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The ultimately unsuccessful predictive modelling literature has advanced our understanding of small firm growth processes no further than the descriptive and inflexible stage models approach achieved during the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, this paper suggests an alternative theoretical starting point. Drawing upon the, predominantly aggregate level, contributions of evolutionary and institutional economists it is the intention of this paper to suggest more appropriate foundations for future firm level empirical analyses. With reference to four detailed case studies a preliminary model of small firm growth is posited and potential areas for future ethnographic and survey based research are signalled.

This paper contains a review of alternative theories which have been developed in order to explain growth and change in the small manufacturing firm. Models of small-firm growth derived within the industrial economics literature are evaluated together with stage models of growth and stochastic models. Social and psychological perspectives on growth are reviewed and the spatial dimension is also considered. We argue that most previous theories of small-firm growth place too little emphasis upon the difficulties which small owner-managed firms have in meeting the competitive requirements of the marketplace.

This study combines the concept of trigger points, events preceding bursts of growth, with a linguistic approach to show how firm growth unfolds through a process of translation. By marrying theories and methods rooted in the linguistic turn with firm growth theories, this study brings new insights on growth contributing to both the advancement of the trigger point concept and the wider understanding of entrepreneurial activities as complex and contextually bound processes dependent on human interaction. In doing so, the study also adheres to the current demand for advancing firm growth theory by relaxing the outcome-focussed approach and static life-cycle paradigm, and complementing it with alternative theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Small firms are at a disadvantage compared to large firms because of their size. Yet they play a very significant role in the growth of economy. These firms have little tangible assets at an early stage, but some of them have long-term growth potential. There is enough literature about individual entrepreneur, but relatively little is known about firm-level entrepreneurship, that is, entrepreneurial orientation (EO). EO consists of five dimensions: innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness. This study reviews the existing literature on the influence of EO on the growth of small firms. It tries to figure out whether this growth comes out as a demonstration of all the dimensions of EO together or a combination of them. There is an important gap in the literature on this issue, and this study focuses on this gap.

The authors describe an investigation into the regional dimension to the process of small-firm growth and development in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. Recent trends in the growth performance of small manufacturing and service-sector firms are presented for the UK regions and an attempt is made to establish if there are regional variations in the set of factors which may determine faster growth. In particular, a detailed examination of the impact of public policy assistance to small firms in Northern Ireland, as delivered by the Local Enterprise Development Unit—the small-business agency for the region—is undertaken in an attempt to measure more precisely the contribution of the policy environment to small-firm growth within one region of the United Kingdom.

Der Aufsatz untersucht den Umfang regionaler Unterschiede im Wachstum kleiner Firmen im Vereinigten Königreich, die im Zeitraum 1994 bis 1997 auf den Gebieten der Dienstleistungen und dem produzierenden Gewerbe tätig waren. Es wird versucht, eine theoretische Grundstruktur zur Erklärung dieser Unterschiede zu entwickeln und für einen empirischen Test in Verbindung mit der Anwendung mehrfach variabler Techniken zu sorgen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass besonders im Dienstleistungssektor die Art der äußeren Geschäftsumgebung einen wichtigen Teil der Erklärung der beobachteten räumlichen Unterschiede im Wachstum von Kleinbetrieben im Zeitraum 1994-97 darstellt. Diese Befunde haben wichtige Implikationen für Eingriffe auf regionaler und überregionaler Ebene, die dazu dienen, die Aussichten kleiner Firmen zu verbessern. Die Herstellergleichung z.B. stellte die positive Rolle der regionalen finanziellen Unterstützung bei der Wachstumsförderung heraus, während der Einfluss von direkten Auslandsinvestierungen des Dienstleistungssektors einen bedeutenden Faktor in Wachstum kleiner Dienstleistungsfirmen darstellte. (IAB2)