caution against the growth-at-all-costs paradigm. Amongst them, Davidsson et al. (2009) notably showed that profitability …Firm growth is overwhelmingly presented as positive. Policy-makers strongly support it, educators recommend it, and … academics commonly use it as a measure of success. While it is demonstrated that high-growth firms contribute disproportionately …

certain level of profitability, this determinant positively impacts SME growth. Productivity influences positively the firm … profitability and labour productivity for firm growth. For policymakers, the results suggest the need for favourable conditions for … SMEs in accessing external finance. Originality/value Profitability negatively impacts on SME growth. However, the authors …