High Technology Small Firms Research Articles

Small high technology firms: some regional implications

Small high technology firms are often regarded as a vehicle for economic growth. This paper considers theories of small firm innovation and the evidence from sectoral, regional and national case studies. Small innovative firms appear to have some common needs; an environment conducive to entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial and technical ability to translate new technologies into products for which a market exists; pleasant locations where R&D activity is concentrated and where there are clusters of skilled craftsmen and local suppliers of ancillary goods and services. Current policies to stimulate the generation and growth of small high technology firms are evaluated and some alternatives are suggested.

High Technology Small Firms: Regional Development in Britain and the United States

High Technology Small Firms: Regional Development in Britain and the United States

Reviews: The Great Australian Nightmare: A Critique of the Home-Ownership Ideology, Rental Housing in the 1980s, Quality of Life and Human Welfare: Proceedings of the Third Royal Scottish Geographical Society Symposium, Urban Inequalities under State Socialism, High Technology Small Firms: Innovation and Regional Development in Britain and the United States, Exploring Social Geography, Cities in the Developing World: Policies for

Reviews: The Great Australian Nightmare: A Critique of the Home-Ownership Ideology, Rental Housing in the 1980s, Quality of Life and Human Welfare: Proceedings of the Third Royal Scottish Geographical Society Symposium, Urban Inequalities under State Socialism, High Technology Small Firms: Innovation and Regional Development in Britain and the United States, Exploring Social Geography, Cities in the Developing World: Policies for

High Technology Small Firms: Regional Development in Britain and the United States

High Technology Small Firms: Regional Development in Britain and the United States

Innovation and regional growth in small high technology firms: Evidence from Britain and the USA

Oakey R. P. (1984) Innovation and regional growth in small high technology firms: evidence from Britain and the USA, Reg. Studies 18, 237–251. This paper examines the varying impact of regional resources on innovation in small, high technology firms. Evidence is drawn from diverse local economies, ranging from the development region of Scotland, through the South East of England, to the Bay area of California. Measurement focuses on the key inputs to innovation of research and development and investment capital. Surprisingly, the findings indicate encouraging small firm innovation and growth in Scotland. An anticipated higher incidence of venture capital funding in the USA is confirmed and quantified, with concluding comments on the policy implications resulting from this discrepancy.

Finance and innovation in British small independent firms

This paper is concerned with the effects of internal and external capital investment funding patterns on the innovativeness of British small independent firms. By using a combined sample of firms from the relatively prosperous South East and the more problematic Scottish development region, an additional diverse regional economic perspective is given to data initially presented in a national context. Beyond a presentation of the extent of external borrowing, the paper seeks to establish the characteristics of firms obtaining external funds and to assess whether this external capital borrowing sub-sample is mainly comprised of low technology firms in decline, or of high technology firms fueling innovation-led expansion. Data is included on the role of both public and private loan agencies in the external funding process. Conclusions are based on the pattern of results and focus on ways in which the delivery of financial aid might be improved to assist expansion, particularly in fast growing high technology small firms.

About this issue

The article by Abrahamson is one of many that have appeared in the past 2–3 years in connection with meetings, conferences, investigations, and other activities related to the issue of the status of the innovation process in the U.S. Both the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Congress (via the Joint Economic Committee) have undertaken major studies of the causes of, and potential remedies for, what is perceived to be a general malaise in the process underlying our industrial technological capabilities. One important part of this picture is the role of small business, in particular small high-technology firms, which many people believe have made contributions to our technological advancement out of proportion to their aggregate size in the economy. What concerns some of the advocates and observers of this innovation role of small business, however, is that many small businesses operate under inhibiting conditions which do not provide the incentives and the means for them to participate fully in the transfer of technology and the overall R&D/Innovation process. Abrahamson discusses some of the issues involved and makes some recommendations.

Government rapped for stifling business R&D

The man who brought you frozen orange juice, and a great admirer of what technology can do, lately has brought some unpleasant news, too: The state of U.S. technological innovation is not very healthy. And unhealthy indeed for the small (generally fewer than 1000 employees) high-technology firms that are widely conceded to produce a disproportionately large number of innovative products and services. What is to be done, then, to reverse this undesirable and near universally agreed upon trend? Federal officials in Washington, D.C., say what's needed is a new government study. But individuals like frozen orange juice entrepreneur Richard S. Morse insist that the problem already has been studied to death and the U.S. certainly does not need another blue-ribbon federal study. Morse, formerly a Massachusetts Institute of Technology management lecturer, and founder of National Research Corp., believes that what's needed now is direct and swift action from Congress and from the executive agencies. But ...

Small High-Technology Firms Come Under Foreign Control

Small High-Technology Firms Come Under Foreign Control

Small High-Technology Firms Come Under Foreign Control

Small High-Technology Firms Come Under Foreign Control