Entrepreneurship and Social Change in the United States: Dynamic Stages, Historical Lessons

  • David B. Sicilia
Chapter
Part of the Palgrave Macmillan Asian Business Series book series (PAMABS)

Abstract

This chapter is about a vital middle ground between general theories of entrepreneurship and detailed empirical case studies of entrepreneurship. One of the key reasons to study entrepreneurship is to inform action. We study who the entrepreneurs are, what they do, and what works in order to see patterns and learn lessons. General models or theories of entrepreneurship can be challenging to put into action. In their fine study of entrepreneurial history and theory, Youseff Cassis and Ioanna Minoglou list as one of the most pressing questions for students of the subject: “Is it legitimate to strive for one a-spatial and a-temporal typology of entrepreneurship?” (Cassis and Minoglou, 2005: 7). The question has practical as well as academic implications. If an entrepreneur is someone who puts capital at risk and who innovates by combining factors in a new way (as Joseph Schumpeter argued) (Schumpeter, 1934; Schumpeter, 1947), what beyond those basic principles is an aspiring entrepreneur to draw upon when faced with a particular set of social, political, and economic realities?

Keywords

Business Cycle Dual Economy American Capitalism Core Firm Business History 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© David B. Sicilia 2011

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  • David B. Sicilia

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