Entrepreneurial Process

Entrepreneurship is an extremely important, but little understood, component of the U.S. economy. This book aids that understanding by exploring the challenges and outcomes of the start-up phases of new firms. This is the first detailed, large-scale, longitudinally-based analysis of the entrepreneurial process. Three representative samples of new firms and two representative samples of nascent entrepreneurs (those attempting to start new firms) are used to consider a variety of factors that affect successful completion of the major transitions in the life of new businesses: conception, birth, and early development (survival and growth). Surprisingly, a substantial minority of start-ups become operational new firms. Among the many lessons the authors learn are that although new firm growth appears to reflect many factors, initial size is of special consequence. Not only are many general insights for entrepreneurs revealed, but the authors also pay special attention to the involvement of women and minorities in entrepreneurship and suggest effective government policy for different stages in the entrepreneurial process.

A rich description of the entrepreneurial process based on representative samples of nascent entrepreneurs and new firms, with emphasis on the contributions of these new firms to economic growth, special situations of women and minorities, and implications for government policy.

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The authors focus on two research studies: the first on the early development of new firms in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and the second on the process of deciding to start a firm and the factors that lead to a successful beginning for a firm. They address such topics as the characteristics of various growth trajectories, the impact of gender and ethnic identity on the entrepreneurial process, and implications for public policy and classical conceptions of market economies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

PAUL D. REYNOLDS is the Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College.

SAMMIS B. WHITE is Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.