This book embodies the ever-increasing scope and depth of empirical entrepreneurship research in Europe. Contributors from different disciplinary backgrounds within the business field - including finance, management, and entrepreneurship, and from other related disciplines such as economics and economic geography - employ various methodologies to study the phenomenon of entrepreneurship. Drawing on this wealth of theoretically based and empirically sound research, the contributors examine three overarching themes. First, entrepreneurship issues in specific country settings are discussed: these encompass Portugal, the UK and Germany in Western Europe, Eastern European countries such as Russia and Latvia, and then Scandinavia and Finland. Second, special issues concerning technology-based companies are explored, and finally, unique aspects of venture capital markets in Europe are studied. Presenting cutting edge empirical research on myriad entrepreneurship topics in Europe, this multidisciplinary volume will strongly appeal to academics, students and researchers from various backgrounds that have a specific interest in entrepreneurship.It will also be warmly welcomed by entrepreneurs themselves.

This books provides a critical perspective on entrepreneurialism in the creative industries. Split into three sections, the book first asks the contextual question; why, at this point in time, did we arrive at such a focus on entrepreneurship in the creative industries? Examining the historical, social, cultural, economic and political background, the book places the creative industries and entrepreneurship firmly within a systemic approach to creativity and cultural production. Given this emphasis on entrepreneurship in the creative system, the second part of the book asks, what do those who want to work in the creative industries need to do to pragmatically gain an income? The practices, skills, business models and plans necessary to master in order to successfully run a business are explored in this section. The final section contains detailed case studies that reveal the lives of those who found a way to successfully gain an income in the creative industries. It highlights the practical knowledge they gathered, how they negotiated their field of endeavour, and the decisions they made in the real world. Fundamentally the book answers three questions: How and why did we get here? Given that we are here at this point in time, how do we go about being entrepreneurial? And who has managed to do this in the creative industries and how did they do it? Covering both theoretical debates in detail, and practical case studies in key sub-sectors of creative industries, this truly integrative and far-reaching volume will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners alike.

This open access book examines a particular factor in the enduring international success of German companies. Beyond industrial specialization, peaceful labor relations, local financial markets and the "miracle of the Mittelstand", it focuses on a characteristic aspect of governance within the German economy: The Chambers of commerce and industry. Important characteristics of the Chamber system are emphasized - including obligatory membership for firms as well as participatory rules of their self-administration. In turn, the book examines the institution's self-governance, its services, and its mission regarding the general representation of interests. Moreover, the book also identifies the advancement of the dual system of professional education as a central element of the Chamber system. Following an introduction about how the Chamber system works, interviews, case studies and historical explanations help to exemplify the true spirit inherent to this form of representation. In particular, they reveal the essence of how the Chambers contribute to the global success of German companies and foster their corporate responsibility in a practical way. Given its scope, the book will be of particular interest to professionals, policymakers and researchers concerned with how institutional organization can support commerce and industry for the public good. The book was developed in collaboration with Laura Sasse and the Practical Wisdom Society.

In recent years our understanding of corporate sustainability has moved from exploitation to exploration, from corporate environmental management to sustainable entrepreneurship, and from efficiency to innovation. Yet current trends indicate the need for radical innovation via entrepreneurial start-ups or new ventures within existing corporations despite difficulties with the financing and marketing of such efforts. Presenting both conceptual and empirical research, this fascinating book addresses how we can combine environmental and social sustainability with economic sustainability in order to produce innovative new business models. The international cast of contributors addresses the wide range of issues in the balance between growth and environmental concerns. The first five chapters discuss various aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship. This is followed by two chapters that look at innovation within existing firms. Innovation is not successful until it finds a customer, so the two chapters that follow delve into the marketing aspects of business-to-consumer and business-to-business settings. The book closes with a broad discussion of the evolution and future of the research agenda into the intersection of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. Academics, students, business professionals, and NGOs will find this volume enlightening and useful.

This exciting book provides fresh insight into how institutions, governments, regulations, economic freedom and morality impact entrepreneurship and public policy. Each chapter contains a rigorous analysis of the consequences of public policy and the effects of institutional decisions on the productivity of entrepreneurs. Expert contributors highlight the importance of institutions for economic outcomes while focusing specifically on the impact of public policy. One standout feature is the presentation of concrete examples regarding the role of institutions as well a clear analysis of entrepreneurship research. The editors also examine and compare productive versus unproductive public policies. Some of the conclusions made within this book include: Successful recruitment spending by states creates an incentive for unproductive entrepreneurs to seek economic rents Regulatory measures impact firms in a continuous and evolving fashion Economic actions and morality may converge given certain conditions More economic freedom in a given country is associated with greater levels of entrepreneurship Public Policy, Productive and Unproductive Entrepreneurship will help policymakers direct their efforts at creating a positive economic environment for entrepreneurs to flourish and give scholars a better understanding of the role policy plays in entrepreneurial activity. Its practical application for academic research will be great for students, helping them to connect theoretical economic fundamentals to real and familiar economic outcomes. Contributors include: J. Fetzner, J.C. Hall, P.G. Klein, M. Latta, R.A. Lawson, G.M. Randolph, M. Rivero, S. Roychoudhury, M.E. Ryan, R.F. Salvino, R.S. Sobel, M.T. Tasto, P.A. Yakovlev

This fourth volume in the Studies of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in East Asia series focuses on regional and sectoral dimensions in a number of regional economies and economic sectors. The contributors place special emphasis on the importance of SME networking and clustering initiatives and activities. They argue that these initiatives support and nurture the global competitiveness of local SMEs in various economic sectors across the East Asian region. The book goes on to illustrate the increasing recognition that important local, regional and sectoral dimensions of SMEs, activities require their own specific micro policy measures. This is significant as the vitality of many local regional economies depends upon the activities of these local SMEs. The importance and inherent potential of SMEs as small but significant players in national economies and industries is increasingly recognised by policymakers and scholars around the world. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in East Asia will therefore strongly appeal to both academics and practitioners involved with business and management, Asian studies, industrial organization and entrepreneurship.

Portraying how entrepreneurs often start out conducting some or all of their trade on an 'off-the-books' basis and how many continue to do so once they become established, this book provides the first detailed account of the vast and ubiquitous hidden enterprise culture existing in the interstices of western economies. Until now, the role of the underground economy in enterprise creation, entrepreneurship and small business development has been largely ignored despite its widespread prevalence and importance. In contrast to much of the previous literature that views the underground economy as low-paid, exploitative sweatshop work that should be deterred, this book takes a fresh, more positive perspective that considers the underground economy as a hidden enterprise culture. Colin C. Williams prescribes the means by which western governments can best harness this hidden culture of enterprise. He outlines detailed policy initiatives that seek to assist business ventures in setting up on a formal footing, and aim to encourage underground enterprises and entrepreneurs to make the transition into the realm of legitimacy. This book provides a lucid guide as to how the hidden culture of enterprise can be brought into the open. As such, it will prove invaluable to a wide-ranging audience including scholars and students of business studies, entrepreneurship, management, economics and regional science.

What characterizes the phenomenon of (small) firm growth, and how can it best be studied? Why and how do firms grow - and why don't they? Is firm growth externally determined or the result of managers' visions and actions? What are the different paths that firms follow in order to achieve high growth? Is growth evidence of entrepreneurship - and is growth always desirable? In this book, three leading scholars have integrated some of their most important research in order to answer these questions on firm growth. The result is a volume that builds on studies of many thousands of firms in several different projects. It offers deep insights into the firm growth phenomenon and how it can be studied. This research-based study promises to be a valuable resource for academics and students focussing on business and management, and, more specifically, entrepreneurship. Researchers who aspire to design and conduct further studies leading to deeper and better established insights into firm growth will also find the book invaluable, as will those who encourage and assist firm growth as part of their profession.

This book - the third in the Movements in Entrepreneurship series - examines entrepreneurship as a societal phenomenon. It provides an in-depth study of the social aspects of entrepreneurship, illustrating how entrepreneurship affects society. The need to move beyond economy to disclose entrepreneurship in its societal forms is demonstrated, as is the relevance of our understanding of entrepreneurship as a societal phenomenon. The contributors show that entrepreneurship is a society-creating force and as such, it evokes new questions for entrepreneurship research and attempts to engage with new theoretical formulations. They begin with discussions on early Schumpeter and a rhetorical analysis of the current academic literature on social entrepreneurship. They go on to present myriad contextual examples of how entrepreneurship can shape social change, and indicate how this is initiated through various social settings, relationships and communities. Through rich empirical work this book explores the social of 'social entrepreneurship' and in doing so shows us how entrepreneurship is at home where society is created. As such, it will prove a fascinating read for academics, researchers and students with an interest in entrepreneurship, sociology and economic sociology.

This book makes a rare - but often advocated - contribution to research in entrepreneurship and international business by providing a richly contextualised longitudinal case study of the growth and internationalisation of a cluster of small firms over more than 20 years. Sara McGaughey presents a vivid, ethnographically-inspired narrative using creative forms of writing - including diary extracts, dramas, personal narratives and a cartoon - that draws the reader into the world experienced by the entrepreneurs, and conveys the unfolding context of the research process itself. The author interprets key events and activities such as export market choice, institutional entrepreneurship and portfolio activities in international new venturing through the lens of legitimacy and legitimation processes. The rich empirical and methodological contextualisation invites all readers to reinterpret these events and activities using their own diverse perspectives. This unique book will strongly appeal to practitioners and scholars of international entrepreneurship, international business, business history and organisation studies, as well as those interested in research methods used in these fields.

International Entrepreneurship in Family Businesses illustrates that family firms have always been active agents in the global economy and that their participation in the international competitive dynamic will only increase in the coming years. Indeed many of the large multinational firms that dominate today's world markets were founded as, and continue to be, family firms. The authors document the particularities of the family business phenomenon from a holistic, multi-paradigmatic, and global viewpoint. The book integrates intensive studies of family business that encompass wide-ranging areas of research and contexts, including psychology, sociology, organizational behaviour, financial studies, strategic management and internationalization. Practical examples and case studies of multinational family firms underpin the exploratory empirical research. Academics, researchers and students of international business, and more specifically, family business will find much to interest in them in this book, as will entrepreneurs and practitioners with a vested interest in the family firm.

For too long, researchers have regarded local dynamism as the result of the actions of certain entrepreneurs. If this were the case, how could we explain the simultaneous presence of 'winning', stagnating or declining areas with very similar socioeconomic profiles within the same region? Departing from this restrictive and somewhat inadequate approach, Pierre-Andre Julien considers entrepreneurship as a collective behaviour specifically related to the dynamism of the milieu in which it develops. The author introduces a complex, innovative theory of local entrepreneurship, demonstrating that the emergence of new ventures and the development of existing enterprises cannot be understood without taking into account certain factors: locale, social capital, networking and entrepreneurial culture within a given area are all crucial to entrepreneurial growth. Expanding upon this theory, the book demonstrates how entrepreneurship can be fostered in order to support collective development. Various forms of partnership among socioeconomic actors are then analysed to highlight the social conventions and entrepreneurial culture that connect and intensify the energies at the root of local dynamism. This highly original book represents a departure from entrepreneurship literature that is largely limited to the study of entrepreneurs' behaviour. Its dynamic presentation of holistic theory will prove an extremely absorbing read for those with an academic or professional interest in business and management, entrepreneurship and regional development.

A cast of prestigious international business scholars explores here the emerging challenges and issues facing multinational enterprises. The book integrates the latest theories, thoughts and empirical evidence along with several case studies in international business in the 21st century. It is understood that countries view international business in different ways. The contributors reflect this by offering a wide variety of viewpoints and covering an array of issues, such as foreign direct investment, internationalization, trust and leadership, global education and knowledge transfer. Adding to its value are case studies ranging from American restaurant franchises on the world stage to the influence of the internet on Taiwanese SMEs. The book will be useful to scholars as a research resource, to practitioners as a modern guide and to students of international business as a comprehensive text.

'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