This fascinating and original textbook - an excellent introductory text for both graduate and undergraduate students - attempts to enhance and advance our understanding of entrepreneurship. In this intriguing book, Bjorn Bjerke contends that entrepreneurship cannot, to any great extent, be planned in advance. He goes as far as to suggest that planning could be against the very essence of entrepreneurship. The book explains that entrepreneurship is about courage rather than willpower, is to be venturesome and undertaking whilst experimenting, networking and pushing oneself forward, and concerns exploiting mistakes as essential learning curves. The importance of the entrepreneur as a human being is strongly expressed, as is the idea that entrepreneurship is closer to art and aesthetics than science and mathematics. Language, argues the author, plays a decisive role and philosophy provides a solid basis when we try to come to grips with the nature of entrepreneurship. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Bjorn Bjerke asserts that all these points alert us to one simple fact: it is not possible to define a 'typical' entrepreneur or to present a model method of operating and supporting an entrepreneurial venture. Understanding Entrepreneurship is a truly remarkable textbook that will provide an absorbing and illuminating read for all those - academics, students and practitioners alike - with an interest in entrepreneurship.

How do business leaders think as a result of their national culture? This book provides a discussion and comparative analysis of five major cultures - American, Arab, Chinese, Japanese and Scandinavian - and how they reveal themselves in business practice. The author begins by introducing the concept of culture and why it is important, addressing issues such as values, beliefs and assumptions and the consequences of these. Bjorn Bjerke then goes on to address corporate culture and business strategy as well as some myths associated with national cultures. Looking at the five specific cultures he addresses cultural themes and presents a typified picture of the business leader in each of these. He concludes that there are five different capitalist systems governing these cultures, and that the business leader plays a different role in each. Extending this discussion, the author questions whether the culture-free business leader exists and, if so, what the characteristics of such a person might be. Business Leadership and Culture will enlighten students, scholars and business people about the consequences of culture for international business and management.

This engaging textbook offers a modern perspective on all that is essential to know about entrepreneurship. It will prove required reading for both lecturers and undergraduate and Masters students on upper-level entrepreneurship courses.Bjoern Bjerke covers all kinds of aspects of entrepreneurship including the history of the subject, our modern entrepreneurial society, local community development, entrepreneurship in different national cultures and women as entrepreneurs. He addresses some theoretical developments, and considers a narrow and a broad view of entrepreneurship, rational and natural entrepreneurial start-ups and entrepreneurship in space and place. At the end of every chapter, there are numerous 'Think' questions and a practice case, which may be useful when studying the subject alone or when teaching it. There are online resources for teachers to support the text. Contents: Introduction: A Book About, for or in Entrepreneurship? 1. The History of Entrepreneurship as an Academic Subject 2. Our Society During the Twenty-first Century 3. All These Preneurs 4. Business Entrepreneurship: The Narrow View 5. Business Entrepreneurship: The Broad View 6. Social Entrepreneurship 7. Entrepreneurship and Local Development 8. Start-ups of Entrepreneurial Activities 9. Women as Entrepreneurs 10. Entrepreneurial Activities in Different National Cultures 11. Some Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations References Index

This engaging textbook offers a modern perspective on all that is essential to know about entrepreneurship. It will prove required reading for both lecturers and undergraduate and Masters students on upper-level entrepreneurship courses.Bjoern Bjerke covers all kinds of aspects of entrepreneurship including the history of the subject, our modern entrepreneurial society, local community development, entrepreneurship in different national cultures and women as entrepreneurs. He addresses some theoretical developments, and considers a narrow and a broad view of entrepreneurship, rational and natural entrepreneurial start-ups and entrepreneurship in space and place. At the end of every chapter, there are numerous 'Think' questions and a practice case, which may be useful when studying the subject alone or when teaching it. There are online resources for teachers to support the text. Contents: Introduction: A Book About, for or in Entrepreneurship? 1. The History of Entrepreneurship as an Academic Subject 2. Our Society During the Twenty-first Century 3. All These Preneurs 4. Business Entrepreneurship: The Narrow View 5. Business Entrepreneurship: The Broad View 6. Social Entrepreneurship 7. Entrepreneurship and Local Development 8. Start-ups of Entrepreneurial Activities 9. Women as Entrepreneurs 10. Entrepreneurial Activities in Different National Cultures 11. Some Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations References Index

Consumers have, to a large extent, become their own producers; they are more aware of marketing and are active in adding value to the products and experiences they want. By assessing customers as active agents rather than passive consumers, Bjoern Bjerke explores alternative ways of marketing for new businesses and social entrepreneurial ventures. This book first presents the dominant approach to marketing theory used for the last half a century. After that, it presents an alternative approach to marketing theory by emphasizing how new infrastructures and organizations, including online platforms, influence new ways of linking the formal and informal economies together. Building on fundamental theories of science and methodological issues, Bjerke creates useful theoretical conceptions that can develop a greater connection between practice and research. He argues that as entrepreneurial activity is more accessible than ever it needs a fresh approach to include customers as co-creators and co-extractors of market value. An excellent book for exploring alternative marketing, students and researchers in marketing, social entrepreneurship and wider business and management studies will gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a marketer, customer and user.

