A Brief History of Entrepreneurship

A Brief History of Entrepreneurship PDF

Author: Joe Carlen

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2016-10-11

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 023154281X

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A Brief History of Entrepreneurship charts how the pursuit of profit by private individuals has been a prime mover in revolutionizing civilization. Entrepreneurs often butt up against processes, technologies, social conventions, and even laws. So they circumvent, innovate, and violate to obtain what they want. This creative destruction has brought about overland and overseas trade, colonization, and a host of revolutionary technologies—from caffeinated beverages to the personal computer—that have transformed society. Consulting rich archival sources, including some that have never before been translated, Carlen maps the course of human history through nine episodes when entrepreneurship reshaped our world. Highlighting the most colorful characters of each era, he discusses Mesopotamian merchants' creation of the urban market economy; Phoenician merchant-sailors intercontinental trade, which came to connect Africa, Asia, and Europe; Chinese tea traders' invention of paper money; the colonization of the Americas; and the current "flattening" of the world's economic playing field. Yet the pursuit of profit hasn't always moved us forward. From slavery to organized crime, Carlen explores how entrepreneurship can sometimes work at the expense of others. He also discusses the new entrepreneurs who, through the nascent space tourism industry, are leading humanity to a multiplanetary future. By exploring all sides of this legacy, Carlen brings much-needed detail to the role of entrepreneurship in revolutionizing civilization.

A History of Entrepreneurship

A History of Entrepreneurship PDF

Author: Robert F Hébert

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-05-18

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 1135969515

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This book establishes a chronological trace of the entrepreneur as treated in economic literature in order to give a more wholesome perspective to contemporary writings and teachings on entrepreneurship. It focuses on the nature and role of the entrepreneur, and of entrepreneurship, as revealed in economic literature as early as the eighteenth century, when Richard Cantillon first coined the term 'entrepreneur'. The authors then trace how Joseph Schumpeter's perspective, among other’s, on entrepreneurship came to dominate the world's understanding of the term. Due to Schumpeter’s dominant influence, entrepreneurship has come to occupy a primary role in the theory of economic development. In this book Hébert and Link discuss various key topics including the German Tradition, the Austrian and the English School of thought as well as individuals such as Alfred Marshall and Jeremy Bentham. The historical survey also illustrates the tension that often exists between "theory" and "practice" and how it has been difficult for economic theory to assimilate a core concept that plays a vital role in social and economic change. Finally, the book exposes the many different facets of entrepreneurship as they have been perceived by some of the great economists throughout the ages.

The Invention of Enterprise

The Invention of Enterprise PDF

Author: David S. Landes

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2012-02-26

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 1400833582

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A sweeping global history of entrepreneurial innovation Whether hailed as heroes or cast as threats to social order, entrepreneurs—and their innovations—have had an enormous influence on the growth and prosperity of nations. The Invention of Enterprise gathers together, for the first time, leading economic historians to explore the entrepreneur's role in society from antiquity to the present. Addressing social and institutional influences from a historical context, each chapter examines entrepreneurship during a particular period and in an important geographic location. The book chronicles the sweeping history of enterprise in Mesopotamia and Neo-Babylon; carries the reader through the Islamic Middle East; offers insights into the entrepreneurial history of China, Japan, and Colonial India; and describes the crucial role of the entrepreneur in innovative activity in Europe and the United States, from the medieval period to today. In considering the critical contributions of entrepreneurship, the authors discuss why entrepreneurial activities are not always productive and may even sabotage prosperity. They examine the institutions and restrictions that have enabled or impeded innovation, and the incentives for the adoption and dissemination of inventions. They also describe the wide variations in global entrepreneurial activity during different historical periods and the similarities in development, as well as entrepreneurship's role in economic growth. The book is filled with past examples and events that provide lessons for promoting and successfully pursuing contemporary entrepreneurship as a means of contributing to the welfare of society. The Invention of Enterprise lays out a definitive picture for all who seek an understanding of innovation's central place in our world.

Entrepreneurs Who Changed History

Entrepreneurs Who Changed History PDF

Author: DK

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 963

ISBN-13: 0744036119

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Whether titans of industry, influential business leaders, or creators of history's most recognizable brands, these entrepreneurs had the vision, innovation, and ruthless determination to make their marks on our society in indelible ways. Boldly illustrated and comprehensive in its scope and depth, Entrepreneurs Who Changed History profiles more than 90 industry leaders across the world and throughout the ages - from the enterprising bankers of the medieval world and the merchants of an empire to the titans of industry and the geniuses of Silicon Valley. Combining accessible text with specially-commissioned illustrated portraits in a range of bold artwork styles, photographs, and infographics, entries showcase each individual in a fresh, visual way. The towering personalities behind some of history's most recognizable brands and companies - their ruthlessness, tenacity, creativity, and sheer grit - are all brought to vivid life. Profiling the kings and queens of commerce and trade, Entrepreneurs Who Changed History features the familiar faces of Vanderbilt and Rockefeller, Ford and Ferrari, Gates and Zuckerberg, alongside lesser-known figures such as the enterprising women of colonial America, the emancipated enslaved people who became millionaires against all odds, and the individuals powering today's emerging economies.

