Development of Start-Ups (2003)

Aims

The importance of start-ups for the growth of the Swiss economy was analysed in an initial project on the subject of company start-ups for presentation to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (SECO). Since Switzerland attaches great importance to a higher rate of start-ups (than is generally the case in Europe), the purpose of the survey that was conducted in spring 2003 was to follow up this subject systematically. It was mainly a question of following up the “Start-up Cohort 1996/97” that was included in the “Previous Project” and questioned in detail, in order to analyse the survival and growth process (determinants of closures and/or the performance of firms that survive) and to derive policy implications from the data collected.

Sample

The poll in spring 2003 was aimed at all those companies that started up in the period 1996/97, that had participated in the survey of March 2000 and were still in existence at the beginning of 2003.

Summary of Results

The summary is available in German and French and is downloadable here: