OECD WORKSHOP ON THE MEASUREMENT OF THE HIGH-GROWTH ENTERPRISES Paris, 19 November 2007 General Trends and Roles of High-Growth Firms in the Polish Manufacturing Sector 1996 – 2006 Jerzy Cieślik Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management, Warsaw, Poland

2 Background of the Research Project Experiences with entrepreneurship education programs Apparent confusion regarding entrepreneurship and SMEs in policymaking, research and education Focus on international context of growth Inward FDI Export sales Parallel research project on internationalization of Polish firms Making policy recommendations Project started in initial results available so far

Data Source and Initial Data Set Format Central Statistical Office of Poland - Micro data from the Annual Enterprise Survey Included companies which submitted data for 2006 Survey Operating within the manufacturing sector 10 or more persons employed With full accounting system firms in the core data set Data on employment, total sales and export sales of the companies derived prom the previous Surveys 1996 – 2005 Complete set of data available for 5599 firms Data on export sales available from 2002 onwards 3

Methodology Basically we follow new OECD conventions and definitions Distinction between current (HGC) and historic high growth (HGH) HGC when X 2006 / X 2003 > HGH when X n /X n-3 > for at least one out of seven historic observation periods ending Export sales added as the third growth measurement variable in addition to employment and total sales Domestic firms and foreign subsidiaries categorized separately Impact of HG firms measured by their contribution to employment, total sales and export sales in the manufacturing sector in 2006 Initial results: Some key conclusions 4

1. High-growth firms matter 5

2. Foreign subsidiaries lead the high-growth segment 6

3. Export sales drive growth 7

4. Past high growth record matters 8

Some methodological an practical issues relating to the use of gazelle concept turbulent formation period achieving initial stability – business platform apparent confusion as the term gazelle often used as an alternative expression for high-growth firms risk of exclusion of promising high-growth firms 9

Concluding remarks OECD initiative to elaborate unified definitions and conventions on high-growth firms crucial for: Comparative research Policy recommendations Various support measures – injecting growth hormones to the nascent and existing firms, e.g. through specialized training Diversity of analitical directions due to national conditions and priorities Need for a list of indicative international priorities – topics to be addressed first 10

Questions and Comments 11

Contact Prof. Jerzy Cieslik Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management Jagiellonska Warsaw, Poland Tel