Hyper-growth of SMEs: toward a reconciliation of entrepreneurial orientation and strategic resources

Purpose – This study seeks to focus on factors characterizing a pool of hyper-growth firms, trying to gather insights on how the hyper-growth firms achieve hyper-growth. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is proposed, borrowing well established approaches from strategic management and entrepreneurship. Subsequently, some explorative case studies are described and help in understanding how much of a firm's hyper-growth can be explained by the resource endowment and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). A revised framework and some propositions are eventually suggested. indings – Hyper-growth seems mainly explainable by extraordinary business opportunities and extraordinary access to resources (especially knowledge-based). Entrepreneurship appears much more as a moderating variable, rather than an explanatory variable per se of hyper-growth. Research limitations/implications – Although the case study approach is robustly motivated as a research step that can contribute to the process of theory building, the findings are not statistically generalizable. Practical implications – It has long been argued that policy makers and governments, especially in Europe, should concentrate their efforts on those industries and environments where rapid growth firms are likely to be found. The paper offers a practical example on a suitable environment to facilitate such growth, where practices like mergers and acquisitions in foreign countries as well as venture capital and private equity financing play a role. Originality/value – No research has been performed so far on the explicit link between resources, EO and hyper-growth. Moreover, the research suggests a possible reconciliation of resource-based view (RBV) and EO frameworks in explaining such a pattern.