ENTREPRENEURSHIP guru Colin Mason has told MSPs Scotland must do much more to encourage the development of the medium sized companies that play a key role in creating jobs saying policy makers have a damaging fixation with young technology firms.

Mr Mason told MSPs fast growing midmarket firms have a disproportionate impact on job creation but lamented that Scotland does not have enough businesses which achieve scale.

“We need to have lots of high growth companies to create jobs domestically,” said Mr Mason, who is professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Glasgow.

He added: “Having independent, locally owned, solid middle sized companies in Scotland is important, not least because the head office is in Scotland … It’s important that decisions are made in Scotland. The head office also creates the demand for the professional services.”

Speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s economy committee, about support for small and medium sized enterprises, Mr Mason complained of a lack of strategic thinking in Scotland about how to encourage growth firms.

“Where’s that strategic thinking happening because I don’t see it,” he lamented.

Mr Mason added: “There are mythologies within policy making about what high growth firms look like and in particular that they’re in technology, commercialising state of the art technology which is not the case but it means that lots of schemes to support firms are based on these myths… It’s important for policy making to be agnostic about what high growth firms look like.”

The academic said some of the most successful entrepreneurs of recent times have been active in sectors that are not in favour among policy makers. He cited Sir Tom Hunter, Sir Tom Farmer and John Boyle, who made their fortunes in retail, car maintenance and travel respectively.

“None of these guys would have qualified for public sector support because they’re not deemed to be in sectors where there’s growth potential,” added Mr Mason.

He wants to see a think tank or working party set up to propose meaningful policy solutions.

The assessment may make uncomfortable reading for policy makers and officials at the Scottish Enterprise development agency.

However, Susan Love, policy manager at the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, noted the important part small businesses play in the labour market and local communities, including firms that may not be aiming for rapid growth.

She said Scotland had to work with the economy it has not against it. Policy makers would not encourage firms by berating them for not being ambitious enough.

Ann Johnson of the Blaze Manufacturing Solutions oil services business praised Scottish Enterprise telling MSPs its service couldn't be better.

She highlighted the severity of the competition SMEs in the sector face from bigger fish at a time when oil and gas firms are cutting investment in response to the crude price plunge.

Ms Johnson said a decision to hold a second referendum on independence for Scotland could result in firms deferring drilling activity in a way that could threaten the viability of many oil services businesses.