Burger-Helmchen Thierry
University of Strasbourg
Capabilities in small high-tech firms : A case of plural-Entrepreneurship
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 16, 3,p. 391-405.
Année de publication : 2009
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of evaluating the
innovative/entrepreneurial capabilities of small firms in high-technology industries.
Design/methodology/approach
– The approach taken is a literature review and case study.
Findings
– The contribution of the paper is twofold: in the first part, it is tried to distinguish the
different forms of entrepreneurship existing. This leads to determine a form of entrepreneurship, plural
entrepreneurship, that is typical in high-tech start-ups. In the second part, it is then tried to evaluate the
innovative/entrepreneurial capabilities of a firm in such a framework. This is based on a longitudinal
case study of a high-tech start-up where we explore how different dimensions of entrepreneurship
coexist and interplay to create a firm’s innovative dynamics depending on its initial resources and those
added during the firm’s growth.
Originality/value
– The paper is an original attempt to distinguish different notions of
entrepreneurship including the notion of plural-entrepreneurship and capabilities in a small enterprise.
Keywords
Entrepreneurialism, Innovation, Small enterprises