. . . this is a single-authored book; a series of academic papers (some original, some fairly recently published), neatly set around a unifying theme and tied into a comprehensive argument. . . once you have shared Davidsson s insights, stumblings, joys, and humor over some 240 pages, it feels as if he were part of your family. The book sets off with a very clear and helpful introduction that lays out the entrepreneurship phenomenon . . . This book is value adding for a fairly wide academic audience: essentially all those interested in diverse areas of entrepreneurship and innovation, or in questions of methodology, research design and interpretation of, ultimately, any complex, fast paced behavioural and social realities. It does not give us all the answers, thank heavens, but it certainly asks some excellent questions. . . the novice scholar, will find some welcome foothold and guidance. . . this book is simply fun to read; when could you last say that of a research methodology book? Jacqueline Fendt, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research Unquestionably, Per Davidsson can be considered a leading voice of authority on the study of entrepreneurship as an academic discipline. . . From the initial introduction through to the latter discussions, one aspect of this textbook that immediately makes itself apparent to the reader is Davidsson s markedly personal and deeply engaging writing style. The Entrepreneurship Research Challenge is notably distinct from many of the generic business research methods texts in that it does not attempt to portray an objective toolbox of methodological choices. Instead, the style is such that the reader feels that Davidsson truly wishes for his audience to learn from his unique experiences, opinions and even mistakes. . . the practical advice provided is both insightful and useful. . . this text is not simply about how to go through the motions of the research process. Instead, it makes a very well reasoned attempt to form a basis for the discipline as a whole as well as to address methods to overcome unique challenges while promoting research output that is useful. For these reasons it should be considered essential reading for any entrepreneurship scholar, and in particular, for those at the early stages of their research career. Russell Matthews, International Small Business Journal Entrepreneurship is an emerging, dynamic and to a considerable extent, unpredictable phenomenon. Thus, it makes for a challenging research subject. In this book, one of the most experienced empiricists in the field has collected some of his most important ideas on how improved conceptualization and research design can make this challenge more manageable. Per Davidsson addresses questions such as: What precisely is entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship research? What unique contribution can it make compared with research in other fields? Conversely, how can scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds best contribute to the study of entrepreneurship? What does the emergent and highly diverse nature of entrepreneurship imply for research design? And what is required from entrepreneurship researchers and practitioners in order for the research to make strong contributions to business and policy practice? This comprehensive, in-depth account of how the emergence of new entrepreneurial activity can be studied will be warmly welcomed by researchers and academics in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and methodology and research design.

Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon of tremendous societal importance. It is also an elusive phenomenon, and researching entrepreneurship is therefore fun, fascinating and frustrating at times. In Researching Entrepreneurship, Per Davidsson, one of the most highly recognized entrepreneurship scholars shares in a personal and readable way his rich experience and ideas on how entrepreneurship can or should be researched. After a comprehensive treatment of entrepreneurship as societal phenomenon and scholarly domain, the core chapters of the book discuss design, sampling, operationalization and analysis issues on several levels of analysis: individual, venture, firm, industry, region and nation. The book is targeted at doctoral students and other relative newcomers to the field of entrepreneurship research. However, taking a fresh, reflective perspective and looking beyond research conventions, it should provide potential for inspiration and food for thought also for experienced entrepreneurship researchers.

Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges brings together and unprecedented group of economists, data providers, and data analysts to discuss research on the state of entrepreneurship and to address the challenges in understanding this dynamic part of the economy. Each chapter addresses the challenges of measuring entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurial firms contribute to economies and standards of living. The book also investigates heterogeneity in entrepreneurs, challenges experienced by entrepreneurs over time, and how much less we know than we think about entrepreneurship given data limitations. This volume will be a groundbreaking first serious look into entrepreneurship in the NBER's Income and Wealth series.

This volume discusses the challenge of dealing with complexity in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology research. Businesses as well as entire economies are increasingly being confronted by widespread complex systems. Fields such as entrepreneurship and innovation cannot ignore this reality, especially with their inherent links to diverse research fields and interdisciplinary methods. However, most methods that allow more detailed analyses of complex problems are either neglected in mainstream research or are, at best, still emerging. Against this backdrop, this book provides a forum for the discussion of emergent and neglected methods in the context of complexity in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology research, and also acts as an inspiration for academics across related disciplines to engage more in complexity research.

The growth of entrepreneurship research has been accompanied by an increased convergence and institutionalization of the field. In many ways this is of course positive, but it also represents how the field has become "mainstream" with the concomitant risk that individual scholars become embedded in a culture and incentive system that emphasizes and rewards incremental research questions, while reducing the incentives for scholars to conduct challenging research. This book challenges this status quo from accepted theories, methodologies and paradigmatic assumptions, to the relevance (or lack of) for contemporary practice and the impact of key journals on scholars’ directions in entrepreneurship research. An invited selection of the younger generation of scholars within the field of entrepreneurship research adopt a critical and constructive posture on what has been achieved in entrepreneurship research, the main assumptions which underly it, but also open-up new paths for creative entrepreneurship research in the future. This is a must-read for all scholars, educators and advanced students in entrepreneurship research.

Evidence-based Entrepreneurship introduces the concept of evidence-based entrepreneurship (EBE), discuss the implications of EBE, and sketches out its opportunities and limitations. The users of EBE can be the scientists themselves, professionals who deal with entrepreneurs, policy makers whose policies affect entrepreneurs, students of entrepreneurship, and last but not least the entrepreneurs themselves. Much of the review is related to the idea of meta-analysis -- a quantitative review of the scientific literature -- to help determine how strong certain relationships are, how often a relationship consistently appears across studies, and how much we can trust the methodological rigor of the research. A meta-analysis provides the best available type of evidence because it goes beyond one methodology, one study, and one researcher. Evidence-based Entrepreneurship provides a great opportunity that is relevant for practice and policy while strengthening the empirical and theoretical bases of entrepreneurship research. Practice can never be fully based on evidence; therefore, we talk about evidence-informed practice and evidence-based research suggestions. Both management and entrepreneurship show a gap between knowledge and practice - the knowledge-doing gap. Managers as well as entrepreneurs or professionals who deal with entrepreneurs often fail to take note of scientific evidence when making decisions and empirical research has shown that managers often take actions that are uninformed and sometimes even diametrically opposed to empirical evidence. In the area of entrepreneurship, one can often hear open disdain for scholarly work because professors have not yet "made their first million" - the foremost argument seems to be that only experience counts. The authors suggest that professionals who deal with entrepreneurs can profit from evidence-informed practice.

Many countries and regions face unprecedented social and environmental crises and disruptive events whose impact can no longer be ignored. Sustainable entrepreneurs offer new solutions to these problems that involve replacing the current linear economies by circular systems. Sustainable entrepreneurs generate new sustainable products, services, and production processes, with new sustainable business models that simultaneously balance ecological, social and economic goals, which result in sustainable welfare for current and for future generations. The DeGruyter Handbook of Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research studies the causes and consequences of sustainable entrepreneurship, the new standard of doing business and designing public policy, as reflected in the growth of sustainable entrepreneurship start-up ventures and the increasing integration of sustainability in small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as in incumbent corporations. It explores five main themes, each presenting state-of-the-art thinking: foundations, leadership, innovation, business models, performance and impact. Each section consists of four chapters that, taken together, offer in-depth perspectives, take stock of current situations and propose new avenues for future research. The handbook offers a coherent and systemic perspective for sustainable start-ups and for incumbent firms and governments aiming for transitions. It will also be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students interested in sustainable entrepreneurship.