Characteristics of Firms That Grow from Small to Medium Size: Innovation and Growth in Small Manufacturing Firms, 1997 to 1999 - ARCHIVED

This working paper examines whether the innovative characteristics of small manufacturing firms that show high growth are significantly different from those of other types of small manufacturing firms. Two groups of small firms are analysed: those with 20 to 49 employees and those with 50 to 99 employees in 1997.

The data analysed in this paper are from the Survey of Innovation 1999, which surveyed manufacturing provincial enterprises with at least 20 employees and at least $250,000 in revenues. Data from the Survey of Innovation 1999 has been linked to the Annual Survey of Manufactures for 1997 and 1999, and the growth of firms was determined based on this data. Eight different indicators of the innovative characteristics of small firms are presented.