This book explores the relationship between families, firms, and regions and the extent to which these relationships contribute to regional economic and social development. Although family business participation in economic activities has been a common phenomenon since pre-industrial societies, and its importance has evolved throughout time and across spatial contexts, the book suggests that these factors have often been neglected in family business and regional studies. Taking this research gap into account, the book aims to deepen our understanding of the role family firms play in the regional economy. In particular, it explores two seldom studied questions. Firstly, what role do family firms play in regional development? Secondly, how do different spatial regional contexts shape family firm operations and performance? Family Business and Regional Development presents a model of "spatial familiness" and uses themes such as productivity, networks and competitiveness to shed new light on family businesses. Moreover, it approaches the juxtaposition between family business and regional studies to encourage the cross-fertilisation of ideas, theories, and research methods between the two fields. Bringing together leading experts in entrepreneurship, regional economics, and economic geography, this book will be a valuable reading for advanced students, researchers and policymakers interested in family firms, regional studies and economic geography.
Universities are under increasing pressure to help promote socio-economic growth in their local communities. However until now, no systematic, critical attention has been paid to the factors and mechanisms that currently make this process so daunting. In Universities and Regional Development, scholars from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia critically address this knowledge gap, focusing on policy, organization, and the role of individual actors to uncover the challenges facing higher education institutions as they seek to engage with their regions. In a systematic and comparative manner, this book shows internal and external audiences why, how, and when the institutionalization of universities’ "third missions" should take place, and also: challenges conventional wisdom about the role of universities in society and the economy demonstrates how institutions in different nations and regions cope with local engagement combines the latest national, regional and local research with international perspectives integrates diverse conceptual and disciplinary frameworks Universities and Regional Development is a key resource for researchers and students of higher education and territorial development, educational policy makers, and university managers seeking to engage with the world beyond their university.
The book is a textbook in regional economics for undergraduate and graduate students. A vast amount of theories and models have been developed since the official recognition of regional economics as a distinct branch of economics. In particular, this book focuses on logical and theoretical linkages between different theories and models: both macro and microeconomic; neoclassical and Keynesian. The evolution of theoretical approaches in regional economics is dealt in the book through the evolution of the concept of space: from physical space, which characterizes location theory, to uniform space (typical of neoclassical and Keynesian approaches ) to diversified-relational space (embedded in local districts and milieu approaches, as well as in the theory of learning regions) to diversified stylised space (as exemplified by the new economic geography and dynamic neoclassical approaches).
Ô. . . the book is an important reading in the field of entrepreneurship. One of its main contributions is that it clearly shows that the process of new firm formation is a regional event. The chapters are rich in theoretical insights and data, and are valuable readings for students, academics, and policy-makers interested in entrepreneurship and regional growth.Õ Ð Christine Tam‡sy, Regional Studies ÔEntrepreneurship can have powerful effects on local as well as national economies. The chapters in this edited volume, authored by well-known experts in their fields, explore various aspects of entrepreneurship and regional development. The book provides an illuminating overview of the current state of knowledge while also sharing with the reader several new findings and insights on issues as diverse as globalization, regional employment growth, nascent entrepreneurs, gazelles, labor productivity, government regulations, and university entrepreneurship. It is recommended reading for anyone interested in these topics.Õ Ð Simon C. Parker, The University of Western Ontario, Canada ÔThere is substantial evidence regarding the considerable regional variation in business creation. Michael Fritsch has done a fine job of assembling the most recent analyses of the best scholars on the regional factors affecting firm creation and the consequences. It is essential reading for any scholar or policy analyst seeking a state-of-the-art overview of the current empirical status of research on this important topic.Õ Ð Paul D. Reynolds, George Washington University, US ÔThis Handbook examines the contribution of the entrepreneur and related processes to regional economic development. The recognition that the indirect entrepreneurial effects on development are more significant than the direct is an important and under-girding conclusion. And further, that entrepreneurial driven effects are often not felt immediately but in some cases only across decades, as illustrated by the over-two-decade incubation of the entrepreneurial culture in Silicon Valley which only later resulted in it becoming the dominant icon of scientific and technology regional development that it is today.Õ Ð Roger Stough, George Mason University, US ÔThis volume fills an important gap in the research literature on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a localized phenomenon and all too many studies disregard this fact. Thus, the regional economic milieu is a critical factor determining not only the volume and type of entrepreneurship but also the effects of entrepreneurship in terms of value-added growth, employment growth, etc. The contributions in this book by a number of leading scientists in the field provide an excellent overview and understanding of the prerequisites for and the role of entrepreneurship in regional growth and development.Õ Ð Charlie Karlsson, Jšnkšping University, Sweden Recent research has found pronounced differences in the level of entrepreneurship and new business formation across various regions and nations. This timely Handbook reveals that the development of new ventures as well as their effects on overall economic growth are strongly shaped by their regional and national environment. The expert group of contributors gives an overview on the current state of the art in this field, and proposes avenues for further investigation. Topics include the regional determinants of new business formation, the effects of start-ups on growth, the role of globalization for regional entrepreneurship, the effect of national and regional framework conditions, as well as the role of universities as incubators of innovative new firms.
