The Entrepreneurial Process: Economic Growth, Men, Women, and Minorities

by Paul Reynolds, Sammis B. White

Overview

Entrepreneurship is an extremely important, but little understood, component of the U.S. economy. This book aids that understanding by exploring the challenges and outcomes of the start-up phases of new firms. This is the first detailed, large-scale, longitudinally-based analysis of the entrepreneurial process. Three representative samples of new firms and two representative samples of nascent entrepreneurs (those attempting to start new firms) are used to consider a variety of factors that affect successful completion of the major transitions in the life of new businesses: conception, birth, and early development (survival and growth). Surprisingly, a substantial minority of start-ups become operational new firms. Among the many lessons the authors learn are that although new firm growth appears to reflect many factors, initial size is of special consequence. Not only are many general insights for entrepreneurs revealed, but the authors also pay special attention to the involvement of women and minorities in entrepreneurship and suggest effective government policy for different stages in the entrepreneurial process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781567200126
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/20/1997
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

PAUL D. REYNOLDS is the Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of three books, two conference proceedings, and over eighty articles and reports.

SAMMIS B. WHITE is Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the author or coauthor of two books and over 100 articles and reports.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Economic Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity: Symbiosis in Action
Nascent Entrepreneurs and Business Start-ups
Transformation of Business Start-ups to Fledgling New Firms
Fledgling New Firms: Growth after Birth
Fledgling New Firms: Persistence after Birth Written with Mary Williams
Entrepreneurial Processes and Outcomes: The Influence of Gender by Nancy Carter
Entrepreneurial Processes and Outcomes: The Influence of Ethnicity
Overview: The Entrepreneurial Engine and Implications
Appendix: Future Research on the Entrepreneurial Process
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

The authors focus on two research studies: the first on the early development of new firms in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and the second on the process of deciding to start a firm and the factors that lead to a successful beginning for a firm. They address such topics as the characteristics of various growth trajectories, the impact of gender and ethnic identity on the entrepreneurial process, and implications for public policy and classical conceptions of market economies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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