Running up that hill: a literature review and research agenda proposal on “gazelles” firms

In recent years, “gazelles”—a small set of high-growth firms—have attracted considerable interest from researchers for their capacity to contribute significantly to the competitiveness of nations. However, in management literature, the research on this topic is still incomplete, and a broad but focused review is needed to understand the phenomenon fully. Therefore, the paper aims to analyse in depth the literature on “gazelles” published in the Business, Management, and Accounting and Decision Sciences fields, shedding light on opportunities arising from emerging research topics related to the phenomenon. In meeting this aim, the work is built on a systematic literature review, and Elsevier’s Scopus database was selected and scanned to access publications. The analysis identifies in the sample under investigation the quantitative characteristics (temporal distribution of publications, journals included in the sample, and methodological approach adopted by authors), as well as seven main topics resulting from the qualitative coding process (performance, policy and employment, innovation, entrepreneurship, corporate governance and decision-making, human resources, and strategy). Finally, a comprehensive outlook and a critical analysis of the state-of-the-art research on these specific high-growth firms have been provided through the proposal of a conceptual framework. This study also proposes a research agenda for scholars while providing insightful suggestions from a practical point of view.