This book analyses the economic history of the company and entrepreneurship in Spain from the 15th century to the present. It evaluates the economic theory, the formation of the figure of the entrepreneur, as well as the structure of the companies. This exploration of the businessmen in Spain over several centuries is something that has not been done until now. Joining the great Spanish historiographical debate about the existence or not of entrepreneurship, the book brings together research in very different historical contexts and junctures. It presents a selection of cases of companies and entrepreneurs from Spain, from different sectors, regions and periods, from boom to crisis, from the wine businessman to the railway sector, from private banking to the pioneers of the Spanish travel agency business. It will be of interest to academics and students in economic history, business and management history, as well as researchers in entrepreneurship & small business management.

The figure of the entrepreneur has become a relevant factor that explains the process of growth and economic development. Rising unemployment rates have generated among institutional and private agents, a significant interest in promoting entrepreneurship as a formula to eradicate this social scourge of unemployment. Active policies that favor business culture and initiative are being promoted in all areas. In the university world, academic research has multiplied the work on entrepreneurship, a term that includes a triple meaning: the figure of the entrepreneur, the business function and the creation of companies. This versatile meaning must be based on a consistent theory about the company and the entrepreneur. This book presents specific cases of companies and entrepreneurs that have had their role throughout the history of Spain. The intention is to show the techniques and learning acquired by those agents, which have allowed a considerable advance in the knowledge of the structure and business development. This book brings together the research carried out by its authors with primary sources and makes it accessible to a wide audience—Spanish and Latin American—and will be of value to researchers, academics, and students with an interest in Spanish entrepreneurship, business, and management history.

The figure of the entrepreneur has become a relevant factor that explains the process of growth and economic development. This book brings together the research carried out by its authors with primary sources and makes it accessible to a wide audience that does not speak Spanish or does not know the topics discussed in it.

Although Spain is an important member of the EU, relatively little is known about its economy and its interrelationship with political forces. This book, the first of its kind, offers a long-term view and analyzes this ever-changing relationship throughout the 20th century with its various upheavals such as the crisis of the democratic republic and the civil war in the 1930s, the long General Franco dictatorship from the 1940s until the 1970s and the subsequent transition to democracy. From the detailed studies of individual cases, specific companies as well as entrepreneurial organizations, a very diverse picture emerges, contradicting widespread simplistic interpretations of politico-economic linkages, which demonstrates both the pluralism of the economic interests as well as the complexity of their relationship to the political class.

Every year the GEM Spain team prepares a report on entrepreneurial activity in the country. After 23 years, it would seem unnecessary to explain why this report has become a fundamental tool for understanding the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in our country. Or to have to explain why it is a vital reference for researchers, policy makers, entrepreneurs or anyone interested in business development. It is also well known that the GEM Spain Report analyses with scientific rigour the entrepreneurial phenomenon, activity, characteristics and context. It would be redundant to emphasise that its importance lies in the information it provides annually, giving a complete, detailed and up-to-date vision for designing effective policies and strategies to support and promote entrepreneurship in the country. However, it is important to remember how it is done year after year. In our country, the GEM report is developed in the Spanish Entrepreneurship Observatory through a network of 27 regional teams representing the entire Spanish territory, without whose effort and commitment all this would be impossible.

This study examines the history of medieval and early modern Genoa. It analyzes political, economic, and intellectual developments and argues that the Genoese civic character emerged from the entanglement of its unique form of republicanism and its entrepreneurial economic culture.

This contributed volume introduces the innovative landscapes and business models used in tourism entrepreneurship initiatives of Portugal and Spain. It provides benchmarks for entrepreneurial initiatives covering tourism services, place-branded tourism, social networks, spiritual tourism, cross-border tourism initiatives, and tourism in low-density regions. It also provides guidelines for future strategic actions to foster rural and sustainable development in alternative tourism destinations, following the Iberian experience.