Firm Growth: a Survey

Abstract: We survey the phenomenon of the growth of firms drawing on literature from economics, management and sociology. We begin with a review of empirical "stylised facts" before discussing theoretical contributions. Firm growth is characterized by a predominant stochastic element, making it difficult to predict. Indeed, previous empirical research into the determinants of firm growth has had a limited success. We also observe that theoretical propositions concerning the growth of firms are often amiss. We conclude that progress in this area requires solid empirical work, perhaps making use of novel statistical techniques.

Keywords: Firm growth; size distribution; growth rates distribution; Gibrat's law; theory of the firm; diversification; stages of growth" models; Croissance des firmes; distribution de taille; distribution des taux de croissance; loi de Gibrat; théorie de la firme; croissance par étapes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-05
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Published in 2007

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Related works:
Working Paper: Firm Growth: A Survey (2007)
Working Paper: Firm Growth: a Survey (2007)
Working Paper: Firm growth: a survey (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00155762

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