In this exciting work, Link and Scott summarize more than a decade of their research on public support of R&D in small, entrepreneurial firms, concluding public R&D investments, primarily funded by the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, are indeed bending the arc of innovation. Firms that receive SBIR project funding would not undertake the projects in the absence of SBIR's support. SBIR support has had a positive impact on the employment trajectory of firms and their ability to commercialize innovations. Bending the Arc of Innovation offers a theoretical model of the effects of the SBIR program. Link and Scott demonstrate that with SBIR support of R&D often comes contractual commercial agreements with other firms to sell the rights to the technology generated by the public support. These agreements between another firm and a small firm with a SBIR-award enable an effective transfer of knowledge created with the small firm's publicly-supported research. Both parties to the agreement have better access to the knowledge resources of the other. Link and Scott show how these agreements allow the dedication of resources and organizational efforts necessary for the commercially successful access to and use of external knowledge.

This book presents a state-of-the-art portrait of entrepreneurship in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as well as Georgia and Ukraine. Based on new empirical evidence, it highlights major trends in, characteristics and forms of entrepreneurship common to countries in transition. The contributions cover topics such as levels of opportunity-based entrepreneurship, incentives for innovation, dominance of large-scale international corporations, the role of family businesses, and opportunities for grass-roots entrepreneurship. The first part of the book focuses on theoretical considerations regarding the establishment of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems and private business. In turn, the second part offers cross-border studies of entrepreneurial environments and activities, while the third and fourth present case studies on the current state and unique characteristics of entrepreneurship in various countries of the CEE and CIS as well as Georgia and Ukraine. Finally, the last parts discuss the role of institutions and policy recommendations.

An ideal text for undergraduate and MBA entrepreneurship courses in business, engineering and the social sciences. 'Deftly written, superbly presented, and highly recommended for community and academic library business studies collections, Entrepreneurship is ideal for use as a classroom textbook or as a primer for non-specialist general readers with an interest in entrepreneurship.' - The Midwest Book Review The early years of the 21st Century could well be called the 'decade(s) of the entrepreneur'. Entrepreneurship is an often-featured topic in magazine and newspaper articles, popular television shows and major films. Universities have added courses, departments, and even schools of entrepreneurship to their catalogs, and governments at all levels are competing to develop programs to encourage entrepreneurship. A key reason behind this growing interest is the widely held belief - supported by economic data - that entrepreneurship is a powerful engine of economic growth. By presenting accurate knowledge about entrepreneurship itself, this book serves to convert the rising tide of interest in entrepreneurship into advice and guidance that can actually assist entrepreneurs in achieving their goals. In order to do so, this book presents evidence-based information concerning the factors that encourage entrepreneurship's emergence, including the conditions that shape its outcomes and how it unfolds as a process. This text draws on two key sources of knowledge - input from entrepreneurs and the findings of systematic empirical research. As the subtitle suggests, however, emphasis is placed on the latter whenever possible because the information individual entrepreneurs possess cannot readily serve as the basis for general principles or guidelines since it is unique to each entrepreneur. By combining evidence-based knowledge with the hard-earned wisdom of experienced entrepreneurs, this volume offers a balanced and inclusive guide useful to both current and aspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is indeed a driving force of economic growth. But beyond that, it is also a key mechanism through which human creativity, ingenuity, skill, and energy are converted into tangible outcomes that can, and often do, change the world in ways that enhance and enrich human welfare. This volume will be of particular interest to students of entrepreneurship in a broad array of fields ranging from business and management to engineering and governance. Suitable for undergraduate courses and graduate programs alike, this book is frontier blazing in its own right and will help those who read it be so as well. Awarded Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2012

Investors receive thousands of business plans, but only a few businesses receive funding. While there are many "how-tos" out there for entrepreneurs, no one has focused on the mind-set, tools, and foundation that are important to investors, and therefore essential to entrepreneurs. Getting Funded examines and develops a framework on which to base a business concept, conduct due diligence research and risk analysis, refine a business model and reformulate a business strategy, and develop a risk and reward structure that protects investment money and incentivizes entrepreneurs to successfully manage the opportunity to create and share value. Getting Funded shows entrepreneurs the tools and framework critical to a venture's success, teaching entrepreneurs to refine their business model and strategy as well as to develop an investment model to improve the investability of the venture and thereby increase the chances of getting funded. Even without the need for external funding, these tools will improve a venture's potential odds of success. Listen to the author discuss the book on the UK-based radio show, The Evening Show with Simon Rose.

