Entrepreneurship And Local Economic Development

This book focuses on the nature and role of entrepreneurship in modern developed and emerging economies and societies, its relation to governments and universities, and its role in the often-forgotten informal economy. The aim is to position entrepreneurship in the post-crisis context and explore how its relation to universities and governments contributes to explain the countries’ and territories’ growth performance and resilience or vulnerability to the crisis. The accent is particularly on processes and patterns at local level and in small and medium-sized enterprises in local economic systems and districts, local systems of innovation, and the types and configurations of innovation these give origin to. With globalization, entrepreneurship has become fundamental for the competitiveness of territories and countries, for policy management and for development. The local dimension is fundamental because of agglomeration economies and effects, the advantages of proximity and the nature of knowledge and information. Furthermore, territories carry to the centre-stage tacit knowledge, localized social capital, embeddedness and interpersonal relations as fundamental components of their endogenous socio-economic development and competitiveness. When local systems are connected in a horizontal network, they contribute to the strength of national and international systems. To play a constructive role from this perspective, entrepreneurship must avoid local entrenchment and support the local economy to upgrade and be competitive. To do this, the entrepreneurs’ interaction and alliance with universities and governments is a must for those countries and localities wanting to emerge. This requires that enterprises, universities and governments create synergies and spill-overs to their mutual advantage.

Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development delves into the current thinking on local entrepreneurship development programs and evaluates ways in which practitioners can implement successful entrepreneurship practices. Examining the role and potential for entrepreneurship programs in local economic development strategies, contributors to this edited collection have many years of experience working with entrerpreneurship initiatives in state and local governments. Focused on theory and case study, Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development examines conceptual issues involved in creating entrepreneurship programs as well as practical examples of programs organized by state, regional, and local agencies.

'Entrepreneurship had been high on the jobs growth and economic development agendas for many years and this edited book makes an important and timely contribution to the debate. . . the book is nicely poised to bring together space, innovation and economic growth linked together with entrepreneurship. . . This book provides an excellent and worthwhile insight into many of the issues with many contributions that significantly add to our understanding of entrepreneurship and regional development.' - Ronald W. McQuaid, Growth & Change

This book examines the principal routes through which enterprise creation can have a positive impact on local economies.

This book offers insights into the process and the practice of local economic development. Bridging the gap between theory and practice it demonstrates the relevance of theory to inform local strategic planning in the context of widespread disparities in regional economic performance. The book summarizes the core theories of economic development, applies each of these to professional practice, and provides detailed commentary on them. This updated second edition includes more recent contributions - regional innovation, agglomeration and dynamic theories – and presents the major ideas that inform economic development strategic planning, particularly in the United States and Canada. The text offers theoretical insights that help explain why some regions thrive while others languish and why metropolitan economies often rise and fall over time. Without theory, economic developers can only do what is politically feasible. This text, however, provides them with a logical tool for thinking about development and establishing an independent basis from which to build the local consensus needed for evidence-based action undertaken in the public interest. Offering valuable perspectives on both the process and the practice of local and regional economic development, this book will be useful for both current and future economic developers to think more profoundly and confidently about their local economy.

The introduction of endogenous growth theory has led to new interest in the role of the entrepreneur as an agent driving technical change at the local regional level. This book examines theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the interface of the entrepreneur in regional growth dynamics on the one hand and on the other presents illuminating case studies. In total the book's contributions amplify understanding of such critical issues as the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur's role in transforming knowledge into something economically useful, and knowledge commercialization with both conceptual and empirical contributions. The emergence of endogenous growth theory has unleashed a flurry of new hypotheses and related inquiries that have in turn created an exciting dynamic in the conceptual, theoretical and empirical foundations of the field. A central feature has been the recognition that local initiatives matter in how regions grow and adjust to changes and shocks. Moreover, it is the role of technical change, driven by entrepreneurs, that motivates these initiatives. This volume begins by outlining and explaining the theory and method behind entrepreneurship and development. This is followed by specific case studies of practice and policy. These cases are region specific, offering the reader concrete, empirically based research results. Scholars and students in economics, entrepreneurship and public policy will find this volume a valuable tool in understanding the latest research in regional economic development.

A compelling argument for placing entrepreneurship at the heart of economic development provides a guidebook for how this can be done efficiently, effectively, and equitably. Investing in Entrepreneurs: A Strategic Approach for Strengthening Your Regional and Community Economy offers a compelling argument for making the support of entrepreneurship the centerpiece of local and regional economic development—and provides a plan to make it happen. The book is organized around a tool, developed by the authors, that permits a community to strategically map and manage its business assets in a way that can transform its economy. Investing in Entrepreneurs begins with a reflection on the importance of entrepreneurship, a discussion of its diminished place in economic development, and a call for its rise back to prominence. The importance of managing entrepreneurial assets is discussed, followed by a thorough articulation of the author's tool for accomplishing this in a holistic and strategic manner. Examples drawn from the authors' fieldwork illustrate the many ways in which the tool can be utilized to guide economic development efforts. A final chapter discusses possible resistance to this innovation and how that resistance can be successfully addressed.

There is a widespread growth of policies to encourage the development of new enterprises and entrepreneurship, however there have been relatively few studies on the relationship between these policies and local economic development. This book fills that gap. It covers three thematic areas: strategy, finance and programmed design, makes recommendations to help the design of entrepreneurship programmes and describes the research that should be undertaken to improve the understanding of key policy issues.