The Dynamics Of Entrepreneurial Contexts

Context is everything in entrepreneurship research. This book compellingly demonstrates the ways in which the distinctive European cultural, societal and geographic environments enable research into new entrepreneurial phenomena. It also gives guidance as to how future research should endeavour to understand the influences of context.

This book aims to provide new approaches to analysing and thinking about how entrepreneurial ecosystems develop and evolve over time as well as shed light on the relatively unexplored area of entrepreneurship ecosystem dynamics. The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has emerged as a framework to understand the nature of places in which entrepreneurial activity flourishes. Time is fundamental to the analysis of the dynamics of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. New firm creation, survival, growth and demise all occur within a temporal context that is, over and within time. Systems approaches to research invariably model the influential effects of the actors and elements that shape, re-shape, maintain, shift and change the system itself. An entrepreneurial ecosystem point of view, therefore, is inherently time-dependent and provides an analytical framework that reveals how the number and diversity of entrepreneurial actors situated in a place and time influence the creation of new firms, their survival, growth, and ultimately the stability of markets and industry in a time and place. Whether for better or worse, the historic and present time dimensions underpin the functioning and trajectory of entrepreneurial ecosystem performances and how they are shaped over time. Each chapter in this edited volume outlines a particular perspective and/or a unique case drawn from a range of countries that collectively reveal the dynamics of an ever-changing entrepreneurial ecosystem. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development.

The book. . . does exactly what the editors say it does, it delivers a rich variety of European research. . . it comprehensively inspires important and worthwhile dialogue. Anne M.J. Smith, International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation This overview of the current research in the field will provide academics, researchers and policy makers with new insights through which to understand the contextual dimensions and the broadening aspects of the current state-of-the-art in European research. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education The authors of the chapters offer a broad variety of topics and approaches that significantly contribute to the understanding of changes in society, and the diversity of the contexts in which entrepreneurship occurs. I am convinced that the book will inspire a dialogue, not only among researchers, but also between research and policy-makers in order that the changes and dynamics of society be better understood. From the foreword by Hans Landström, Lund University, Sweden This book introduces the expanding European dialogue between entrepreneurship, environment and education. It considers the shape, dimensions and horizon of this multidisciplinary landscape in entrepreneurship research. The striking differences and contradictions in entrepreneurial activities, readiness and innovativeness within European countries and the proactive attitude and activities of European competitors impose a demand for a better understanding of the complex dynamics. The Dynamics between Entrepreneurship, Environment and Education reflects how the European landscape of entrepreneurship research is now more complex than ever. It presents an overview of the current state of entrepreneurship research in Europe and also reflects on the future directions of research in this field. The dynamics between entrepreneurship and society are evaluated, and the discussion is then continued from an education perspective. The authors also focus on the ability and capability of different kinds of ventures to compete in different contexts. This comprehensive overview of the current research in the field will provide academics, researchers and policy-makers with new insights through which to understand the contextual dimensions and the broadening aspects of the current state-of-the-art in European research.

The expert contributors to this insightful book explore the latest research on women’s emancipation through entrepreneurship, specifically in relation to families and family businesses.

This book aims to provide an insight into the role of context in the world of entrepreneurship. It studies not only narrow and wider contexts but also their interconnectedness, their dynamic nature, and the actions that entrepreneurs take to involve, engage, and influence their context.

New organizations do not emerge full blown from the idiosyncratic minds of individual entrepreneurs. Their ideas for new organizations, their ability to acquire capital and other essential resources, and their likelihood of survival as entrepreneurs derive from the contexts in which they live and work. The Entrepreneurship Dynamic explores the conditions that prompt the founding of large numbers of new organizations or entirely new industries, and the effects on existing industries, economies, and societies.

Provides a forum for scholars to generate a different theory, identify promising research directions, and present important insights to a wide audience of scholars in entrepreneurship. In order to study individuals as their businesses take shape, this book located and studied nascent entrepreneurs in the process of building their enterprises.