MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH - ISSUES, CONSEQUENCES AND GUIDELINES

Although the literature contains an impressive volume of studies attem pting to identify determinants of organizational growth, researchers h ave recently, noted important inconsistencies in findings. They may be explained in part, by the variety of approaches used to measure growt h. Our study provides a critical review of the literature to identify issues regarding the measurement of growth, We examine alternative app roaches in order to assess the consequences of using inappropriate mea sures. Consequently, we consider three concepts as well as three diffe rent measurement formulas. Based on comprehensive data from 193 films in 48 industries for 20 periods, results from comparative regression a nalyses reveal that the significance of relationships between determin ants and organizational growth, as well as amount of explained varianc e, depend on the specific approaches used to measure growth. Finally, we provide some guidelines to help researchers select appropriate tech niques for measuring organizational growth.