Survival and growth patterns among new technology-based firms: Empirical study of cohort 2006 in Sweden

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordThis study investigates the survival and growth trends in a cohort of new technology‐based firms (NTBFs) established in Sweden in 2006. This cohort has faced both an economic upswing and a severe downturn, which started in 2008, and by 2014 provides 8 years of historical records. Our study makes several contributions to the current understanding of NTBF survival and growth. First, our empirical observations show that many NTBFs (72 percent) from the 2006 cohort were still operating at the end of 2014, indicating a much higher survival rate than those found in previous studies. Second, surviving firms from the 2006 cohort positively affected employment, as their annual job creation was higher than the reduction in employment caused by exiting firms. Third, very few companies experienced high‐growth during their first 7 years, and employment growth and sales growth were highly correlated among high‐growth firms

Mobilising finance and achieving early growth in new technology-based firms: a legitimacy perspective

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via the DOI in this recordPurpose This study investigates a mediational model between legitimated elements, financial resource mobilisation and subsequent early firm growth among New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs) using conformity and control perspectives of legitimacy. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, a longitudinal database of 303 NTBFs from Sweden, Finland and France is used. The ordinary least square regression analysis method is applied, and the proposed mediation relationships are studied by employing the four-step approach developed by Baron and Kenny (1986). Findings This study finds that based on the conformity principle, two out of three legitimated elements (business plan and incubator relationship, but not start-up experience) have an impact on financial resource mobilisation, which in turn, is associated with early growth in NTBFs based on the control principle. Thus, financial resource mobilisation positively mediates the relationships among the two legitimated elements and early growth in NTBFs. Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations, which also generate promising pathways for future research. Future research should study the relationship between the three legitimacy elements and financial resource mobilisation and early growth across a wider range of firms and settings. The questionnaire was also based on a single point in time and could not capture the evolving nature of the legitimacy elements and fundraising. Hence, future research can examine the multidimensionality of these processes; longitudinal qualitative studies can be a complement, allowing for a better understanding of the impact of legitimacy on NTBFs. Practical implications The findings offer implications for managers of NTBFs because developing legitimacy is critical to NTBFs early growth and development. The findings indicate that NTBFs' founders must systematically develop business plans and that incubators help enhance legitimacy through a signalling. Social implications It is believed that the study meaningfully contributes to the collective understanding of the role of legitimacy in driving the development of NTBFs. Given the importance of NTBFs in our economies, coupled with the lack of attention given to the role of mobilisation of external resources in explaining NTBF early growth, it is believed that the study is both timely and important. Originality/value The findings meaningfully contribute to the collective understanding of NTBF growth. While there are studies that have examined the antecedents of growth and finance separately, this study proposes a novel mediational model that integrates both and tests it empirically.Peter Wallenberg Foundation for Economics and Technolog

Business networks and localization effects for new Swedish technology-based firms’ innovation performance

This study examines the business networks and localization effects for new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the context of innovation performance (the number of patents and product differentiation). In this regard, the study includes 28 variables. A survey was conducted in 2016 with 401 Swedish NTBFs that were small and young (the employment mean was 1.80 and the average age of each firm was 28.3\ua0months). The biggest category of NTBFs was knowledge-intensive high-technology services, followed by medium high-technology manufacturing, and high-technology manufacturing. Hypotheses on how business networks and localization are related to innovation performance were tested using principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results show that the primary significant factor for innovation performance regarding business networks and localization dimensions are professional network services, while industrial and regional areas also have a positive relationship on product differentiation. Our study also shows that innovation performance enhances firms’ abilities to access external financing through professional network services (e.g., venture capital companies)

Science and technology parks as innovation intermediaries for green innovation

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Springer in Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering on 18/08/2020.Available online: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-48021-9_101This paper discusses how science and technology parks (STPs) act as intermediaries for projects regarding green innovation. The empirical evidence is gathered through a case study of the City of Knowledge in Panama. For the recent Panama channel’s expansion, local authorities faced the need to improve the water resource management to secure enough fresh water for the canal’s operation. We inductively analysed data from 24 interviews, documents and participant observer. Preliminary results show the intermediation of STPs in green innovation processes in three phases: a first intermediation process is the STP as a hub for knowledge generation, including training for entrepreneurship. A second stage of the park as an innovation intermediary regards to an arena for knowledge and technology transfer, including collaboration with universities. A third phase implies financing and brokerage of green innovation between local and global actors. Our results challenge the existing literature about STPs with a narrow focus on economic spillover effects, or as hubs for attracting and developing cutting-edge technological innovations.acceptedVersio

Alliances and the innovation performance of corporate and public research spin-off firms

We explore the innovation performance benefits of alliances for spin-off firms, in particular spin-offs either from other firms or from public research organizations. During the early years of the emerging combinatorial chemistry industry, the industry on which our empirical analysis focuses, spin-offs engaged in alliances with large and established partners, partners of similar type and size, and with public research organizations, often for different reasons. We seek to understand to what extent alliances of spin-offs with other firms (either large- or small- and medium-sized firms) affected their innovation performance and also how this performance may have been affected by their corporate or public research background. We find evidence that in general alliances of spin-offs with other firms, in particular alliances with large firms, increased their innovation performance. Corporate spin-offs that formed alliances with other firms outperformed public research spin-offs with such alliances. This suggests that, in terms of their innovation performance, corporate spin-offs that engaged in alliances with other firms seemed to have benefitted from their prior corporate background. Interestingly, it turns out that the negative impact of alliances on the innovation performance of public research spin-offs was largely affected by their alliances with small- and medium-sized firms

Impact of initial business model on the growth trajectory of new technology-based firms - A path dependency perspective

This is the author accepted manuscript.Our study explores correlations between the initial business model design and the post-founding development of new technology-based firms (NTBFs) through a selection of recently established NTBFs across Sweden, Finland, and France (481 firms). The trajectory of these firms' performance has been observed and analyzed over the span of five years. The study examines the long-term effects of NTBFs’ initial business model design on their development and the path dependency of these designs on future firm performance. Our results indicate that high-growth and stable NTBFs have distinct initial designs, implying that new firms’ founders and their business design decisions have important consequences for subsequent NTBF development. Specifically, our study examines how business model characteristics impact the growth trajectory of NTBFs by empirically differentiating between the foundational characteristics of high-growth and stable NTBFs. We find that maintaining stable activity is linked to a low level of uniqueness, less demanding business objectives, and a lack of risk while high-growth is related to a larger early access to resources. We propose an explanation using path dependency literature, arguing how early business model choices predetermine long-term growth paths. Our research also provides valuable insights for stakeholders in designing targeted strategies for sustainable development