New venture high growth in high-tech environments

The aim of this article is to understand the triggering factors of new firm growth in high-tech environments (life science, knowledge-intensive business services [KIBS] and engineering) by studying a representative sample of high-growth Italian start-ups. Our empirical research uses the information gathered during direct interviews with managers through a semi-structured questionnaire, which was presented to 382 new Italian firms. Considering the characteristics of new firms, this article summarizes the key growth factors. Investment in acquiring new competencies both in technology and marketing, development of dynamic capabilities (investment in human resources and new routines) and access to external knowledge and information sources emerged as significant.