EPRC Seminar: Breeding gazelles: a critical review of policies for high growth firms

On 16 February, EPRC hosted a seminar by Professor Colin Mason of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde. Colin drew on evidence from a study of High Growth Firms in Scotland undertaken for Scottish Enterprise and provided a critique of existing policies to promote high growth firms. Specifically he argued that such policies are looking for high growth firms in the wrong places and have inappropriate eligibility criteria. The presentation went on to propose how such policies need to be re-oriented. Colin concluded by reconsidering the benefits of supporting high growth firms in the light of evidence for their weak embeddedness in Scotland and high propensity of being acquired. The presentation slides of the seminar are available http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/Colin Mason_16 Feb 11.pdf