Four Years On: Are The Gazelles Still Running? A Longitudinal Study Of Firm Performance After A Period Of Rapid Growth

This article examines variations in performance between fast-growth - the so-called gazelle - firms. Specifically, we investigate how the level of growth affects future profitability and how this relationship is moderated by firm strategy. Hypotheses are developed regarding the moderated growth-profitability relationship and are tested using longitudinal data from a sample of 964 Danish gazelle firms. We find a positive relationship between growth and profitability among gazelle firms. This relationship is moderated, however, by market strategy; it is stronger for firms pursuing a broad market strategy rather than a niche strategy. This study contributes to the current literature by providing a more nuanced view of the growth-profitability relationship and investigating the potential for the future performance of gazelle firms.