Critical factors in the development of the innovative hi-tech SME. An empirical study
The small hi-tech companies attract a lot of attention
because their capacity of growth and their roll as locomotives of
technological innovation. In this paper critical factors in the
development of small hi-tech companies are analysed and compared with
those factors determined by the classical theory.
The study is based on the analysis of sixteen SME
intensive in technology in the Autonomous Community of Valencia. The
founders of this companies have different origins: some of them were
businessmen and the others academics. In the development of the studied
companies some critical factors have been identified: a deep knowledge of
the markets and industry, the structure of the learning organisation, and
the importance of a creative context. The model proposed by the authors
links entrepreneurship and creativity and results very useful to
understand this type of companies.
The influence of the technological context has also
been studied and it differs from the stereotyped hi-tech. The companies
present a lower level of growth in the same way of previous studies
(Oakley, 1995; Almus, Nerlinger, 1998). That is why it seems to be very
difficult to repeat the USA experiences.
