Gazelles in France

As schumpeterian creative destruction is increasingly popular, this leads to focus on high-growth firms. These firms have been called gazelles by Birch. Among the SME employing 20 to 250 workers in 1993 and still alive in 2003, the top 5% of the distribution of growth - henceforth called gazelles - multiply their employment by 5 in 10 years. They create as many jobs as the 50% creating jobs at a more moderate rate (the other 45% loss jobs). Gazelles growth is uneven: half of their ten-year growth is concentrated on only one year. Gazelles defined on the basis of their growth between 1993 and 1998 do not create any more jobs on the following period, between 1998 and 2003. External growth, including mergers and acquisitions, accounts for a big part of gazelles growth: according to their size, gazelles belong more often to a group. Between1998 and 2001, period of strong growth, external growth accounts for one half of the growth of the gazelles. Every industry, even those in relative decline, has some gazelles. Gazelles in low growth industry grow mainly by external growth, which seems to correspond to a concentration process, possibly defensive.