This innovative book takes seriously the ordinary activities of entrepreneurship and maps out new pathways for scholars to understand the nature, properties, and implications of studying practices for entrepreneurship studies. Entrepreneurship is neither an art nor a science, but a bundle of practices, as Peter Drucker once observed. Curiously however, academic research on entrepreneurship mostly abstracts away from practical activity. In contrast, Entrepreneurship As Practice takes ordinary activities of entrepreneurship seriously by mapping out new pathways for scholars to consider the everyday practices through which entrepreneurship occurs. Each chapter draws on contemporary theories of practice to illuminate the nature, properties, and implications of studying the practices of entrepreneurship. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Entrepreneurship & Regional Development.
Entrepreneurship generally is about creative organizing but with social enterprising this is especially so. Most social ventures cross the boundaries between the private, the public and the non-profit/voluntary sectors. This broad involvement of actors and intertwining of sectors makes the label ÔsocietalÕ entrepreneurship appropriate. Stating the importance of both the local and the broader societal context, the book reports close-up studies from a variety of social ventures. Generic themes include positioning societal entrepreneurship against other images of collective entrepreneurship, critically penetrating its assumptions and practices and proposing ways of promoting societal entrepreneurship more widely. Providing a new conceptual framework and research methodology, this compendium will prove insightful for academic scholars. The basic concepts and illustrative cases/stories will also appeal to students and reflective practitioners.
This book addresses a gap in the present literature on the role that geography plays in the distribution of entrepreneurial activity. Emerging work on entrepreneurial ecosystems suggests it is important entrepreneurship studies move beyond the mere identification of factors that impact entrepreneurial activity to consider the unique geographic contexts in which entrepreneurs operate. These contexts include a variety of interactive elements including regional characteristics, institutions, actors, and connectors. As such, this collection analyses entrepreneurial activity in regions around the globe. The contributions explore a series of diverse regions in terms of their geographic, historical, industrial, and institutional contexts. The book also explores a range of topics, such as patterns of regional/subnational variations in entrepreneurial activity, geographically mediated determinants of entrepreneurship, inter-temporal dynamics, evolution of regional systems of entrepreneurship, and the impact of entrepreneurship on regional development and regional entrepreneurship policy. This book enhances our policy and practical knowledge about the unique regional context in which entrepreneurs operate and demonstrates the important role that geography plays in the spatial distribution of entrepreneurial activity.
'Entrepreneurship had been high on the jobs growth and economic development agendas for many years and this edited book makes an important and timely contribution to the debate. . . the book is nicely poised to bring together space, innovation and economic growth linked together with entrepreneurship. . . This book provides an excellent and worthwhile insight into many of the issues with many contributions that significantly add to our understanding of entrepreneurship and regional development.' - Ronald W. McQuaid, Growth & Change
This book is the first collection of scholarly writings on science and technology parks (STPs) that has an international perspective. It explores concrete ways to systematically collect information on public and private organizations related to their support of and activities in STPs, including incubation to start-up and scale-up, and collaborations with centers of knowledge creation. Rather than perpetuate the qualitative assessment of successful practices, the focus of this book is to present quantitative and qualitative evidence of the impact of STPs on regional development and to raise awareness on the importance of systematic data collection and analysis. Only through a systematic collection of data on fiscal identification numbers of companies, universities, and university spin-offs will it be possible to conduct current and especially future analyses on the impact of STPs on entrepreneurship, effectiveness of technology transfer, and regional economic development. To this extent, the synergistic views of academics, representatives from STPs, and policy experts are crucial.
Cultural Values and Entrepreneurship aims to broaden and deepen our understanding of which elements of ‘culture’ influence, or are influenced by, entrepreneurial activity. Differences in entrepreneurial activity among countries, and regions within those countries, are persistent and cannot be fully explained by institutional and economic variables. A substantial number of these differences have been attributed to culture, and it is clear that some socio-cultural practices, values and norms are more conducive to driving or inhibiting entrepreneurial intentions and activity. However, we need to dig deeper into ‘how’ and ‘why’ cultural practices, and underlying values and norms, matter in entrepreneurial action, in order to more fully understand the complexities of the processes, without making cross-cultural or cross-national generalisations. Unique cultural, national, and institutional contexts present different practices in terms of opportunities and challenges for driving entrepreneurial action. The contributions in this book consider some of the many different facets of the culture-entrepreneurship relationship, and offer valuable insights to our understanding of the field. This book was originally published as a special issue of Entrepreneurship & Regional Development.
