Recommending Books for Purchase (Bulletin 65 - May 2020): Entrepreneurship

More extensive regulations, new technologies, and new means of communication have significantly changed the financing landscape for startups and small to medium-sized companies (SMEs). This volume provides a contemporary research-based overview of the latest trends in entrepreneurial finance and outlines expected future developments. Starting with the status quo in market regulations and the financing structure of SMEs, it addresses a broad range of new financing alternatives for innovative startups (e.g. business angel financing, venture capital and corporate venture capital), as well as recent social phenomena (e.g. crowdfunding and initial coin offerings (ICOs)). Incorporating qualitative, quantitative and mixed analytical methods, the book contributes to a better understanding of the financing world by reflecting both the researcher's and the practitioner's perspective.

This book presents a study of cooperatives as a two-layer entrepreneurial model, and analyzes cooperative enterprises. Above all, it explores how inducements (from the firm) and contributions (from its members, in their respective roles) are aligned, and seeks to answer the question of what this means for managing each cooperative as a firm as well as a group. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which begins with an analysis of specific aspects of cooperative enterprises, with a focus on the added value of cooperation, the weighing of interests, and a behavioral perspective on the imminent communities and their goals. In a structured approach, the book examines the various facets of relationships in cooperatives on a transactional, financial and control level. Further, a case study on the Dutch cooperative Rabobank illustrates what happens when members fail. In turn, part two concentrates on integrating the lessons learned with the existing economic literature on cooperatives, so as to contribute to a theory of cooperative management. Finally, the book links the theoretical approach to practice: in the third part, it reports on the outcomes of using a computerized simulation game to show members of cooperatives how to manage their business and the cooperative business at the same time, enabling them to understand and actively practice two-level entrepreneurship.

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.

This pioneering collection seeks to understand why and how some digital enterprises in Africa progress while others firms either stagnate or regress. Using a range of detailed case studies, it addresses the challenges and barriers that are in place and how some outstanding digital firms deal with operating in a hostile business environment. While digital platforms have created equal access for small businesses, many digital entrepreneurs in Africa continue to struggle with local environments replete with corruption, and other economic inefficiencies. The contributions move the debate forward by addressing the challenges, opportunities, and prospects of digital enterprise in Africa. Placing special emphasis on how African new entrant digital firms are shaping the landscape and forging a new beginning for Africa, this book offers entrepreneurial perspectives to both researchers and policy-makers seeking to support and stimulate entrepreneurship in the new era.

This book responds to the growing demand for a scientific approach to the concept of startups, which are a manifestation of the digital revolution and an innovation-driven economy. With a focus on digital enterprises, the author presents empirical research carried out over 4 years in collaboration with the Startup Poland Foundation, and provides a developed universal definition of a startup. This book highlights the necessity of a clear definition, in order for startups to be treated as a permanent economic phenomenon, rather than a temporary whim. Addressing the crucial need for an effective startup management methodology and more education on this form of entrepreneurship, Digital Startups in Transition Economies offers guidance for those researching entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as entrepreneurs, public institutions, startup accelerators and technology transfer centres.

This book presents a list of emerging and established companies which have a strong belief in the digital economy and elaborate their unique digital innovations. The companies selected for this book are from a variety of industries, including both Chinese and international leading technology companies such as iflytek, JD.com, IBM and Amazon. A wide range of commercial fields are covered ensuring a comprehensive research on the topic of digital economy, for example Shanghai Center (Construction Management), PPDai(Finance), 3Dmed(Precision Medicine), Children's Hospital of Shanghai(Medical Service), First Respond (First Aid Service) etc. All cases are presented based on field studies as well as in-depth interviews and are followed by thought-provoking case analysis, which can help readers to better understand the cases from different perspectives. Readers can use this book as a good reference to address challenges and capture opportunities in the context of ever growing digital economy. 

This edited collection draws together cutting edge perspectives from leading scholars on the increasingly prominent discussion of entrepreneurial behaviour. Exploring various aspects of human behaviour, the authors analyse the antecedent influences and drivers of entrepreneurial behaviour in different organisational settings. This collection is of interest to scholars, practitioners and even policy-makers, as a result of its in-depth exploration, discussion and evaluation of emerging themes of entrepreneurial behaviour within the field of entrepreneurship and beyond. Offering contextual examples from universities, firms and society, Entrepreneurial Behaviour covers topics such as entrepreneurial intention, gender, crime, effectuation and teamwork.