A timely contribution to social entrepreneurship research from a Scandinavian view. Taking entrepreneurship as creative action in society as a whole, the authors counter widely held perceptions of (social) entrepreneurship: it is not an elite phenomenon but a form of action that we all engage in from time to time; it is not about system-changing disruptions but generally about small but real improvements in everyday life; it is not about autonomous action but about realizing freedom potential in societies where knowledge and learning have become essential for civic action.' - Rafael Ziegler, University of Greifswald, Germany'This book offers an innovative, theory-driven account of social entrepreneurship that is located in new thinking around the constructs of community and 'public' entrepreneurship. Bjerke and Karlsson draw on a wide range of sources to offer useful new insights and analyses of this emerging sector and contribute a variety of useful and challenging new models of the relationship between society, innovation, and politics. All in all, this represents a valuable addition to the growing theoretical literature on social innovation and entrepreneurship.' - Alex Nicholls, University of Oxford, UK This informative book examines some social entrepreneurs in practice in several countries whilst concentrating on entrepreneurs in the third sector. The authors call them citizen entrepreneurs. Such people are not only becoming more common but also more necessary in the world of today. Entrepreneurs are seen as people who aim 'to act as if and make a difference', that is, who act out of the ordinary and come up with noticeable solutions to various problems without being restricted by existing resources or possibilities. This book applies these criteria to citizen entrepreneurs, focusing on public entrepreneurs operating in public places. The authors conduct in-depth case studies to examine these public entrepreneurs thoroughly and offer some theoretical reflections on social entrepreneurship. Students and researchers studying social entrepreneurship will find this book of great interest. Social entrepreneurs and practitioners would also benefit considerably from this enriching resource.

How do business leaders think as a result of their national culture? This book provides a discussion and comparative analysis of five major cultures - American, Arab, Chinese, Japanese and Scandinavian - and how they reveal themselves in business practice. The author begins by introducing the concept of culture and why it is important, addressing issues such as values, beliefs and assumptions and the consequences of these. Bjorn Bjerke then goes on to address corporate culture and business strategy as well as some myths associated with national cultures. Looking at the five specific cultures he addresses cultural themes and presents a typified picture of the business leader in each of these. He concludes that there are five different capitalist systems governing these cultures, and that the business leader plays a different role in each. Extending this discussion, the author questions whether the culture-free business leader exists and, if so, what the characteristics of such a person might be. Business Leadership and Culture will enlighten students, scholars and business people about the consequences of culture for international business and management.

Just as society has realised the value of entrepreneurs, so entrepreneurs are gradually realising the value of strategic marketing. In this book, the authors explain the substantial role of marketing in the success of small firms which have emerged in the new business environment of the past 10 to 15 years. Entrepreneurial marketing is especially important for small, developing firms which have to consider emerging business and market trends, and so a model is presented specifically tailored to the needs of expanding entrepreneurial ventures. The authors also critically analyse the extent to which mainstream marketing and entrepreneurship theory are useful in entrepreneurial marketing. They argue that to be fully effective, marketing must be viewed from a broad perspective and as a value-creating process. In order to understand the dynamic pattern of growth of small entrepreneurial ventures, they emphasise the importance of making a clear distinction between: * managerial growth and entrepreneurial growth * entrepreneurship, management and leadership * transactional marketing, relationship marketing and complex combinations * focal organisations and virtual organisations * explorative learning and exploitative learning * value configurations and value chains. This book will be of immense worth to students, scholars and practitioners of marketing and entrepreneurship, and will contribute to a new dialogue between the two disciplines. It will also be of considerable value to the wider business and management community learning to operate and succeed in the new economic era.

Consumers have, to a large extent, become their own producers; they are more aware of marketing and are active in adding value to the products and experiences they want. By assessing customers as active agents rather than passive consumers, Bjoern Bjerke explores alternative ways of marketing for new businesses and social entrepreneurial ventures. This book first presents the dominant approach to marketing theory used for the last half a century. After that, it presents an alternative approach to marketing theory by emphasizing how new infrastructures and organizations, including online platforms, influence new ways of linking the formal and informal economies together. Building on fundamental theories of science and methodological issues, Bjerke creates useful theoretical conceptions that can develop a greater connection between practice and research. He argues that as entrepreneurial activity is more accessible than ever it needs a fresh approach to include customers as co-creators and co-extractors of market value. An excellent book for exploring alternative marketing, students and researchers in marketing, social entrepreneurship and wider business and management studies will gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a marketer, customer and user.