This book not only documents the valuable contributions of African American thinkers, inventors, and entrepreneurs past and present, but also puts these achievements into context of the obstacles these innovators faced because of their race. Successful entrepreneurs and inventors share valuable characteristics like self-confidence, perseverance, and the ability to conceptualize unrealized solutions or opportunities. However, another personality trait has been required for African Americans wishing to become business owners, creative thinkers, or patent holders: a willingness to overcome the additional barriers placed before them because of their race, especially in the era before civil rights. The Entrepreneurial Spirit of African American Inventors provides historical accounts of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship among black Americans, from the 19th century to the present day. The author examines how these individuals stimulated industry, business activity, and research, helping shape the world as we know it and setting the precedent for the minority business tradition in the United States. This book also sheds light on fascinating advances made in metallurgy, medicine, architecture, and other fields that supply further examples of scientific inquiry and business acumen among African Americans. Presents a chronology of patents issued to African Americans from the period of slavery to the present Includes illustrations of patents and trademarks as well as advertising copy and photographs of African American entrepreneurs and patentees Provides a bibliography of significant materials from the fields of invention, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and business A helpful index offers access to the entries by inventor, invention, patents, trademarks, periodicals, and field/profession An appendix holds a comprehensive roster of African American patentees listing the inventor's name, U.S. patent title and number, and date of issue

The sponsorship of the entrepreneur as an agent of economic growth is now at the center of a vast promotional industry, involving politicians, government departments and higher education. This book examines the origins of this phenomenon and subjects its mythologies, hero-figures and policies to an empirically based critical examination.

Developments in Chinese Entrepreneurship offers empirical evidence from cutting-edge research into the experiences and challenges of entrepreneurial activities and small business issues within China. As a leading emerging country, the entrepreneurial landscape in China provides useful insight for other developing economies in the areas of: Entrepreneurial finance The role of venture capital and angel finance in new venture development The influence of family dynamics on small business management The impact of prevailing local institutional norms and barriers on small business management Innovation, R&D, and entrepreneurial strategies The impact of government policy on small business management Survival and growth strategies for small businesses

What makes the US different from other advanced economies is the opportunity for newcomers acting as entrepreneurs to start new companies, a few of which will then change the world. This book develops three points. First, the New Economy is real: part micro, part macro, and all digital. Second, its emergence around networked PCs propelled the US resurgence in the world economy during the 1990s. Third, rather than subsiding, the current US lead in information technology (IT) could well increase over the next decade. The reason lies in the clustered linking of venture capital and entrepreneurs in a system that can be stylized as 'the invention of the method of innovation'. The central theme of the book is the vital role played by newcomers, acting as entrepreneurs, to overthrow the old order and blast through the deep tendencies toward stagnation that afflict advanced, affluent economies. Related strands are (1) an update and reappraisal of Joseph Schumpeter's vision of capitalist development, (2) a regional focus on the rebirth of US computing, and (3) a detailed inquiry into the geography of innovation in strategic clusters of venture capital firms and IT knowledge workers. The author provides a sharply etched portrayal of the geography of the new economy. He lists specific case studies of the failure of established managerial corporations to capitalize on inventions, a failure remedied by newcomers. The book recounts traditional and new theories of the entrepreneur and of creative destruction. Primers on venture capital, IPOs, and internet business models are included, as are comparisons of theory and data on the emergence of new 'strategic cities'. Lastly, it offers a brief, readable, detailed, and company-specific history of the PC revolution and the coming of the internet. Economists, geographers, and regional scientists, students and readers interested in the digital economy, the internet, the history of economic thought, and the New Economy and investors will all find this book revealing and enlightening.

"Over the past years social entrepreneurship has grown as a research field. In this third edited volume we have collected contributions studying particularly questions of values in Social Entrepreneurship as well as the identification and exploitation of Social Venturing Opportunities"--

This book investigates key aspects of the development of engaged and entrepreneurial universities. Reflecting the complex and dynamic nature of changes in higher education institutions (HEIs), multi-level perspectives in the field are taken into account, namely the ecosystem, relationship, organisational and individual perspective. The book highlights the entrepreneurial and the social orientation of HEIs by focusing on both primary economically focused (entrepreneurial) universities and primary socially focused (engaged) universities. It challenges the understanding of the role universities and its individual stakeholders play today. The book explores a multitude of facets and perspectives on the topic and addresses both what we already know and what knowledge still needs to be acquired.

Adopting evolutionary and behavioral approaches, this volume presents the latest research advances in knowledge competencies and human capital, as well as the changing structural dynamics, highlighting their links with entrepreneurial activities. It provides a set of international, benchmark case studies on initiatives (at the national, regional or individual level) geared towards entrepreneurship development. Focusing on diverse environments, systems and life cycle stages: young, established and transition industries and markets; as well as regions, it offers a valuable guide for scholars and practitioners interested in the interaction of entrepreneurship, knowledge competencies, human resources management and innovation.

