Often considered one of the major forces behind economic growth and development, the entrepreneurial firm can accelerate the speed of innovation and dissemination of new technologies, thus increasing a country's competitive edge in the global market. As a result, cultivating a strong culture of entrepreneurial thinking has become a primary goal throughout the world. Surprisingly, there has been little systematic research or comparative analysis to show how the growth of entrepreneurship differs among countries in various stages of development. International Differences in Entrepreneurship fills this void by explaining how a country's institutional differences, cultural considerations, and personal characteristics can affect the role that entrepreneurs play in its economy. Developing an understanding of the origins of entrepreneurs as well as the choices they make and the complexity of their activities across countries and industries are of central importance to this volume. In addition, contributors consider how environmental factors of individual economies, such as market regulation, government subsidies for banks, and support for entrepreneurial culture affect the industry and the impact that entrepreneurs have on growth in developing nations.

′Erudite and accessible, McCann demonstrates how the national gets reconfigured around the global without losing some of its unique features. Far from being a one-size-fits-all Anglo-American template, neoliberalism comes in many different hues and variations. This is by far the best textbook in the field and is destined to become a classic for years to come.′ Manfred B. Steger, Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawai′i-Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA ′A sweeping examination of systems of capitalism in theory and in the world’s major industrial economies leads Leo McCann to challenge the conventional wisdom on globalization. Historical analysis of the evolution of business systems and detailed examination of present practice demonstrate persuasively that, despite facing common challenges, distinctive national differences remain salient. A must read for anyone who needs to understand how business systems operate in an increasingly interdependent world economy.′ - Dr Eileen Appelbaum, Senior Economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, USA Globalization has profound effects on national economies even as distinct national ‘models’ of capitalism remain. International and Comparative Business accessibly tracks the historical and socio-political contexts of the world’s major countries on a chapter-by-chapter basis to the present day. The book provides a comprehensive, critical, yet concise introduction to each of the economies’ key features, including macro overviews as well as organizational and workplace-level analysis. Each chapter features learning objectives, in-depth interpretation and critique of key literature, and annotated further reading to allow readers to rigorously navigate their way through the wealth of material available for each country. This text is essential reading for students and researchers in the areas of international business and cross-cultural management, comparative political economy, and history. Leo McCann is Senior Lecturer in International and Comparative Management at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK

"This book presents the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs in different countries face at various developmental stages by providing examples of successful applications of an elusive concept that has helped many countries move up the developmental ladder"--

The Dynamics of International Business offers a comparative, chronological overview of the strategic and structural evolution of international firms. Organized around eras of global economic development, the text synthesizes research on the internationalization of firms, highlighting crucial turning points in the evolution of the international economy. A particular emphasis is placed on the relationship between historical evidence and the theoretical frameworks available for its interpretation. Each period is illustrated by a selection of short case studies from a variety of industry sectors, including the Levant Company, Nestlé, Singer, Saint Gobain and NEC. An essential textbook for courses in business and economic history, this book will also be a valuable resource for scholars and students of international business more generally.

This book explores the importance of entrepreneurs in driving economic growth as the world economy grows and becomes more integrated and more challenging. It examines the situation in both advanced and developing countries and shows how the entrepreneurial orientation of the founders of small and medium sized enterprises has resulted in phenomenal growth, often fuelled by innovation and new technologies. It contrasts the experiences of Chinese family business in China and among the overseas Chinese with the experiences of family businesses in the United States and Europe. One important conclusion is that there has been a noticeable fall in entrepreneurial proclivity in the advanced economies, in contrast to the position in emerging economies.

Diploma Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Sociology - Individual, Groups, Society, grade: 1,3, LMU Munich (Fakultät für Betriebswirtschaft), course: ABWL, language: English, abstract: In September 2006, the OECD launched a major initiative dedicated to establishing internationally comparable statistics on entrepreneurship and its determinants (OECD 2006). This highlights the importance of several aspects. 1. The impact of entrepreneurial activity in societies is manifold and critical to the economical success of nations. 2. The role of entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly significant with regard to the development of international businesses in a global market environment. 3. From a scientific point of view, entrepreneurship is gaining evermore attention from scholars of various disciplines. As A review of literature suggests, various socio-cultural elements determine entrepreneurial activity across countries. Yet, in spite of its economic and social significance, domestic venture creation rates - in international comparison - vary significantly. Relying on the definition of entrepreneurship as the “creation of new enterprise” (Low & MacMillan 1988, p.141) this thesis assesses the various linkages between national culture and domestic entrepreneurial activity. At first, a recap of historical entrepreneurship theory leads to the identification of some fundamental aspects. At the same time, it is found that individual-level factors play a central role. These personal factors are then examined further, relying on entrepreneurial psychology theory and deriving a set of cross-nationally valid socio-cultural antecedents to entrepreneurial activity. Incorporating an anthropological perspective, a subsequent analysis of recent empirical findings examines the impact of differences in national cultural values on domestic entrepreneurial activity. Accordingly, domestic entrepreneurial activity may be influenced by national culture through direct as well as moderating effects, represented by the impact by differences in national cultural values on entrepreneurial orientation as well as on entrepreneurial cognition (Mueller & Thomas 2000; Thomas & Mueller 2000; Mitchell et al. 2000, 2002). Eventually, findings are integrated to a common theoretical framework that draws a holistic picture of the various associations between national culture and domestic entrepreneurial activity. The generated model allows some valuable implications for academia to further research the complex interaction between national culture and the various phenomena of entrepreneurial activity.