Using the eurostat-OECD definition of high-growth firms: a cautionary note
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
ISSN: 2045-2101
Article publication date: 13 April 2015
Abstract
Purpose
High-growth firms (HGFs) have attracted an increasing amount of attention from researchers and policymakers, and the Eurostat-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of HGFs has become increasingly popular. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a longitudinal firm-level data set to analyze the implications of using the Eurostat-OECD definition.
Findings
The results indicate that this definition excluded almost 95 percent of surviving firms in Sweden, and about 40 percent of new private jobs during 2005-2008.
Research limitations/implications
The proportion of small firms and their growth patterns differ across countries, and the authors therefore advise caution in using this definition in future studies.
Practical implications
Policy based on the Eurostat-OECD definition of HGFs might be misleading or even counterproductive.
Originality/value
No previous studies have analyzed the implications of using the Eurostat-OECD definition of HGFs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for comments on an earlier version of this paper by Björn Falkenhall, Håkan Alm, Fredrik Åkerlind, and participants at a seminar at the Research Institute for the Finnish Economy (ETLA). The authors also want to thank The Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis for providing data.
Citation
Daunfeldt, S.-O., Johansson, D. and Halvarsson, D. (2015), "Using the eurostat-OECD definition of high-growth firms: a cautionary note", Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 50-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-05-2013-0020
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited