How do we measure firm performance? A review of issues facing entrepreneurship researchers

Siepel, Josh and Dejardin, Marcus (2020) How do we measure firm performance? A review of issues facing entrepreneurship researchers. In: Saridakis, George and Cowling, Marc (eds.) Handbook of quantitative research methods in entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, Glos, UK, pp. 4-20. ISBN 9781786430953

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Abstract

This chapter aims to provide a succinct overview of the important challenges facing researchers seeking to perform firm-level research, along with an outline of the different data sources that may be used, and some techniques that can be employed to ensure that data are robust. An emphasis is put on the linked importance of research design and choice of data. We discuss quantitative data and, more specifically, the measures used to observe firm performance, and present different types of data sources that researchers may use when studying firm-level data, i.e. self-report data, official statistics, commercial data, combinations of data and big data. We examine potential problems with data, from measurement to respondent and researcher errors. Finally, some key points and some avenues for future research are briefly reviewed.

Item Type: Book Section
Keywords: Business & Economics
Schools and Departments: University of Sussex Business School > SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit
SWORD Depositor: Mx Elements Account
Depositing User: Mx Elements Account
Date Deposited: 04 Aug 2020 09:26
Last Modified: 04 Aug 2020 09:26
URI: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/92915

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