Position of Slovenian High-Growth Firms within the European Context

Abstract

Purpose and Originality: This research aimed to present the position of Slovenian high-growth firms (HGFs) or gazelles in the European area and compare Slovenian high-growth firms with their European counterparts in terms of their growth rates. This research is based on a systematic review of high-growth firms and their position in Slovenia and Europe. The comparison of data on Slovenian high-growth firms and those in the European area enabled us to position the Slovenian high-growth firms within the broader European context.

Method: The survey is based on a systematic review of the Financial Times newspaper ranking of the 1000 high-growth firms in Europe and the Dnevnik publishing house ranking of the 500 high-growth firms in Slovenia, as well as on data obtained from the statistical office of the European Union and Slovenia. Using the Minitab software, we verified the normality of the distribution of the considered data, performed the transformation of non-normal distributed data and calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient »r« between the individual considered factors, based on which we then confirmed the hypotheses. The distribution of data was shown with Pareto and bar charts.

Results: The research showed the position of Slovenian high-growth firms in the European area. According to the research findings, it is evident that both Slovenian and European high-growth firms are mostly smaller organizations. The biggest share of high-growth firms is in Germany, while the biggest share of such firms in Slovenia is in the Osrednjeslovenska (Central Slovenia) region. The growth rate of high-growth Slovenian and European firms is comparable. The level of sales revenues and the number of employees do not show any impact on the companies' growth rates, while gross domestic product, on the other hand, contributes positively to their growth rate. By comparing the Slovenian and European high-growth firms considered in the survey, we found that the European firms show a higher growth rate than their Slovenian counterparts, while they are comparable in sales revenues.

Society: The research enables better visibility of high-growth firms among the general public. The wider society evaluates the impact, operation and social responsibility of high-growth firms in a given environment. Last but not least, a well-informed public can positively contribute to the success of high-growth firms.

Limitations / further research: This research is limited to comparing Slovenian high-growth firms with those in the European area based on two HGF rankings. Based on the fact that Slovenia is a small country in the common European area, it would be appropriate to conduct a survey or comparison with smaller European countries and to position Slovenian high-growth firms within this group. The other possibility would be to use a greater number of representative rankings and repeat the existing survey.