A life cylce view on unicorn start-ups
- Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the exogenous and endogenous drivers of the high-growth of Unicorn start-ups along their life cycle, with a particular focus on Unicorns in the fintech industry. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs an explorative longitudinal analysis with a matched pair of two cases of Unicorns start-ups with similar antecedent features to understand holistically drivers over the longer term. Findings – High-growth patterns over the longer term are the result of a combined industry- and company-life cycle perspective. Drivers and growth patterns vary significantly according to the time of entry in the industry and its development status. The findings are systematised within a set of propositions to be tested in future research. Research limitations/implications – The limitations lie in empirical evidence, as the analysis is limited to one matched-pair. The revealed Unicorns’ drivers for long-term growth might encourage future research to further investigate these drivers on a larger scale. Practical implications – The study offers practical recommendations for start-ups with high-growth ambitions and advice to policy makers regarding the development of tailor-made support programs. Originality/value – The study significantly extends extant work on growth and high-growth by examining endogenous and exogenous triggers over time and by linking the Unicorn-life cycle to the industry life cycle, an approach which has, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, not yet been applied.
Author: | Diala Kabbara, Birgit Hagen |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-02-2023-0077 |
ISSN: | 1462-6004 |
Parent Title (English): | Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development |
Subtitle (German): | drivers of long-term high-growth |
Publisher: | Emerald Publishing Limited |
Place of publication: | Bingley, West Yorkshire, England |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of publication: | 2023 |
Release Date: | 2024/01/22 |
Tag: | fintech; high-growth firms; life cycle; long-term growth; unicorn start-ups |
Volume: | 30 |
Issue: | 6 |
Number of pages: | 30 |
First Page: | 1210 |
Last Page: | 1240 |
Organisationseinheit: | Wirtschaft |
DDC classes: | 300 Sozialwissenschaften |
JEL-Classification: | M Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting |
Open Access?: | nein |
Peer review: | wiss. Beitrag, peer-reviewed |
Hagen, Birgit |