This unique and fascinating book takes a critical look at aspects of the prevalent entrepreneurship discourse and presents several substantive new theories, prescribing what should be abandoned (demobilization) and what should be adopted or given a more central position (mobilization).The contributors contend that entrepreneurship is not only an economic matter; that it is not a predominantly male-gender issue; and that it is not only done by heroes or extraordinary efforts but rather that it is as much a matter of ordinary, routine activities. They conclude that the entrepreneurship literature could greatly benefit from including the concepts of space and place, that resistance to it is an important aspect of its success, and that it is just as much about imitation as about creativity. Finally, they address the issue that what should be demobilized or mobilized in the entrepreneurship discourse might actually be the wrong question, since entrepreneurship is arguably a way of life.At the cutting edge of entrepreneurship research, this thought-provoking book will prove a stimulating read for entrepreneurship academics, students and researchers in the fields of entrepreneurship and business and management.

This fascinating and original textbook - an excellent introductory text for both graduate and undergraduate students - attempts to enhance and advance our understanding of entrepreneurship. In this intriguing book, Bjorn Bjerke contends that entrepreneurship cannot, to any great extent, be planned in advance. He goes as far as to suggest that planning could be against the very essence of entrepreneurship. The book explains that entrepreneurship is about courage rather than willpower, is to be venturesome and undertaking whilst experimenting, networking and pushing oneself forward, and concerns exploiting mistakes as essential learning curves. The importance of the entrepreneur as a human being is strongly expressed, as is the idea that entrepreneurship is closer to art and aesthetics than science and mathematics. Language, argues the author, plays a decisive role and philosophy provides a solid basis when we try to come to grips with the nature of entrepreneurship. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Bjorn Bjerke asserts that all these points alert us to one simple fact: it is not possible to define a 'typical' entrepreneur or to present a model method of operating and supporting an entrepreneurial venture. Understanding Entrepreneurship is a truly remarkable textbook that will provide an absorbing and illuminating read for all those - academics, students and practitioners alike - with an interest in entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial Imagination innovatively focuses on entrepreneurial and economic action in time, timing, space and place.Schedules and places of production, working times and working places, are no longer fixed due to the effects of the contemporary economy. The authors expertly bring together a focused and themed book that deals wholly with the subjects of time and space in a phenomenological understanding of entrepreneurial ventures and related business action. They discuss theories and thinking of human action, space, place, timing and time in various entrepreneurial and business arenas, including social entrepreneuring, environmental and corporate social responsibility, network forms of entrepreneuring, urban governance and regional development. Taking a phenomenological approach to enable readers to understand entrepreneurship and related economic action clearly will prove to be inspiring for students, academics and practitioners interested in all areas of entrepreneurship and similar issues. Contents: 1. Entrepreneuring - When and Where?; 2. A Phenomenology of Entrepreneurial Action; 3. Our Entrepreneuring Society; 4. Various Kinds of Social Entrepreneuring, Networking and Social Capital; 5. On the Importance of Social Entrepreneuring to Local Government; 6. Entrepreneuring and Regional Development; 7. Entrepreneurial Action and Environment; 8. Entrepreneuring and ICT-Based Networking; 9. Summary and Conclusions; References ; Index

Just as society has realised the value of entrepreneurs, so entrepreneurs are gradually realising the value of strategic marketing. In this book, the authors explain the substantial role of marketing in the success of small firms which have emerged in the new business environment of the past 10 to 15 years. Entrepreneurial marketing is especially important for small, developing firms which have to consider emerging business and market trends, and so a model is presented specifically tailored to the needs of expanding entrepreneurial ventures. The authors also critically analyse the extent to which mainstream marketing and entrepreneurship theory are useful in entrepreneurial marketing. They argue that to be fully effective, marketing must be viewed from a broad perspective and as a value-creating process. In order to understand the dynamic pattern of growth of small entrepreneurial ventures, they emphasise the importance of making a clear distinction between: * managerial growth and entrepreneurial growth * entrepreneurship, management and leadership * transactional marketing, relationship marketing and complex combinations * focal organisations and virtual organisations * explorative learning and exploitative learning * value configurations and value chains. This book will be of immense worth to students, scholars and practitioners of marketing and entrepreneurship, and will contribute to a new dialogue between the two disciplines. It will also be of considerable value to the wider business and management community learning to operate and succeed in the new economic era.