Focussing on the relatively few small firms which grew rapidly, this book, originally published in 1993 uses face-to-face interviews as well as published records to identify and analyse the managerial factors most closely associated with successful small firms. The volume concentrates on the following key managerial issues: In what respects do the managerial backgrounds and aspirations of the founders of fast-growth small firms differ from those of non-fast-growth small firms?How is the process of growth managed? What incentives, remuneration packages and communication systems are instituted?How do these characteristics and experiences differ in fast-growth small firms from both the traditional small firm and large-firm sector?To what extent is it possible to explain the relative economic performance of small firms in terms of differences in their ownership, organizational and management structures.

1. Background and Scope of the Text 2. The Economics of Small-Firm Performance, Growth and Internal Organization 3. Non-Economic Explanations of Firm Structure, Management and Performance 4. Small-Firm Performance and Managerial Labour Markets: A Framework for Empirical Analysis 5. Research Methods and Company Characteristics 6. The Labour Market for managers 7. Owners and Firm Size 8. Ownership, Organization and the Financial Performance of Firms 9. Teams and Team working 10. Conclusions