The inventive process is the most important driver of economic growth. Venture capital (VC) funds have contributed a small, but critical, part to the inventive process. VC funds boost the inventive process by selecting a small number of radical ideas out a large flow of ideas and invest in their testing, development and commercialization. They bring together capital from general savings, management capabilities and business experience. When successful, VC-backed companies can contribute substantially to the welfare of society. In this book, VC funds are discussed in the context of macroeconomics, industrial organization, financial intermediation and financial economics. The authors adopt a comprehensive overview to provide clearer insight into the role of VC funds in the capital market and the way they operate.

This important collection examines the means by which technological knowledge is transferred from countries that develop it to those who need it. Written by well-known authorities and derived from a conference held at the University of California and sponsored by IBEAR (International Business Education Research Program), the contributions focus on the transfer of technology from Western countries to Asian countries.

This book provides a bridge between actual, and expected, U.S. trade policies and the financial, marketing, operational, organizational, and strategic aspects of corporate business policy. It grew out of the first annual International Business Education and Research Program (IBEAR) Research and Management Workshop held at USC. Individual papers were written by different authors and have been heavily edited by Professors Agmon and Hekman who have also added a general introduction, introductions to the parts, and linking sections between chapters. This book is the only source for the ideas it presents since the papers have not, and will not, be published elsewhere.

As large firms move into international markets, smaller firms find it increasingly difficult to compete internationally. This book explores the nature of the international market for smaller firms and discusses ways that they can compete and use their unique competitive advantages in the global markets. The chapters examine niche markets that do not require economies of scale and ways of rethinking the relationship between local and global markets. Tamir Agmon and Richard L. Drobnick also explore the need to design new control systems across borders that recognize local norms and the new accounting systems that have developed based on differing country environments.

It is generally known that the United States, a large country, has spawned business corporations that transcend international boundaries--"multinationals." What is not generally known is that many smaller countries are rapidly following suit--they too are opening and expanding international operations for their own local firms. This book is the first organized effort by scholars to deal with non-American international corporations as a general phenomenon.Initially presented at a colloquium devoted to the subject held at MIT in January 1976, these seven essays bring to light the relatively unpublicized international activities of firms originating in a number of geographically and economically diverse smaller countries.