Startups are crucial job creators and drivers of economic growth. Research on startups has predominantly targeted high-growth startups, while a comprehensive understanding of alternative growth journeys remains limited. Addressing this gap, we employ the theory of early firm growth and the time-calibrated theory of entrepreneurial action to examine 416 biotech startups. We use time series cluster analysis to unveil four heterogeneous new venture growth trajectories. These are characterized by unique timings, paces, and sequences of financial, human, and innovative resource-related activities. This study contributes to new venture growth research, particularly in science-based high-tech startups, with its nuanced understanding of diverse growth pathways, including intriguing notions of early failure, growth reversal, and high and moderate steady growth.

中文翻译：

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重新思考新创企业的增长：生物技术初创企业异质增长轨迹的时间序列聚类分析

初创企业是重要的就业创造者和经济增长的驱动力。对初创企业的研究主要针对高增长的初创企业，而对另类增长历程的全面了解仍然有限。为了解决这一差距，我们采用早期企业成长理论和创业行动时间校准理论来研究 416 家生物技术初创公司。我们使用时间序列聚类分析来揭示四种异构的新企业增长轨迹。这些活动的特点是财务、人力和创新资源相关活动的独特时机、节奏和顺序。这项研究有助于新的风险投资增长研究，特别是在以科学为基础的高科技初创企业中，其对多种增长途径的细致入微的理解，包括早期失败、增长逆转以及高速和适度稳定增长的有趣概念。