Change in web publishing of Aalto publication series for Aalto University Business School from beginning of 2014

Information and pdf-files of Business School publications in the Aalto series are now located in the Aaltodoc publication archive

eDiss - School of Business dissertations

Author:

Heimonen, Tomi.

Title:

Characteristics of innovative, high growth and highly successful SMEs

Published:

Helsinki : Aalto University, 2013

Description:

202 s.

Series:

Aalto University publication series. DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS, 1799-4934 ; 26/2013

Series no:

26/2013

Year:

2013 Thesis defence date: 2013-03-08

Discipline:

Entrepreneurship

Department:

Johtamisen ja kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan laitos

Electronic dissertation:

» dissertation in pdf-format

[2156 KB]

Index terms:

companies; entrepreneurship; growth; innovaatiot; innovation; kasvu; menestyminen; pk-yritykset; smes; success; yrittäjyys; yritykset

Language:

eng

Bibid:

627488

ISBN:

978-952-60-5020-1

Abstract (eng):

This dissertation is based on a series of studies that examine characteristics of innovative, high growth and highly successful small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Previous analyses emphasise that innovation and growth are the very essence of successful entrepreneurship. However, despite major investments in attempts to foster innovation, and intensive investigation of relevant factors, the proportions of SMEs that are innovative, rapidly growing and highly successful are marginal. Many entrepreneurs fail, and an examination of relationships between variables, e.g. growth and success, should consider how they are related across their ranges rather than merely at one end of the ranges of the variables. Moreover, very few studies have examined simultaneously the influential factors and relationships among innovation, growth and success.

The dissertation consists of anoverview and four appendedarticles that address two key questions. Firstly, what are the relationships (if any) between innovation, growth and the success of firms? Secondly, how could high, innovation-driven growth been supported? These questions were addressed by applying mixed methods, including regression, discriminant analyses, logistic regression and case studies. The data were collected using a purposeful sampling strategy and came from the following sources: 1) the Voitto+ CD-ROM database, from which 567 growing businesses in Finland were identified – 466 in urban and 101 in rural areas; 2) a refined sample from these sets of 348 SMEs, 262 located in urban and 86 in rural areas; 3) a survey of 213 small knowledge-intensive business service firms, 4) detailed examination of five selected HGS SMEs and 5) interviews with key informants of 12 small technology-based knowledge intensive business service firms.

The results confirm that there is a positive relationship between innovation and growth, but negative relationships were found between financial success and both growth and innovation. Thus, the concepts of growth and success do not appearto be surrogates.The results also show that successful ventures have no discernible typical characteristics, and HGS firms follow diverse development paths. However, focused strategies and critical events that trigger strategic changes generally precede HGS periods of SMEs. Furthermore, the type of ownership may affect the relative attention paid to maximizing growth and increasing profitability or other parameters of financial success. The results also indicate that current innovation support services are insufficiently flexible to provide the support firms need to meet the challenges that growing innovative firms may face during commercialisation of their technologies and inventions. The investigations also identified several methodological problems that arise when analysing characteristics of HGS SMEs, and possible ways to address them.

Abstract (fin):

Väitöskirja perustuu useisiin tutkimuksiin, joissa tarkastellaan innovatiivisten, korkeasti kasvaneiden ja korkeasti menestyneiden pk-yritysten ominaispiirteitä. Aihealueen aikaisemmat tutkimukset korostavat innovatiivisuuden ja kasvun merkitystä menestyvässä yrittäjyydessä. Toisaalta innovatiivisten korkean kasvun ja korkean menestyksen omaavien pk-yritysten määrä on marginaalinen suhteessa yleiseen innovaatio- ja kasvupanostukseen. Yrittäjyydessä liiketoiminnan menestystä ei tulisi tarkastella yksiulotteisesti pelkästään kasvun tai menestyksen näkökulmista vaan kummatkin edellä mainitut näkökulmat huomioiden simultaanisesti. Tutkimuksen tarvetta korostaa vähäinen empiirinen yrittäjyysteorian kehittely erilaisten vaikutustekijöiden osalta, jotka erityisesti simultaanisesti saattavat vaikuttaa pk-yritysten innovatiivisuuteen, kasvuun ja menestykseen.

