Growth Of New Businesses Research Articles

High‐tech Start‐ups in Europe: The Effect of Regulatory Competition on the Emergence of New Business Forms

This paper will examine the theoretical arguments for and against the importance of new business forms for the growth of start‐ups. Part I briefly reviews the recent history of business organisational law and reform within Europe. Our review of extant European business forms reveals that the absence of new business entities (and structural reforms) may be due to status quo bias and other network effects. Turning to the importance of new business forms, Part II addresses the question which organisational and legal structures are favourable for the growth of start‐ups. It is suggested that the introduction of an efficient organisational form for start‐ups is crucial to further stimulate the development of a successful venture capital market in Europe. In Part III we give consideration to the possibility of developing new business forms, based on US mechanisms, which could lead to an increase in the level of high‐tech start‐ups. The prospect for the emergence of new business forms depends in part on the removal of legal and non‐legal barriers. The final section evaluates whether we can project a pattern of regulatory competition in the business organisation context that could prompt lawmakers to innovate by introducing new legal entities.

New product development: implementing best practices, dissemination and human factors

New product development is a major responsibility of the production functions just as much as it is for the design, development, marketing and other functions. Indeed, the best new product development practices are, of course cross-functional. Improvements to new product development come about by the dissemination of information on best practices. Implementing these improvements usually requires changes in personal and group behaviour as well as working styles. These adaptations are often found difficult. Thus it is useful if the means of dissemination can also help individuals and companies alike to make these adaptations easier. Effective dissemination needs definite means of passing on information and ideas. Also, excellent framework models are required for enabling the best presentation, understanding and discussion. In this paper, means of dissemination are discussed and recommended framework models are presented. Work at the National University of Singapore is briefly described. Some of the critical, pitfall and often-overlooked aspects of best practice implementation and human factors are discussed. Finally, some reported benefits of good dissemination and implementation are described. It is intended that this paper will be of particular help to individuals and companies who are striving to improve new product development and enhance the resulting growth of new business.

Management of Innovation in Large Corporations

Innovations can be described by an innovation cycle, which characterizes the balance companies place between growth of new businesses and efficiency, cost, and quality in support of established businesses. Inventors are faced with the dilemma between improving product performance or devoting resources to high-risk disruptive technologies. Disruptive technologies can completely change the marketplace within which large firms compete. There are barriers for large companies making investments in potentially disruptive technologies. Customers don't value the investment. The initial small markets available don't meet the growth needs of the company. The ultimate uses of the technology are not known in advance. Failure is an intrinsic step toward advance. Large corporations can take a systematic approach to identify, to support and to develop, emerging market opportunities.

Partnerships, Business Elites and Urban Politics: New Forms of Governance in an English City?

This paper begins with a review of the conditions which have led to a proliferation of partnership arrangements in English cities and the related emergence of new business elites with interests in urban policy-making. The paper reviews a series of recent studies of these phenomena and comments on the importance of local economic and political factors in explaining inter-urban variations. The paper then presents an analysis of political and policy change in Bristol in the post-war period, tracing the factors that have accounted for the recent, if tardy, rapprochement between the political and business sectors and the launching of a widening array of partnership initiatives. An attempt is then made to explain these developments using a number of different theoretical frameworks, in particular growth coalition theory, urban regime theory, and policy network analysis. The paper concludes with some comments on the relation between these trends and the suggestion that we are witnessing a transition from a Fordist to a post-Fordist mode of regulation in English cities.

Product-market choices and growth of new businesses

The relationship between product-market strategies and the growth of new firms is incompletely understood. The lack of understanding reflects the absence of a conceptual framework that would explain why certain product-market strategies achieve specified goals more effectively than do others. Prior research links product and market strategy to business growth, but does not clearly separate product line choices from market choices, and provides little guidance with respect to the sequence in which product and market changes should be made. Richard Cardozo, Karen McLaughlin, Brian Harmon, Paul Reynolds, and Brenda Miller propose a “wave” model of product-market choice, which yields hypotheses they evaluate with data from a subsample of 120 firms drawn from a representative sample of new businesses. Results yield preliminary guidelines for product-market strategy for managers of fledgling businesses.

Product—Market Choices and Growth of New Businesses

The relationship between product–market strategies and the growth of new firms is incompletely understood. The lack of understanding reflects the absence of a conceptual framework that would explain why certain product–market strategies achieve specified goals more effectively than do others. Prior research links product and market strategy to business growth, but does not clearly separate product line choices from market choices, and provides little guidance with respect to the sequence in which product and market changes should be made. Richard Cardozo, Karen McLaughlin, Brian Harmon, Paul Reynolds, and Brenda Miller propose a “wave” model of product–market choice, which yields hypotheses they evaluate with data from a subsample of 120 firms drawn from a representative sample of new businesses. Results yield preliminary guidelines for product–market strategy for managers of fledgling businesses.