This book explores different topics in the field of female entrepreneurship, such as motivational factors of female entrepreneurs, career perspectives of women, social female enterprises, tourism and hospitality, and emotional and institutional support of female entrepreneurial initiatives in the perspective of different transitional countries.

Offers a psychology based model that features seven key determinants of success or failure for innovation and entrepreneurial endeavours. Provides specific recommendations, examples and case studies that demonstrate how individual and group psychology must be engaged effectively to create entrepreneurial cultures capable of powerful innovation.

With the need for sustainability, a focus on developing an economic system that aims at minimizing waste, commonly referred to as the circular economy, is emerging. Circular economy and studies related to it have gained worldwide attention, as it seems to be an effective alternative economic system. Naturally, the circular economy will impact enterprises and will shift how entrepreneurship development and entrepreneurial opportunities are perceived, developed, and resourced. The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Development and Opportunities in Circular Economy is a collection of pioneering research that advances the understanding of entrepreneurship development, identifies the opportunities, and manages the entrepreneurship development, policies, and programs in order to further a circular economy. In addition to entrepreneurship development and entrepreneurial opportunities, the book will cover and discuss a number of other factors necessary for a successful transformation, such as entrepreneurship and innovation, entrepreneurship and change, and entrepreneurship education. While highlighting topics including consumer consumption, knowledge management, and linear economics, this book is ideally designed for entrepreneurs, small business owners, managers, consultants, organization development specialists, policymakers, researchers, industry experts, academicians, and students.

This book develops a unified framework to explain the phenomena of competitive advantage and firm value creation in dynamic environments. Through a new strategic value creation theory, it explores how a firm can measure and sustain its competitive advantage through management incentives, capital market forces, organizational culture and structure, and social complexity. It also considers how management can utilize their resources and capabilities, shadow options, product market forces, customer needs, and organizational learning as a means to differentiate them from the competition. With an innovative approach to theory and research, it will be positioned to inform both scholars and practitioners in management, business strategy, and entrepreneurship on the process of competitive and sustainable value creation.

This book explores the sea change in thinking about how to educate students of entrepreneurship, uses extant theory to develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurship skill development, describes an assessment tool for operationalizing this model, discusses how this tool can be utilized to develop entrepreneurship skills, and offers examples from the application of our approach in educational settings. It concludes with implications of this methodology for furthering both entrepreneurship education and the research that shapes it. The authors present an entrepreneurship skills assessment tool, which uses a theory of measurement that breaks from psychometrics (predictive approaches) and honors the volatility and uncertainty that characterizes entrepreneurship. This assessment tool can be used to integrate curriculum and co-curricular activities to ensure skill development. Focusing on a methodology for the measurement and development of entrepreneurship skills, this book will serve as a valuable resource to researchers and students alike.

This contributed volume presents a state-of-the-art compendium for startups and corporations, focusing on corporate ventures. The book is based on the volume "Strategy and Communication for Innovation" and includes up-to-date discussions which help to better understand strategy and communication from a startup perspective. Each chapter offers a starting point for the exchange of ideas, key lessons and new insights from entrepreneurial perspectives such as e-ventures, corporate ventures and traditional ventures. Readers with an interest in innovation management will benefit from this book.

This volume offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art portrait of entrepreneurship and small business management issues in former Yugoslavian countries. Further, it provides a wealth of theoretical and empirical evidence on the role of entrepreneurship in transition economies and emerging markets. Country-based studies identify the processes in each country that attract financial investors and yield new business and employment opportunities. In addition, the studies highlight institutional constraints and political factors that hinder the development of entrepreneurship in these countries, and offer recommendations for policymakers on how to improve the general business environment. This book will appeal to entrepreneurship researchers, as well as public policymakers in transition economies and emerging markets.

Find success, freedom, and adventure-outside the nine-to-five grind . . . Lifestyle Entrepreneur provides a step-by-step framework to turn your interests and passions into products and services that add value for others-while supporting a lifestyle of novelty and adventure. Interwoven with stories and strategies for success, Lifestyle Entrepreneur inspires and instructs aspiring entrepreneurs on how to gain clarity on their identity and a vision for greatness. From a successful entrepreneur who has traveled to and lived in over thirty countries-as well as toured with a rock band, learned new languages, and climbed a volcano-this book offers such frameworks as the Discover Your Identity process and the Vision-MAP, to help you start designing your ideal lifestyle and learn how to leverage these interests and passions to create online businesses that are reflective and complementary to your life and business goals. "Carries you over the most important threshold in an entrepreneur's life: From 'I can't' to 'I can.'" -Bryan Franklin, cocreator of Mind Money Meaning