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 purpose of this paper is to report on a study aimed at identifying factors that affect the innovativeness of growing small and medium-sized firms (SMEs). It aims to use intellectual property rights (IPRs) as a proxy for innovations. The IPRs to be used include patents, trademarks, utility models and registered designs. Design/methodology/approach -A theoretical model was developed and tested on longitudinal sample data representing 348 continuously growing SMEs located in two diverse regions in Finland.The firms in the sample represented various industries. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings -About 8 per cent of the firms in the sample could be defined as innovative growth SMEs. Most of these firms operate in the service and manufacturing sectors. They are small businesses that employ ten to 49 people and are between five and 19 years old. Innovative firms in this class were found to be less likely successful in the short-term than their non-innovative counterparts. The results obtained seem to be consistent with the expected preconception that growing IPR-intensive firms may be subject to greater financial pressures than those that do not produce IPRs. Public research and development (R&D) funding seems to increase the likelihood of innovation. Practical implications -From a policy perspective, the allocation of resources to R&D has been an appropriate strategy for increasing the amount of IPRs generated by growing SMEs. Originality/value -This paper reports one of a very small number of studies that have sought to identify and analyse factors that affect innovation in growing SMEs.

We explore the factors that contribute to the technological distinctiveness of young entrepreneurial firms. We claim that a young firm's technological distinctiveness is partly the result of entrepreneurs and their orientations toward uncertainty. In certain locations, however, young firms have more means to invest in their technology base. We integrate these two perspectives together, and provide an original explanation and understanding of the technological distinctiveness of young entrepreneurial firms. Our empirical observations among Finnish firms give support to our main hypotheses and therefore highlight the factors that contribute to technology‐based competitive advantage of young firms.

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This paper focuses on the problems of analysing growth and success of a firm. The data consists of 348 growing SMEs. 75 of them were growing rapidly and highly successful (HGS). The methods include discriminant, regression and logistic regression analysis. In regression models, growth and success seem to be inversely related. Regression analysis is not an appropriate way to analyse HGS firms. Logistic regression and discriminant analysis should consider a priori probabilities to produce reliable results. The use of different methods depends on the design of the study, the characteristics of the data and the validity of the research questions. A robust analysis presupposes refinement of the data, accurate model specification, and competent interpretation of the results. Future research should focus on periods longer than 3-5 years and take into account uncertainty and discontinuity of variables. A qualitative approach where behavioural and management issues will be included is needed. has been a Professor of Entrepreneurship. The main emphasis of his research includes growth of SMEs, entrepreneurial finance and venture capital, development of entrepreneurship and business know-how, regional development and SME policy.

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