Technology-Based Firms (TBFs) are companies with intensive innovation dynamics based on technical competences, and for which high growth rates are expected. Nevertheless, even in developed countries, the evidence suggests that significantly high growth rates are more the exception than the rule. In Brazil, most studies on TBFs focus on factors that limit their success, such as managerial experience and capital availability. Based on extensive field research and on a reliable enterprise growth rate indicator, this article aims to evaluate the expansion of those firms, analyzing its relation to key elements such as degree of consolidation, market insertion, and public policy support. We found a growth rate which, although widely varied amongst firms, was significant and was not directly related to the amount of public policy support.
Technology-based firms; Firm growth; S & T policy
