Igniting the Leader Within: The Leadership Legacy of Ben Franklin, Father of the American Fire Service
Can psychological factors effectively predict entrepreneurial performance? Drawing upon studies of over 700 entrepreneurial subjects in 10 different samples, Miner settles the issue: yes, they can. He identifies four kinds of people who are capable of achieving entrepreneurial success--but notes that to actually achieve success, they must follow a career route that fits their personalities. Miner's new book is thus a detailed scholarly report on an extensive 20-year research program that focuses on psychological predictors of entrepreneurial activity and success, and a carefully devised, solidly grounded theory to explain why his observations are true. He also discusses the implications for personal career development, entrepreneur selection, entrepreneurship development programs, the assessment of entrepreneurial talent, and related topics crucial not only to entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs themselves, but to their various stakeholders including those with investments in them.
Part I of the book reviews the typologies used in the entrepreneurship literature and the various opinions on the value of psychological factors in predicting entrepreneurial success. It then sets forth the four-way psychological typology underpinning Miner's research and the various theoretical extensions of that typology. This section of the book closes with a chapter presenting case examples of the various types, and the ways they can achieve or fail to achieve success. Part II deals with measurement and design considerations, and with the two primary research tests of the theory--a seven-year predictive study of established entrepreneurs and a six-year predictive study of graduate business students enrolled in entrepreneurship classes. Part III reports on three studies dealing with women entrepreneurs, in contrast to men. It also describes an extensive, six-year predictive study of high-technology entrepreneurs and international research dealing with entrepreneurs in Italy, Israel, Sweden, and post-communist Poland. Part IV considers ways the typology may be used to create entrepreneurship development programs and describes a comprehensive regional development effort extending over seven years. Particular attention is given to methods of assessing entrepreneurial talent, in existing as well as in prospective entrepreneurs, not only to help select them, but also to aid in the investment decision. The book closes with predictions for the future for entrepreneurial practice and for entrepreneurship theory and research.
Leadership and Entrepreneurship: Personal and Organizational Development in Entrepreneurial Ventures
This book presents the expertise of authorities on leadership and entrepreneurship. They examine the entrepreneur from a personal, organizational, and multidimensional point of view. In addition, successful entrepreneurs from profit and not-for-profit firms, from hardware and software firms, and from manufacturing and service firms joined with assistance providers, academicians, and researchers to bring a firmer understanding of the qualities that contribute to successful leadership in growth-oriented firms. The book emphasizes what entrepreneurs actually do, how they do it, and what can be learned by examining the common themes or concepts that exist in the practice of entrepreneurship.
By emphasizing what entrepreneurs actually do, how they do it, and what can be learned by examining the common themes or concepts that exist in the practice of entrepreneurship, the editors have created a volume of value to researchers and academics in business and management, to public policy makers, and to the business community.
The concept of entrepreneurial intensity captures how entrepreneurship fluctuates by degree and frequency, and how it applies to personal well-being, organizational performance, and the quality of societal life. Morris develops his ideas by challenging the 13 leading myths about entrepreneurship while integrating many diverse perspectives on them. Readers will find in the EI concept a new way of examining and understanding the entrepreneurial process and strategies for fostering entrepreneuriship. Rigorously grounded in research, this book is an important resource for the academic community and for business professionals.
Entrepreneurship is a subject that has come into vogue rapidly. Governments are trying to foster it, individuals are practicing it in unprecedented numbers, and large organizations are desperately trying to return to their own entrepreneurial roots. Colleges and universities, in response, are now teaching courses on entrepreneurship, and are establishing programs devoted to it. Morris explores this new interest in entrepreneurship, why it matters, and how it can be encouraged. Many controversies and unresolved issues abound such as the basic questions: how should entrepreneurship be defined? and what will its role be in the future?. Morris examines the issues in-depth and gives readers a comprehensive summary of what entrepreneurship means for today's business organizations, their people, and society.
At a time of rapid economic change in black American communities, this important study provides fresh thinking about black values, institutions and economics. "Black Entrepreneurship in America "defines the cultural context of economic changes taking place in this most critical segment of American life.
It is well known that economic culture undergoes constant generation and regeneration, and with sufficient motivation, culture change; analysts also agree that entrepreneurship is the driving force behind sustained economic progress in modern industrial societies. This volume shows how black Americans can become equal participants in the American dream. To do this, the authors argue, they must overcome their former lack of participation, and galvanize the entrepreneurial potential of their own families and communities. This bold and pioneering effort outlines a strategy for translating the overall expansion of the American economy into specific modes of black economic development. As the authors emphasize, the impetus for change must come from within the black communities.
Despite good intentions and a twenty-five fold increase in welfare spending since 1967, centrally designed and administered social programs have largely failed to strengthen the indigenous cultural institutions upon which economic advancement depends. Low levels of business growth have retarded savings, investments, and jobs within black communities. This book describes how public policy decisions can support community-based entrepreneurship. Solidly grounded, the conclusions are based on interview data, consultations with a wide variety of academic and business experts, and a thorough review of relevant literature. The book will be of great interest to social researchers and policy analysts interested in black studies and social and economic change.
Arab entrepreneurs in Israel form part of a traditional, yet peripheral, ethnic minority attempting to integrate into Israel's larger economy. This study, based on extensive fieldwork, focuses on the obstacles that these Arab entrepreneurs and new industrialists must overcome in their development towards industrialization. The research exposes a highly flexible entrepreneurial culture making use of a limited set of opportunities and resources. The work makes a strong contribution to comparative cross-cultural research and theoretical formulations on issues of ethnic entrepreneurship.
Many nations invite foreigners to work within their borders, but few welcome them. Those countries that do receive a torrent of immigrants create pressures that analysts expect to intensify as population growth and social unrest mount in the less developed countries of the world. Immigration and Entrepreneurship, now in paperback, offers a comparative analysis of worldwide immigration issues while focusing more specifically on the emerging influence of entrepreneurship as a potent factor in the economic and social integration of immigrants. In linking the common immigrant and settler experiences with the upsurge in self-employment, the contributors to this volume use California as their base of comparison. The state has both a huge and varied immigrant population and an entrepreneurial economy that has facilitated the formation of immigrant-owned firms. The Los Angeles riots of the nineties indicated the volatility of the mix. Aided by ethnic and familial networks, such firms have served as a route of economic advancement. Immigration and Entrepreneurship offers a comparative perspective unique in the literature of immigration by broaching the topic from both global and local perspectives. Whereas most studies examine the experience of a single group or groups in a particular destination economy, this volume emphasizes variations in the way different nations receive immigrants as causes of differences in immigrant behavior. Among the innovative themes discussed by a range of international scholars are the entrepreneurial efforts and tensions in the garment industry in Los Angeles, Paris, and Berlin; Koreans' enterprise and identities in Los Angeles and Japan; and U.S. immigration policies. The result is a genuinely global methodology. Ivan Light is professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of numerous articles and books on immigration, entrepreneurs, and urban sociology, including Ethnic Enterprise in America and Cities in World Perspective. Parminder Bhachu is professor of sociology at Clark University, a former Henry R. Luce professor of Cultural Identities and Global Processes, and was director of the Women's Studies program. She is the author of Twice Migrants and Dangerous Designs.