This open access book builds on the European Union's (EU) Horizon 2020 project 'Financial and Institutional Reforms for an Entrepreneurial Society' (FIRES). The authors outline how Europe can move towards more inclusive, innovative and sustainable growth through reforms that will rekindle its entrepreneurial spirit. Based on decades of research and countless discussions with stakeholders, the book also features the FIRES project's full list of policy interventions and institutional reforms that can help policymakers make that agenda a reality.

This book provides an overview of the theory, practice and context of entrepreneurship and innovation at both the industry and firm level. It provides a foundation of ideas and understandings designed to shape the reader's thinking and behaviour to better appreciate the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in modern economies, and to recognise their own abilities in this regard. The book is aimed at students studying advanced levels of entrepreneurship, innovation and related fields as well as practitioners (for example, managers, business owners). As entrepreneurship and innovation are largely indivisible elements and cannot be adequately understood if studied separately, the book provides the reader with an overview of these elements and how they combine to create new value in the market. This edition is updated with recent international research, including research and examples from Europe, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Entrepreneurship is the result of various contextual factors in the community, which are shaped by social challenges and business needs. Recent research efforts have focused on the dynamics of communities and how they facilitate entrepreneurship among a diverse group of people and organizations. This book highlights research on the importance of communities and their role in providing an entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes innovation and business activities. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, it explores what it takes to create an entrepreneurial community that fosters creativity. Sharing valuable insights, it will enhance readers' understanding of how entrepreneurship is formed by and exists in communities.

This handbook introduces readers to the concept of elderly entrepreneurship, and analyzes key issues concerning individuals and institutions. In addition, it presents theoretical and empirical studies exploring the reasons why elderly persons choose to pursue entrepreneurship, despite their advanced age. To investigate this comparatively new entrepreneurial phenomenon, the contributors address psychological, sociological and gerontological aspects, and share unique interdisciplinary insights. The book's chapters are methodologically diverse, and the scale of analysis ranges from individual cases to country-level patterns. At a time when the world's major economies are facing a demographic challenge due to ageing populations, elderly entrepreneurship may provide new economic opportunities and motivate more inclusive policymaking.

This book provides an in-depth view of supplier diversity programs and how they have contributed to the meteoric rise of minority businesses. Incorporating expert advice from supplier diversity practitioners as well as empirical data, it looks at the emergence of supplier diversity programs, how to make them effective, and their future. Supplier diversity ensures an open and inclusive competition for contracts during the procurement process, and the use of vendors of different backgrounds fosters a better understanding of a diverse customer base. Over the last decade the number of minority-owned firms in the US has increased 38 per cent. As the number of minority entrepreneurs continues to rise, these business owners have recognized the need for B2B opportunities, and supplier diversity programs that create the fastest path to scale and grow a small business. Porter highlights the history and impact of these programs as sources of business education as well as pipeline development for minority and women entrepreneurs. Finally, readers interested in levelling the playing field in business have a go-to source.        

This book presents a curated collection of research on ethnic entrepreneurship, focusing on the informal sector. The common theme of the expert contributions is that entrepreneurial motivation to start informal business is paramount to ethnic groups. In particular, the book explores the factors influencing ethnic groups to start informal businesses and how this creates innovative business activity. It also charts the evolution of ethnic entrepreneurship and informal businesses in advanced and emerging economies; the diversity of entrepreneurial strategies; the economics of co-ethnic employment; and the issues surrounding immigrant entrepreneurship. The book is a valuable resource for researchers in the field of informal ethnic entrepreneurship, as well as for policy makers and entrepreneurs.

Globalization effects nearly everyone and everything; and so, it does for networks and its different dimensions. Anna-Lena Bunse explores the network structure of migrant entrepreneurs in Bremen-Gröpelingen, and asks how informal networks for migrant entrepreneurs are structured and how migrant entrepreneurs can benefit from informal networks. It is shown how diaspora entrepreneurs in Gröpelingen communicate with each other and how this effects their businesses. The results highlight, that there are benefits for all diaspora entrepreneurs and their network partners, yet it also shows that they could use their networks in a more efficient way to optimize their businesses.

