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PurposeThe present study in this paper seeks to deal with the crucial topic of growth determinants for ICT start‐ups. In this emerging industry high firm birth rates go hand in hand with a great risk of failure and only one firm out of three survives the first three years.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes 220 start‐ups of the ICT service sector and verifies the influence of individual and organisational factors on growth.FindingsThe paper finds that human capital and working experience have no significant impact on the success of young ICT firms.Originality/valueThe paper shows that critical growth factors are mostly financing and customer related variables (firm size and capital at start‐up, customer structure, regional market orientation, etc.).

This article gives an overview of the specificities of entrepreneurship research in France, paying attention to its emergence, nature, and focus. Reviewing 253 articles and conference papers from two journals and two conferences, considered main outlets for research outcomes from French scholars, our findings reveal a distinctive "French touch" of entrepreneurship research. The main facets we were able to identify with our data for the 1995 to 2005 period are as follows. There is a preference for qualitative methods, conceptual contributions, and the entrepreneurial process as privileged research theme. A particular strength of the French approach is also a strong focus of small and medium-sized organizations. The "French touch" of entrepreneurship research could make a distinctive contribution to the international research community and the mainstream debate. However, mainly Frenchspeaking dissemination of knowledge and (still) insufficient international journal-oriented output strategies limit the diffusion of French entrepreneurship research. Implications for academic institutions and future research are discussed.