Learning to ride the high growth “rollercoaster”: the role of publicly funded business accelerator programmes

Ross C. Brown; Rachel Rees-Jones

doi:10.1007/s11187-024-00917-z

Learning to ride the high growth “rollercoaster”: the role of publicly funded business accelerator programmes

Ross C. Brown^*, Rachel Rees-Jones

^*Corresponding author for this work

Management (Business School)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

High growth firms (HGFs) are a vital determinant of regional economic competitiveness. This paper examines the effectiveness of a Welsh publicly funded business accelerator programme (BAP) designed to nurture HGFs via relational support measures. The paper teases out both the support requirements sought by high growth entrepreneurs, together with the perceived effectiveness of the programme’s offering. Hitherto, the literature has been silent in terms of the mental well-being and psychological resilience of founders of HGFs. This study discovered how mental well-being and psychological resilience of entrepreneurs was very acutely and detrimentally affected when experiencing periods of rapid firm growth. The research also uncovered a disconnect between the support needs of HGFs and those provided by BAPs. To help develop the capabilities and durability of entrepreneurs, “growth readiness” coaching together with psychological resilience training seem appropriate policy measures to help entrepreneurs successfully navigate turbulent episodes of high growth.

Original language	English
Number of pages	20
Journal	Small Business Economics
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-024-00917-z
Publication status	Published - 19 Mar 2024

Keywords

High growth firms
Business accelerator
Mental health
Public policy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s11187-024-00917-zLicence: CC BY

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Cite this

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Learning to ride the high growth “rollercoaster”: the role of publicly funded business accelerator programmes

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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