Structural change is an evolutionary process that is often cumulative within territories, improving the quality of life and achieving higher development levels. At the same time, smart cities, education and social innovation are essential to promoting sustainable development. This book examines regional and entrepreneurial development as a creative and dynamic concept by considering the role of these dimensions in promoting a virtuous cycle for long-term sustainable development.

Through a global series of case studies, this pioneering book delves into refugee entrepreneurship - a major economic, political and social issue emerging as a top priority. Stories from Australia, Germany, Pakistan and many other countries, highlight the obstacles facing refugees as they try to integrate and set up businesses in their new countries. Engaging contributions set the stage for a cross-analysis of the particularities and limitations faced by refugee entrepreneurs, culminating in an extended discussion about the future implications of refugee entrepreneurship for theory, policy and practice. This interdisciplinary book explores the motivations and drivers of refugee entrepreneurship, making it an insightful read not only for those engaged in entrepreneurship, but also for those interested in migration studies from a variety of academic disciplines.

This book offers a dynamic perspective on regional entrepreneurship, knowledge, innovation and economic growth, with a particular focus on the role that history and culture play. The authors provide comprehensive empirical analyses offering unique insights into the spatial patterns of long-term differences of regional self-employment, new business formation, cultures of entrepreneurship, innovation activities, and development. Policy implications from the analyses and a discussion of important avenues for future research complete this unique book combining history, culture, and entrepreneurship. This is a superb book with an original, historical take on entrepreneurship and regional development. It is a landmark study on Germany showing that regional levels of entrepreneurship are persistent and resilient, despite many disruptive shocks. Ron Boschma, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and Stavanger University, Norway This book presents the distilled wisdom of two leading authorities on the link between entrepreneurship and economic prosperity at a regional level. Although its prime empirical focus is on Germany there are clear lessons for scholars and policy-makers in all high-income countries. David J Storey, University of Sussex, UK

This book explores the concept of reverse entrepreneurship, providing real-life examples of innovative start-ups and ventures hoping to internationalize. Traditionally, entrepreneurial ideas have flowed from developed countries to emerging markets. This book, however, examines entrepreneurial ideas flowing in the opposite direction, with case studies from organizations that were initially launched in emerging markets. With a specific focus on Latin America, the cases examine the experiences of entrepreneurs and reveal much-needed strategies for entry into developed markets. This book will undoubtedly be useful to both academics and practitioners as it covers a wide range of industries, products and services and takes a closer look at market platforms and high-impact entrepreneurship. Providing a valuable contribution to a relatively unexplored area, this is a compelling collection of insights into reverse entrepreneurship which presents practical solutions for entrepreneurs looking to expand their businesses in the future.

Social entrepreneurship and social innovation both seek to improve the world through social change. Whereas social entrepreneurship revolves around the business side of change, social innovation focuses on the processes through which that change is generated. This textbook provides a comprehensive analysis of both topics, covering all the characteristics and elements of social innovation and social entrepreneurship, from a conceptual and practical perspective. The book has four sections: 1) Basics and concepts of Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship; 2) Business models and generation of value in social enterprises; 3) Social innovation within traditional companies, and 4) Definition and alignment of the impact of social innovation and entrepreneurship. Students and any practitioners that want to know about social innovation or social entrepreneurship will be exposed to contemporary topics in the field as well as a variety of cases and tools for its development. With its learning objectives, reflective questions, the definition of key concepts, and exercises, this book is the definitive text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

This book examines the behavior of high-tech startups and important aspects of innovation ecosystems in Brazil. It discusses how the local business environment boosts startups and high-tech entrepreneurship, leading to the most successful implementation of technology parks and incubation movements in Latin America. In the first part, the chapters explore the experience of Brazilian high-tech startups with regard to innovation, funding, background of the entrepreneur and their efforts entering international markets. The second part is dedicated to innovation ecosystems and explains the role of business incubators, acceleration programs, and university entrepreneurship in the country. 

This book focuses on the role of subsistence entrepreneurs in creating social and sustainable business opportunities on the global marketplace. Subsistence entrepreneurs use scarce resources to create new business opportunities, often in developing or emerging economies. In addition, subsistence entrepreneurship is increasingly being used as a way to facilitate market entry for small and medium-sized business enterprises that focus on collaborative innovation. The interdisciplinary contributions gathered here will expand readers' understanding of the nature and characteristics of subsistence entrepreneurs, as well as the challenges they face. The central connection between subsistence, sustainability and social entrepreneurship is also explored.

