Though time is an important dimension of the venture creation process, our understanding of why some entrepreneurs are able to act more quickly than others is limited. Equally, not much is known about the relationship between venture creation speed and the subsequent venture growth. In this paper, we use a resource-based perspective to provide insights into the factors that quicken or retard venture creation and to explore how speed impacts on subsequent growth. This is important because the topic remains generally underresearched and because even less is understood about venture creation speed in the context of South American economies. Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with 647 entrepreneurs in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru. Using a multivariate regression framework, we find that entrepreneurs make use of their human and social capital resources to shape the speed by which their venture is created. Moreover, their perceptions of unfavorable environmental conditions seem to retard venture creation. Findings also suggest that entrepreneurs who take more time to create a more solid resource base tend to receive better growth outcomes. Implications from the findings are discussed.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The aim of this study is to advance the understanding of firm growth determinants by comparing the factors influencing young firms' growth in 13 countries corresponding to three contrasting regions. Design/methodology/approach -The authors propose an integrated model of venture growth where entrepreneurs' profile, firm resources and market characteristics are combined. This model is tested using three OLS regressions, one corresponding to each region. Findings -The results show that compared with the remainder two regions, the less favorable business conditions verified in Latin American countries emphasize the relevance of entrepreneurs' human capital endowments in determining business development and its further growth. On the contrary, market-related issues and the availability of financial resources are more important in South-East Asia and Mediterranean Europe. Team size and particularly its growth are positively associated with firm growth in all the studied regions. Practical implications -The results of this study confirm that a firm's growth determinants as well as their importance vary across regions. Consequently, policy interventions should take into account the specificity of each region when designing entrepreneurial policies, avoiding the adoption of "one size fits all" solutions. Originality/value -The main contribution of this paper is twofold: first, it collects empirical evidence about young firm growth in less studied regions; second, by comparing the results for each region differential effects of several determinants of firm growth in quite contrasting contexts are discussed.

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Chapter 6 aggregate data on productivity growth provides only a partial view of the Latin american reality. Indeed, one of the most salient features of business structures in the region is the presence of a high degree of heterogeneity across firms. as far as productivity is concerned, a large base of micro and small firms with low levels of productivity coexists alongside a select group of