Environmental Hostility and Firm Behavior—An Empirical Examination of New Technology‐Based Firms on Science Parks

Abstract

Firms often respond to challenging environmental conditions, such as those in high‐technology environments. Thus, in a hostile environment, the intensity of competition exerts more pressure on the firm and also a greater necessity for firm behavior. This study was conducted with empirical data collected in 1999 from 134 small firms on science parks in Sweden. The discussion in this paper is focused at the firm level. Analysis of firm behavior was conducted using a multivariate approach. The content of firm‐level behavior is defined in terms of the firm’s overall collection of business practices and competitive tactics. The investigation of customer preferences and competitors are the manifestations of the firm’s more basic strategic direction and how the firm will reach the markets. Two different types of firms were analyzed: university spin‐offs (USOs) and corporate spin‐offs (CSOs). The importance of the science park was included in the study as a control variable. The variable showed whether the firms had received support from a science park. This study indicated that the relations between change of marketing activities and long‐term forecasting are strongest for both USOs and CSOs. The long‐term forecasting, technology–importance of science park, was another key factor. This is exemplified by the two samples used in this study.