Exploring Entrepreneurship

Richard K. Blundel is Professor of Enterprise and Organisation in the Department for Public Leadership and Social Enterprise at The Open University.  He has been involved in creating and leading several new undergraduate and postgraduate courses in entrepreneurship and innovation.  Richard’s current research focuses on promoting environmental sustainability in SMEs.  He also examines growth and innovation in craft-based firms, such as cheesemakers, small boat builders, furniture designer-makers and brass musical instrument manufacturers. His work has been published in journals such as Business & Society, Business Strategy and the Environment, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Enterprise & Society and The Journal of Small Business Management.  He has also contributed two articles, on artisan production and industrialisation, to The Oxford Companion to Cheese (Oxford University Press, 2016). Nigel Lockett is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Head of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde. He is a senior academic, experienced manager, serial entrepreneur and community leader. In 2015, he was awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship for outstanding contribution to enterprise in higher education. Nigel also has over 25 years’ experience as a company director, with a track record in managing start-up, joint venture and social enterprises. His current research interests focus on academic entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial learning and the use of customer relationship management (CRM) technologies by SMEs. Recently, he was a Co-Investigator on the £7m GCRF RECIRCULATE project: ‘Driving eco-innovation in Africa: capacity-building for a safe, circular water economy. Nigel is a Fellow and Past President of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Catherine L. Wang is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Brunel Business School, Brunel University London. She has been involved in creating the undergraduate programme in entrepreneurship and innovation. Catherine’s research interests are at the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation and strategy, and in particular, how firms can turn strategic and entrepreneurial resources and capabilities into successful innovation and firm performance in both commercial and social enterprises. Her work has been published in journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, British Journal of Management, International Journal of Management Reviews, Journal of Business Research, International Small Business Journal, and Journal of Small Business Management. Catherine has also co-edited books on entrepreneurial learning and cross-cultural research methods. Suzanne Mawson is a Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde, where she teaches creativity and entrepreneurial thinking at Masters and MBA level. She is an expert in business development and growth, with particular expertise in programming and interventions to support ambitious and growth-oriented firms. Suzanne’s research interests also cover alternative entrepreneurial finance such as crowdfunding, as well as start-up and growth-oriented entrepreneurship in migrant and refugee communities. Her research has been published in a range of leading entrepreneurship and management journals including International Small Business Journal, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development and Industrial Marketing Management. She also co-authored the social enterprise textbook Social Entrepreneurs: Can they change the world? (Macmillan, 2017).

• Chapter 1. IntroductionChapter 2. Varieties of EntrepreneurshipPART I Entrepreneurship in PracticeChapter 3. Visions: Creating New VenturesChapter 4. Opportunities: Nurturing Creativity and InnovationChapter 5. People: Leading Teams and NetworksChapter 6. Markets: Understanding Customers and CompetitorsChapter 7. Operations: Implementing Technologies, Processes and ControlsChapter 8. Accounts: Interpreting Financial PerformanceChapter 9. Finances: Raising Capital for New VenturesPART II Perspectives on EntrepreneurshipChapter 10. Research Matters: Introduction and OverviewChapter 11. Individual Perspectives: Beyond the ‘Heroic’ EntrepreneurChapter 12. Social Perspectives: Understanding People and PlacesChapter 13. Economic Perspectives: Influences and ImpactsChapter 14. Historical Perspectives: The ‘Long View’Chapter 15. Political Perspectives: From Policy to PracticeChapter 16. Reflections: Entrepreneurial Learning