PhD defense: Jarle Bastesen
On Friday 11 September 2015 Jarle Bastesen will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend his thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.
The purpose of this thesis is to enhance the empirical and theoretical understanding of rapid-growth.
Even though rapid-growth firms are recognized as central actors in creating employment and growth and in restructuring industries, we have almost no systematic knowledge of these firms in the Norwegian context.
The thesis consists of a literature review and three empirical articles. The first article investigates the industrial and regional distribution of Norwegian rapid-growth firms and their economic performance compared to the rest of the population of firms.
The second article analyses which firm-based resources and capabilities are important for accessing information and knowledge from different external sources.
The third article analyses whether resources and capabilities developed during a period of rapid growth can explain the firms' subsequent development, especially during a macroeconomic decline.
The review identifies a lack of theoretical development in the research concerning rapid growth, partly because of the heterogeneity of growth measures used in the research.
Article 1 challenges the conventional assumption of growth as a result of technical innovations or specific attributes of the firm or its entrepreneur(s), and denotes the
importance of business cycles and the demand side of the economy for growth.
Article 2 suggests that specific internal capabilities and competences facilitate the acquisition of knowledge from different external sources of knowledge and information.
The article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the concept of firms' absorptive capacity.
Article 3 suggests that a firm's ability to continue its growth stems from interaction between internal processes and resources, market dynamics and emergent niches, and the ability to take advantage of market opportunities. A mediating analysis further indicates how managerial experience, size, international expansion, institutional ownership, and an R&D focus indirectly relates to growth.
Prescribed topic for the trial lecture:
What firm internal and external factors explain rapid-growth of firms, and what are the managerial and policy implications of your study on rapid-growth firms in Norway
Time of the trial lecture:
10:15 in Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Centre, NHH
Title of the thesis:
Rapid-growth firms in Norway: Characteristics of growth factors in and adverse environment
Time and place for the defense:
12:15 in Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Centre, NHH
Members of the evaluation committee:
Professor Erik Stam, Department of Strategy, Organization, and Entrepreneurship, Utrecht University School of Economics (Chair)
Professor Mario Benassi, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative methods, University of Milan
Professor Kirsten Foss, Department of Strategy and Management, Norwegian School of Economics