Sustaining Growth for Innovative New Enterprises

在我们的理解中仍然存在差距，如何不同的业务，技术和关系战略的组合影响中小企业（SMEs）的增长，特别是在中小企业在区域，区域外和部门层面的网络化互动的背景下。在每一轮新的经济和技术发展中，这些战略都在演变，突出了近实时跟踪新兴企业战略细微差别的重要性。在这个项目中，我们将探讨中小企业增长的差异化战略和区域集群在创新公司增长中的作用，建立在新的和不引人注目的网络挖掘方法的基础上，以及时获得有关企业发展途径的信息。三个关键的研究问题将被解决：（1）什么区别的业务战略，技术途径，并保持业务和增长的创新公司的关系？(2)区域集群如何影响商业战略、技术途径和创新公司的关系？(3)政策引导的资源在支持创新型企业持续经营和发展方面有哪些贡献？这些问题将通过使用定量和定性数据的混合方法进行探讨。我们的研究重点是新兴的绿色商品部门（GGS）-包括生产有利于环境或保护自然资源的产品的公司，涉及英国，美国和中国的国际比较元素。我们将确定在2004 - 2007年期间在每个国家建立的300家GGS公司，研究样本总数为900家公司。我们将采用分层抽样选择程序，将英国GGS部门的广泛产品类别分布与美国和中国GGS部门的分布相匹配。然后，我们将结合联合收割机结构化和非结构化的数据源，以跟踪这些公司的起源，业务，技术和关系战略，以及到2011年的业绩成果。结构化数据将包括企业数据库、企业专利和出版记录。非结构化数据将来自新的网络抓取和数据挖掘方法，样本企业的当前和存档网站。生存分析将指出企业从创立期到当前时期的路径。将采用层次聚类分析法，探讨这三个国家的不同商业战略，并按大都市的位置和产品类别进行分类。多元回归将分析高增长（和其他）结果与商业战略、技术方法之间的关系，以及区域关系和政策工具的作用，控制国家和其他因素。美国和中国企业增长战略的见解将与英国企业的见解进行比较。在下一阶段，我们将与选定的英国企业进行案例研究，以测试和完善有关差异化战略，区域和政策互动以及结果的主张。采访（60）将与高增长的公司，稳定的公司，和其他关键的线人在五个英国大都市地区进行。访谈将研究最成功的公司的不同之处，追踪与技术有关的方案和其他方案的使用和效益，并探讨与政策有关的更广泛的地点吸引力。该项目将由曼彻斯特大学牵头，与Experian UK、格鲁吉亚理工学院（美国）和北京理工大学（中国）合作。将与学术界和非学术界开展积极的传播和接触方案，包括高级培训机制，并与商业部门的用户（包括初创公司和商业支助方案）、大学和其他技术转让管理人员以及地方和国家决策者开展外联活动。

Gaps remain in our understanding of how different combinations of business, technology and relationship strategies influence the growth of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), especially in the context of networked interactions by SMEs at regional, extra-regional, and sectoral levels. In each new round of economic and technological development, these strategies evolve, highlighting the importance of tracking in close to real-time the nuances of emerging enterprise strategies. In this project, we will probe differential strategies for SME growth and the role of regional clustering in the growth of innovative companies, building on new and unobtrusive methods of web mining to gain timely information about enterprise developmental pathways. Three key research questions will be addressed: (1) What differentiates the business strategies, technology pathways, and relationships of innovative companies that stay in business and grow? (2) How does regional clustering influence the business strategies, technology pathways, and relationships of innovative companies that stay in business and grow? (3) What are the contributions of policy-induced resources in supporting innovative companies that stay in business and grow? These questions will be probed through a mixed-methods approach using both quantitative and qualitative data. We focus our research on the emerging green goods sector (GGS) - comprising firms producing outputs that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources, with an international comparative element involving the UK, the US, and China. We will identify 300 GGS companies in each country established during the time period 2004-2007, for a total study sample of 900 companies. We will apply a stratified sample selection procedure, to match the distribution of the UK GGS sector by broad product classes with the US and Chinese GGS sectors. We will then combine structured and unstructured data sources to track the origins, business, technology, and relationship strategies, and performance outcomes of these firms through to 2011. Structured data will include corporate databases, corporate patents and publication records. Unstructured data will be derived from new methods of web-scraping and data mining the current and archived web-sites of the sample enterprises. Survival analysis will indicate the pathway of firms from the founding period through to the current period. Hierarchical cluster analysis will be applied to explore differential business strategies by the three countries and by types of metropolitan location and product class. Multivariate regression will relationships between high growth (and other) outcomes and business strategies, technological approach, and the role of regional relationships and policy instruments, controlling for country and other factors. Insights from US and Chinese enterprise growth strategies will be compared with those of UK firms. In the subsequent phase, we will undertake case studies with selected UK enterprises, to test and refine propositions about differential strategies, regional and policy interactions, and outcomes. Interviews (60) will be conducted with high growth firms, stable firms, and other key informants in five UK metropolitan areas. The interviews will examine what differentiates the most successful firms, trace the use and benefit of technology-related and other programmes, and probe for wider policy-related locational attractiveness. The project will be led by the University Manchester in partnership with Experian UK, Georgia Institute of Technology (US), and Beijing Institute of Technology (China). An active dissemination and engagement programme will be pursued with the academic and non-academic worlds, including mechanisms for advanced training and outreach to users in the business sector, including start-up firms and business support programmes, to university and other technology transfer managers, and to local and national policymakers.