Sustainable entrepreneurship focuses on how the environment is embedded within business practices. This book examines collaboration strategies and initiatives for sustainable entrepreneurs with a wide variety of partners, and demonstrates how they can be used to increase overall performance and achieve global competitiveness. Based on the latest empirical evidence from emerging economies, the book's respective chapters address sustainability issues in connection with knowledge creation and learning, outsourcing, and the roles of universities, consultants, and the public sector.

The book presents an avant-garde and interdisciplinary technical-entrepreneurial approach for ensuring sustainability by bringing a Systems Engineering (SE) novel mechanism applied to telemedicine context making use of space technologies into the light. The distinctive theory from herein incorporates the international expertise of the author, Cristian Vizitiu, on SE and entrepreneurship within space field. This book targets a comprehensive SE technical solution, enriched with knowledge management & entrepreneurial assessment psychometric instruments for Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) stimulation, to achieve sustainable services based on user-centered approach.

Presenting an updated overview of transformational entrepreneurship, this book explores how critical concepts can be contextualised for different regions and countries, underlining the fact that no one system fits all. In order for entrepreneurship to play a role in socio-economic development, a balance needs to be struck between focusing on individual entrepreneurial activities and regions, and society-wide changes. Building on the Editors' previous books, Systemic Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Centres, this volume delves deeper into the importance of innovative eco-systems, providing examples of how transformational entrepreneurship can be implemented in different geographical locations. An invaluable read for policy-makers as well as scholars, the authors provide a series of detailed case studies from regions including the UK, Malaysia and Africa.

This edited volume develops an understanding of the strategies, processes, issues and concerns involved when small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go international with their local products/services and vice versa. It is a compendium of eighteen selected chapters on the subject, supported by an introductory chapter. The contributions are organized in four parts based on the sub-themes they deal with. The first part, containing the introductory chapter, provides different perspectives on transnational entrepreneurship, returnee entrepreneurship and their linkages with the internationalization process. The subsequent parts have chapters dealing with three sub-themes of the subject - the internal factors (individual and firm-level resources), the external factors (entrepreneurial ecosystem), and the process of organizational transformation and change, respectively, in the context of SME internationalization. Special issues and challenges being faced by SME entrepreneurs in emerging economies have been highlighted in this book, discussing key contemporary issues with regard to internationalization in the three dimensions outlined above. Further, the book explains how an entrepreneur can engineer the transformation of his/her organization into an international SME.This book is a very useful resource for entrepreneurs and policy-makers in general, and for academics and researchers in particular, as it provides an overview of the contemporary research in the critical areas of SME internationalization and transnational entrepreneurship by highlighting the linkages between them with special reference to emerging economies.

This book highlights the importance of understanding how trust and indigenous African cultural institutions enhance the development of entrepreneurial networks and relationships in Africa. Drawing on institutional theories, the author re-examines the way that entrepreneurial behaviour can be shaped, with a focus on trust, networks and the development of relationships.  Analysing a combination of existing literature and empirical data from 50 internationally trading SMEs in Africa, this book reflects the growing interests of entrepreneurs, investors and corporate executives to develop trust and relationships with customers in order to invest and grow. By addressing the need for a greater understanding of how social and cultural institutions in Africa affect the continent's economy, this book not only offers theoretical frameworks, but also future implications for practice and policy, and will provide essential reading for those studying emerging markets and globalisation, African business, and entrepreneurship more generally.

This book provides an overview of the theory, practice and context of entrepreneurship and innovation at both the industry and firm level. It provides a foundation of ideas and understandings designed to shape the reader's thinking and behaviour to better appreciate the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in modern economies, and to recognise their own abilities in this regard. The book is aimed at students studying advanced levels of entrepreneurship, innovation and related fields as well as practitioners (for example, managers, business owners). As entrepreneurship and innovation are largely indivisible elements and cannot be adequately understood if studied separately, the book provides the reader with an overview of these elements and how they combine to create new value in the market. This edition is updated with recent international research, including research and examples from Europe, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region.