In 1998 John Wood was a rising executive at Microsoft . Then a trip to Nepal inspired him to set up schools and libraries in the developing world. Fuelled by the same drive that made him a top executive, Wood took his business acumen into the charity sector and created Room to Read, a stunningly effective organisation that has created a network of more than 2,000 schools and libraries throughout Asia and Africa in only six years. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World chronicles John Wood's incredible journey, his first years at Microsoft, his life-changing decision to leave, and the adventure that followed. Wood shares the methods he uses to manage Room to Read, taken from the boardroom of one of the world's most influential companies and applied successfully in a very different setting. His story is an inspirational example of how to create success on your own terms and change your world. After earning an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management, John Wood joined Microsoft in 1991. He quickly ascended to become Microsoft's director of business development in China and the surrounding regions. In 1999, he founded Room to Read, a charity that promotes literacy throughout the developing world. He lives in San Francisco.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. There is growing recognition that entrepreneurship can be better understood within its context(s). This carefully designed book invites readers to take a journey: from reflecting critically on where the discussion on context and entrepreneurship stands today towards identifying future research questions and themes that deserve the attention of entrepreneurship scholars. This collection draws attention to the research challenges the entrepreneurship field faces by reviewing the many facets of contexts and by reflecting on methods and theoretical approaches that are required in order to contextualize entrepreneurship research. Written by renowned international scholars, the book's leading-edge contributions provide a thorough exploration of how to contextualize entrepreneurship research. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, comprehensive coverage of the entrepreneurship/contexts debate is included, in addition to reading lists and a chapter dedicated to advancing future research avenues. Students and academics interested in context and entrepreneurship will benefit from this far-reaching and forward-thinking book. Contributors: H.E. Aldrich, T. Baker, M. Brannback, A.L. Carsrud, S. Chlosta, S. Drakopoulou Dodd, D. Fletcher, W.B. Gartner, S. Lippmann, E.E. Powell, T. Pret, E. Shaw, P. Selden, E. Stam, C. Steyaert, R.D. Wadhwani, F. Welter, M. Wright

Based on recognition, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities, entrepreneurship is a process that stimulates economic growth, provides us with new products and services, and serves as a solution to low unemployment rates. Hence, many governments encourage their citizens to embrace entrepreneurship as a strategy to mitigate unemployment, particularly youth and graduate unemployment. While studies show that entrepreneurship education has yielded positive results in Western countries, in other parts of the world it seems that most students still prefer to seek paid employment in their career of choice. Promoting Entrepreneurship to Reduce Graduate Unemployment seeks to expand understanding of the barriers that face graduates in becoming entrepreneurs in various countries, examining the role of educational institutions in promoting graduate entrepreneurship and evaluating governments as well as other schemes that promote graduate entrepreneurship. Although it will not be a panacea for all the obstacles that impede graduate entrepreneurship, it is hoped that this book will illuminate the entrepreneurship career path, serve as a platform for further diagnosis for reducing graduate unemployment, and highlight areas in need of further research. Covering topics such as entrepreneurial self-efficacy, career choice, and educated unemployment, it serves as a dynamic resource for educators, educational administration and faculty, government institutions, graduate students, student organizations, professionals, researchers, and academicians.

'Entrepreneurial identities permeate virtually every facet of the venturing process, but the study of these identities has received surprisingly little attention among scholars. Thomas Duening and Matthew Metzger address this problem with this insightful and timely edited volume. They have compiled an impressive array of research that covers both macro- and micro-level explorations of entrepreneurial identities. Most importantly, these chapters provide numerous examples of tangible advice to interested educators about how to foster the entrepreneurial spirit and build the entrepreneurial identity within their own students. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in entrepreneurial identities.' - Charles Murnieks, Oregon State University, US Entrepreneurship is an academic discipline that, despite decades of growth in research and teaching activity lacks a traditionally distinct or common pedagogy. In this book, editors Thomas N. Duening and Matthew L. Metzger explore entrepreneurial identity as a new basis upon which curricula can be constructed for aspiring entrepreneurs. Critically, this perspective is based on the insight that there is a fundamental difference between venture development and entrepreneur development. Unfortunately, most current interventions for aspiring entrepreneurs focus on the former at the expense of the latter. The editors have collected work from an international team of authors with diverse views on how identity theory applies to entrepreneur development. Chapters focus primarily on macro-level identity issues (that is, how do these entrepreneurial archetypes form, persist, and sometimes change) or micro-level identity issues (that is, how can educators and resource providers identify, communicate, and incentivize identity construction among aspiring entrepreneurs). This book provides a general theoretical background and offers numerous suggestions for application and further research. One example of this is the 'For Further Reading' feature at the end of each chapter which is perfect for assisting those who want to delve deeper into various topics. This essential resource will be of interest to researchers, resource providers and students alike. Contributors include: D. Boje, A. Donnellon, T.N. Duening, R. Gill, B. Mathias, M.L. Metzger, R. Smith, K. Williams-Middleton

This book is about innovation ecosystems, Clusters of Innovation (COI) and the Global Networks of Clusters of Innovation (GNCOI) they naturally form. What is innovation and why is it important to us? Innovation is nothing less than the ability for constructive response and adaptation to change. The cause and catalyst for that change is frequently identified as technology and its unceasing pressure to improve on existing solutions and address unmet needs. The last decade has painfully demonstrated that exogenous environmental shocks are also sources of change that call for innovative responses, ranging from the obvious challenges such as global warming and Covid-19 to the more subtle social and political perturbations of our time. Entrepreneurs, in collaboration with venture investors and major corporations can create a flywheel of constructive engagement, a cluster of Innovation, that helps build the resiliency of our communities to adsorb and rebound from these shocks. The process is enhanced when actively supported by government, universities, and other elements of the ecosystem. This book provides the tools for understanding this value creation process and the means to enhance it, in both emerging and mature innovation ecosystems. This book provides a framework for understanding innovation in mature and emerging innovation ecosystems to a wide swath of professionals and academics, from senior executives of major corporations, government leaders, public policy makers, and consultants, to academics, researchers, and educators.

Recognizing how the lines between digital and traditional forms of entrepreneurship are blurring, this forward-thinking book combines digital technology and entrepreneurship perspectives to advance knowledge on this paradigm-shifting typology of entrepreneurship. Kisito Futonge Nzembayie and Anthony Paul Buckley explore how in the digital age, the micro-level activities of digital entrepreneurs in new venture creation continue to digitally transform and disrupt economic systems at macro-levels. As digital entrepreneurship and other typologies of entrepreneurship in the digital age become increasingly conceptually fuzzy, the book sets out to define the digital entrepreneurship domain; what it is and why it is distinctive and disruptive. It concludes by offering a pragmatic framework for digital entrepreneurship implementation and demonstrates how the authors have put this into practice in their own work. Placing digital entrepreneurship in its conceptual and historical context, the book provides a clear understanding of the mechanisms driving the digital entrepreneurial process and practical tools to help nurture and develop new digital ventures. It will be valuable reading for business scholars and students interested in the role of technology in their field. Business managers and practitioners will also benefit from the book's guidelines and analytical tools.