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High-Impact Entrepreneurship

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Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research

Part of the book series: International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship ((IHSE,volume 5))

Abstract

In recent years, economists have come to recognize the crucial role of entrepreneurs in innovation and growth and the significant contribution of innovation and growth to prosperity and economic welfare (Acs & Armington, 2006; Audretsch, 2006; Schramm, 2006). Innovation and growth—much more than state-guided efforts to ameliorate static “market failures” such as monopoly power—allow economies to lift individuals out of poverty and to provide for growing and aging populations. According to Leibenstein (1978, 50)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For discussion of this issue see Bianchi and Henrekson (2005).

  2. 2.

    For a review of the broader theoretical and historical literature on entrepreneurship see Parker (2004, 2005), Hebert and Link (2007), and Casson, Young, Basu, and Wadeson (2006). For a review of the empirical literature on high-impact entrepreneurship, see van Praag and Versloot (2007).

  3. 3.

    I thank Robert Wuebker for this definition of HIE.

  4. 4.

    International data suggest that there is wide variation in entrepreneurial activity by country. These comparisons, however, are further complicated by different approaches to data collection, variations in definitions of entrepreneurial firms, and the wide range of reporting systems. Self-employment has historically been one of the most accessible data sources for international comparisons and has been used in a number of studies (Acs et al., 1994; Iversen et al., 2007; Klapper et al., 2006).

  5. 5.

    Other data sources also exist. For an overview of the major federal business data sources see National Research Council (2007) Appendix A. For limitations of the current data system for measuring business dynamics (see National Research Council (2007) Chapter 4, 65–91).

  6. 6.

    Above we were interested in two kinds of productive entrepreneurs—replicative and innovative. Both contribute to the economy and society in a positive albeit different way. However, entrepreneurs can also engage in unproductive activity that is neither replicative nor innovative. It merely engages in rent seeking activity (Acemoglu & Johnson 2005; Desai & Acs, 2007; Murphy et al., 1991).

  7. 7.

    The number of new jobs necessary for firms of different sizes to achieve an EGQ of two or more are as follows: Initial firm size Minimum job increase necessary to achieve EGQ of two or more 1–4 jobs:2 5–7 jobs:3 8–12 jobs:4 13–17 jobs:5 18–24 jobs:6 25–31 jobs:7 32–40 jobs:8 41–49 jobs:9 .. 20,000 jobs:200

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Zoltan J. Acs

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  1. Zoltan J. Acs
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Correspondence to Zoltan J. Acs .

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  1. School of Public Policy, George Mason University, University Drive, Fairfax, 22030, USA

    Zoltan J. Acs

  2. Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405, USA

    David B. Audretsch

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Acs, Z.J. (2010). High-Impact Entrepreneurship. In: Acs, Z., Audretsch, D. (eds) Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship, vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1191-9_7

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