Empirical Study On Innovation-driven Growth Of Listed Companies On Gem

This dissertation has reviewed past studies about new ventures'growth and innovation and found that they mainly focused on venture's external environment and internal factors that influences company's growth, in which the innovation study is embedded. These studies also confirm that technology innovation and business model innovation play an important role in venture's growth. However, how ventures realize high growth is a topic seldom covered.Based on the growth-innovation theory and New Market Application Theory by Marc Meyer, the author builds up a framework of venture's innovation-driven growth. It's argued that technology and market are the most two significant factors that drive ventures grow. Besides, business model design is a third drive factor.Then 65 Chinese GEM firms are chosen and analyzed as the sample. By analyzing their operating and financial data and other information, we find that: Firstly, all sample firms have high growth rate as the successful example of Chinese new ventures. Secondly, there exists a distinct relationship between technology innovation and growth rate. However, few ventures'growth depends on disruptive innovation; while incremental innovation is also important. Thirdly, new market application based on existing technology is a widely-used growth strategy in the sample firms. Customers and demand property are two angles for pursuing new market.Furthermore, this study initiates the conditions and modes for new market application. It's pointed out that when the technology has a certain degree of maturity and new market has sufficient market size, the strategy of new market application is considerate. To be more specific in China, more than 20 years history of technology and more than RMB 5 billion market size would be necessary condition for new venture's explorer of new market. By applying this strategy, it means only market innovation but appropriate technology innovation. Business model innovation is not a must, according to our samples, but it would help ventures to sever new market better and benefit from new strategy faster.