New technology-based firms are acknowledged as playing an important role in the knowledge-based economy. Policy makers in Japan have advocated the creation of such firms, focusing on two primary fields--biotechnology and information technology (IT)--which are expected to make major contributions to Japan's international competitiveness, to the creation of new industries, and to employment opportunities. Although several empirical studies have been conducted into such firms in the West, few comparable studies have been undertaken in Japan using original data from indigenous firms. This paper addresses this gap by examining several firm-level and managerial characteristics of Japanese biotechnology and IT venture firms, in the context of three social institutional variables that impact on entrepreneurship and the growth of such firms: knowledge, finance and human capital.
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Michael J. Lynskey (2004) studied this question.