Väitöskirja sisältää yhteenvedon ja neljä artikkelia, joiden tarkoituksena on vastata kahteen pääkysymykseen: 1) Minkälainen vaikutussuhde on innovaatioilla, kasvulla ja menestyksellä? 2) Miten innovatiivista korkeaa kasvua voidaan tukea? Tutkimuskysymyksiin vastaamisessa on hyödynnetty mixed method -metodologista lähestymistapaa erityisesti regressio-, diskriminantti-, logistista regressiomallinnusta ja tapaustutkimusta. Aineisto on kerätty tarkoituksenmukaista otantaa hyödyntäen. Aineistona on käytetty seuraavia lähteitä: 1) Voitto+ CD-Rom yritystietokanta, josta valikoitui 567 kasvuyritystä Suomesta – 466 kaupunkimaiselta alueelta ja 101 maaseudulta; 2) edelleen saatu aineisto (1) jalostettiin 348 pkkasvuyrityksen aineistoksi, jossa yrityksistä 262 kaupunkimaiselta alueelta ja 86 maaseudulta; 3) Kyselyaineisto itäsuomalaisista 213 tietointensiivisestä palveluyrityksestä; 4) viiden korkeasti kasvaneen ja korkeasti menestyneen pk-yrityksen tapausaineisto ja 5) 12 itäsuomalaisen teknologia-tietointensiivisen palveluyrityksen haastatteluaineisto.

Tulokset vahvistavat innovaatioiden ja kasvun välillä vallitsevan positiivisen suhteen. Negatiivinen suhde havaittiin yrityksen menestyksen ja innovatiivisen kasvun välillä. Tutkimuksen perusteella yrityksen kasvu ja menestys ovat eri tekijöitä, joita ei pidä sekoittaa toisiinsa. Tulokset osoittavat, että menestyneillä yrityksillä ei ole tyypillisesti havaittavaa yhtenäistä kehityspolkua. Toisaalta korkean kasvun ja korkean menestyksen aikajänteitä edelsivät strateginen fokusoituminen ja kriittiset tapahtumat, jotka käynnistivät strategisen muutosprosessin yrityksissä. Omistajuudella näyttäisi olevan vaikutusta siihen, miten yrityksissä suhtaudutaan kasvun maksimoimiseen, kannattavuuden lisäämiseen ja muihin taloudellisen menestyksen mittareihin. Lisäksi tulokset osoittavat, että olemassa olevat innovaatiotukipalvelut eivät kykene riittävän joustavasti tukemaan ja vastaamaan innovatiivisten kasvuyritysten teknologian kehittämisen ja kaupallistamisen haasteisiin. Tulosten perusteella esille nousi korkean kasvun ja korkean menestyksen pk-yritysten ominaispiirteiden tutkimuksen menetelmälliset ongelmat ja mahdolliset ratkaisut esille nousseisiin ongelmiin.

Thesis defence announcement:

A successful company needs business competence in addition to innovations

Innovativeness alone does not guarantee success in the business world. A successful company also needs business competence, such as the ability to identify and make use of innovative business opportunities in a profitable way.

The doctoral dissertation of Tomi Heimonen, M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Admin.), published at the Aalto University School of Business examines the characteristics of innovative, high-growth and highly successful small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the significance of business and innovation services to Finnish rapidly growing SMEs.

According to Heimonen, the innovative growth of sales and business success should not be confused with each other, but examined simultaneously. Business success includes profitability, liquidity and/or solvency. The results of Heimonen’s work support previous results according to which innovations increase sales, but do not necessarily increase business success in the short run.

Innovative and successful SMEs in business for several years

The dissertation contradicts the one-sided view that new businesses and entrepreneurs are the ones who reform the economy, employ people and create new value. Heimonen brings forward how existing SMEs and entrepreneurs are able to undergo reform, employ, grow and succeed.

According to his study, innovative and successful high-growth SMEs do not have a uniform or typical development path. What the majority of successful high-growth businesses have in common is that they have been in business for several years. These SMEs are often the second, third or nth generation of growing enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Tekes funding allocated appropriately

According to the results of the study, Tekes funding has a positive influence on the innovative growth of SMEs. This means that funding has been allocated appropriately and that it has even exceeded the basic requirements set for the impacts concerning technology development and commercialisation.

The results show that the rapid growth and success of businesses are often preceded by various critical events and focused strategies. Type of ownership also affects how businesses view rapid growth and success and other personal meanings associated with success. Entrepreneurs from family businesses have a different approach to that of entrepreneurs with a university background, for instance.

However, a survey targeted at Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) firms and interviews with key KIBS informants indicate that current innovation support services do not flexibly meet the challenges faced by growing innovative businesses. These challenges are mainly related to the simultaneous development of technology and commercialisation and to increasing the impacts of the relationship between innovations and growth.

Opponents:

Malinen, Pasi
professor
University of Turku, Finland

Chairperson:

Kyrö, Paula
professor

Aaltodoc:

https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/11567

» List all School of Business dissertations | Search dissertations