Around the world there is increasing interest in issues of small business and entrepreneurship. This book encapsulates the knowledge that can be gained from the most significant research contributions in this field. In addition it provides a historical-doctrinal review of the development of entrepreneurship and small business research, and presents some of the key pioneers that have shaped the research field.
A Brief History of Entrepreneurship charts how the pursuit of profit by private individuals has been a prime mover in revolutionizing civilization. Entrepreneurs often butt up against processes, technologies, social conventions, and even laws. So they circumvent, innovate, and violate to obtain what they want. This creative destruction has brought about overland and overseas trade, colonization, and a host of revolutionary technologies—from caffeinated beverages to the personal computer—that have transformed society. Consulting rich archival sources, including some that have never before been translated, Carlen maps the course of human history through nine episodes when entrepreneurship reshaped our world. Highlighting the most colorful characters of each era, he discusses Mesopotamian merchants' creation of the urban market economy; Phoenician merchant-sailors intercontinental trade, which came to connect Africa, Asia, and Europe; Chinese tea traders' invention of paper money; the colonization of the Americas; and the current "flattening" of the world's economic playing field. Yet the pursuit of profit hasn't always moved us forward. From slavery to organized crime, Carlen explores how entrepreneurship can sometimes work at the expense of others. He also discusses the new entrepreneurs who, through the nascent space tourism industry, are leading humanity to a multiplanetary future. By exploring all sides of this legacy, Carlen brings much-needed detail to the role of entrepreneurship in revolutionizing civilization.
Collectively, the authors present an informative overview of some of the best European research in entrepreneurship that exists at present. In addition, the variation in research traditions and approaches offer the reader an interesting insight into the various disciplinary perspectives that can shed light on entrepreneurial activities, including insights from psychology, sociology, finance and strategy. The attempt to examine both individual and firm-level analysis is also a strength of this book, given that the majority of entrepreneurship research tends to focus on just one of these streams and there is a dearth of work that is able to integrate and understand both dimensions simultaneously. . . the book provides value for money for those whom entrepreneurship research within a European context is a particular interest. Jean Clarke, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research This book brings together some of Europe s finest scholars, showcasing the richness, diversity and quality of European entrepreneurship research. Collectively, the authors present an authoritative overview of state-of-the-art research on current entrepreneurship themes. This book is a must read for scholars, policymakers, and students interested in staying updated about the current state of entrepreneurship research. Johan Wiklund, Syracuse University, US The 20th edition of the RENT conference took place where it started 20 years ago: in the European capital , Brussels. The current volume presents the best papers of this conference and offers a grand view of the state of the art of European entrepreneurship research. Drivers as well as consequences are dealt with from many different angles. Taken together it gives a thorough description of the scarcest and most essential of all input factors of the modern economy: entrepreneurship. Roy Thurik, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands This book provides an invaluable, state-of-the-art overview of current European research in the field of entrepreneurship. It focuses on four themes, each of which illustrates a key dimension in the overall theme: entrepreneurs and their role in entrepreneurship entrepreneurship in family businesses performance of new ventures and entrepreneurial processes. Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Growth and Performance is written from various perspectives by eminent academics with different methodological approaches. It is an invaluable resource for researchers, scholars and students as well as consultants and policymakers with an interest in entrepreneurship and small businesses.
This Research Agenda aims to offer a coherent and articulate view on the future of entrepreneurship education from an internationally renowned group of scholars and educators.
This textbook familiarises students with the theory and practice of small business management and challenges assumptions that may be held about the way small business management can or should adopt the management practices of larger firms. For students interested in establishing and managing their own small firm, this book helps them to focus their thinking on the realities of life as a small business owner-manager – both its challenges and its rewards. For postgraduate students that are keen to ‘make a difference’, this text enables them to understand how they might consult to small firms and assist owner-managers to establish and grow their ventures. In addition to students, this book is also useful to small business owner-managers as a general guide on how they might better manage their operations. Managers in large corporations and financial institutions who deal with small businesses as clients or suppliers, and professionals such as accountants, lawyers and consultants who provide advice and other services to small businesses will also find the book of interest.
Interest in and attention to entrepreneurship has exploded in recent years. Nevertheless, much of the research and scholarship in entrepreneurship has remained elusive to academics, policymakers and other researchers, in large part because the field is informed by a broad spectrum of disciplines, including management, finance, economics, policy, sociology, and psychology, often pursued in isolation from each other. Since its original publication in 2003, the Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research has served as the definitive resource in the field, bringing together contributions from leading scholars in these disciplines to present a holistic, multi-dimensional approach. This new edition, fully revised and updated, and including several new chapters, covers all of the primary topics in entrepreneurship, including entrepreneurial behavior, risk and opportunity recognition, equity financing, business culture and strategy, innovation, and the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth and development. Featuring an integrative introduction, extensive literature reviews and reference lists, the Handbook will continue to serve as a roadmap to the rapidly evolving and dynamic field of entrepreneurship.
This insightful book explores the importance and influence of contextual heterogeneity in the field of entrepreneurship research, illuminating the circumstances, conditions or environments that may enable or constrain entrepreneurship.
The growth of entrepreneurship research has been accompanied by an increased convergence and institutionalization of the field. In many ways this is of course positive, but it also represents how the field has become "mainstream" with the concomitant risk that individual scholars become embedded in a culture and incentive system that emphasizes and rewards incremental research questions, while reducing the incentives for scholars to conduct challenging research. This book challenges this status quo from accepted theories, methodologies and paradigmatic assumptions, to the relevance (or lack of) for contemporary practice and the impact of key journals on scholars’ directions in entrepreneurship research. An invited selection of the younger generation of scholars within the field of entrepreneurship research adopt a critical and constructive posture on what has been achieved in entrepreneurship research, the main assumptions which underly it, but also open-up new paths for creative entrepreneurship research in the future. This is a must-read for all scholars, educators and advanced students in entrepreneurship research.
Entrepreneurship is a growing field of research, attracting researchers from many different disciplines including economics, sociology, psychology, and management. The concept of entrepreneurship, and research in the field, is becoming institutionalized, increasingly oriented by influential trends, theories and methods, following the mainstream and being shaped accordingly. The objective of this book is to move beyond mainstream approaches and assumptions which are dominating the field, and to raise questions about the nature and process of entrepreneurship research. Over twelve chapters, leading international thinkers in the field debate the impact and the consequences of institutionalization. Taking key research orientations including multidisciplinarity, international entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and ethics, it takes a critical and constructive and sometimes controversial posture and encourages a re-examination of the way we look at the social and economic phenomenon of entrepreneurship. This book is vital reading for entrepreneurship researchers and educators, advanced students and policy-makers in Entrepreneurship, Economics, Sociology and Psychology.
Awarded every year since 1996, the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research (GAER) recognizes outstanding contributions in quality and importance to scientific research in entrepreneurship. This book examines the work of GAER award winners (1996–2020), discusses major contributions to the field, identifies critiques of their work, and highlights directions for future research. Students and faculty will find this book to be a rich resource for understanding the impact of leading entrepreneurship scholars.
