaral-Garcia & Peter Bauer & Clemens Domnick & Peter Harasztosi & Rozália Pál & Mercedes Teruel, 2023. "Investment expectations by vulnerable European firms in times of COVID," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 193-220, March.
    6. Raysa Geaquinto Rocha & João J. Ferreira, 2022. "Gazelles (High-Growth) Companies: a Bibliometric Science Map of the Field," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 2911-2934, December.
    7. Davide Lanfranchi & Laura Grassi, 2021. "Translating technological innovation into efficiency: the case of US public P&C insurance companies," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(4), pages 565-585, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    High growth firms; Gazelles; Sustainable growth; GMM estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis

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