At the beginning of their venture, young and small start-ups have to struggle a lot to survive. And when a company has passed this basic stage, a battle may be won, but the road to long-term success is still a long way ahead. Young and small companies are then forced to achieve constant and high growth if they want to stay on the global marketplace by successfully defeating global competition. This book illustrates the special situation of such companies, calls for dedicated and special assistance and wants to provide necessary hands-on management advice for the future economic development of companies in this stage.The book aims at entrepreneurs, founders and managers of young and small companies which successfully survived the start-up phase as well as to venture capital companies, independent advisors, banks, consultants and other stakeholders.

Small Firm Growth comprehensively reviews the empirical literature on small firm growth to highlight and integrate what is known about this phenomenon and take stock of what past experiences of researching this area implies for how the phenomenon can or should be studied in future research.

This book, originally published in 1989, studies both the growth and the barriers to growth of small firms. It examines market and industrial structures, also the role of investment institutions and their handling of small business accounts. There are chapters on management attitudes and ability considered as a potential barrier to development, and other problems such as lack of finance and of a suitably qualified workforce. The book stresses the importance of communicating the latest advances in technology to small firms, and urges the need to re-think government tax and procurement policies.

Through this study I examine whether having a larger or more dynamic small business community in a county leads to greater economic growth. I use three specific measures of economic growth measured at the county level: unemployment rate, annual average weekly wage, and poverty rate. I then examine whether increasing the ratio of businesses with fewer than 50 employees to the population or labor force in the county is associated with any change in these economic indicators. I find that an increase in the small business ratio is associated with a decrease in the unemployment rate. I also find that an increase in the small business ratio is associated with an increase in the annual average weekly wage, but that the magnitude of the change is so small that individuals would not be able to feel the change. Furthermore, my research shows that an increase in the small business ratio is associated with a slight increase in the percentage of all individuals who are living in poverty in the county. However, an increase in the ratio of goods-producing small businesses is associated with a reduction in the poverty rate at a decreasing rate. My research provides preliminary information that could help counties make decisions about if or how to promote small business.

This monograph presents the results of The Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics [PSED] II and is the only nationally representative dataset of new business creation providing a critical source of information on the early stages of the entrepreneurial process.