The Entrepreneur in History

The Entrepreneur in History PDF

Author: M. Casson

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-06-04

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1137305827

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Covering the period c.1200-c.2000, this book provides an innovative investigation of entrepreneurship in a long-run historical perspective, presenting new insights into the personal characteristics of successful business people and deepening our understanding of the roots of industrialization and economic growth.

First Entrepreneur

First Entrepreneur PDF

Author: Edward G. Lengel

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 2016-01-26

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0306823489

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The United States was conceived in business, founded on business, and operated as a business -- all because of the entrepreneurial mind of the greatest American businessman of any generation: George Washington. Using Washington's extensive but often overlooked financial papers, Edward G. Lengel chronicles the fascinating and inspiring story of how this self-educated man built the Mount Vernon estate into a vast multilayered enterprise and prudently managed meager resources to win the war of independence. Later, as president, he helped establish the national economy on a solid footing and favorably positioned the nation for the Industrial Revolution. Washington's steadfast commitment to the core economic principles of probity, transparency, careful management, and calculated boldness are timeless lessons that should inspire and instruct investors even today. First Entrepreneur will transform how ordinary Americans think about George Washington and how his success in commercial enterprise influenced and guided the emerging nation.

American Entrepreneur

American Entrepreneur PDF

Author: Larry Schweikart

Publisher: Amacom Books

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 535

ISBN-13: 9780814414118

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Weaving together vivid narrative with economic analysis, "American Entrepreneur" vividly illustrates the history of business in the United States from the point of view of the enterprising men and women who made it happen.

The Entrepreneurial State

The Entrepreneurial State PDF

Author: Mariana Mazzucato

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2024-02-06

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0593656946

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Award-winning economist Mariana Mazzucato’s famously incisive international bestseller debunking the pervasive myth of the inept state versus an innovative private sector—with a new preface by the author According to conventional wisdom, innovation is best left to the bold entrepreneurs of the private sector, and government should get out of the way. But what if that wasn't case? What if, from the inventions of Silicon Valley to medical breakthroughs, the public sector has actually been the most courageous and valuable risk-taker of all? Critically acclaimed and influential thinker and scholar Mariana Mazzucato argues comprehensively against the myth of a lumbering, bureaucratic state versus a dynamic, innovative private sector with remarkable original and deep research. In a series of case studies—from nanotechnology to the emerging green tech of today—Mazzucato reveals that the opposite is true: the private sector only finds the courage to invest after an entrepreneurial state has made the high-risk investments. The Entrepreneurial State reveals how every technology that makes the iPhone so “smart” was actually funded by the government—from the Internet and GPS technology, to touch-screen displays and voice-activated Siri. In the history of modern capitalism, the State has not only fixed market failures, but has also actively shaped and created markets. In doing so, it sometimes wins and sometimes fails. Yet by not admitting the State’s role in active risk taking, we've created an "innovation system" where the public sector socializes risks while privatizing reward, as Mazzucato controversially argues. This bold and provocative book considers how we adopted this dysfunctional dynamic, and then how we can overcome it so that economic growth can be not only "smart" but "inclusive" as well.

Historical Perspectives on the Entrepreneur

Historical Perspectives on the Entrepreneur PDF

Author: Robert F. Hébert

Publisher: Now Publishers Inc

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 1

ISBN-13: 1933019441

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Historical Perspectives on the Entrepreneur preserves a vital historical perspective by chronologically tracing the entrepreneur in the economic literature to give a complete perspective to contemporary writings and teachings on entrepreneurship. It reviews the historical nature and role of the entrepreneur as described and analyzed in economic literature from the eighteenth century to the present. Historical Perspectives on the Entrepreneur shows how Joseph Schumpeter changed the ambiguous nature of a concept of the entrepreneur to that which now occupies a primary role in the theory of economic development. It also examines other conceptions of entrepreneurship besides Schumpeter's including the many different facets of entrepreneurship as they have been perceived by some of the great economists throughout the ages. Finally, it illustrates the tension that often exists between "theory" and "practice." Historical Perspectives on the Entrepreneur should be required reading for all students of economics and those interested in entrepreneurship practice.

The Anthropology of Entrepreneurship

The Anthropology of Entrepreneurship PDF

Author: Richard Pfeilstetter

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-24

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1000474852

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The Anthropology of Entrepreneurship provides a comprehensive overview of the unique contribution from anthropology to the field of entrepreneurship studies. Insights from anthropology illuminate the wider socio-cultural implications of entrepreneurialism, a moral order and social practice that is profoundly shaping contemporary society. Revisiting classic works in anthropology from a new angle, this book provides an exciting introduction to diverse conceptual framings of economic agency. The author also examines a wide range of 21st century ethnographies from the Global South, alongside his own research from across Europe. Readers meet ordinary people struggling with new social landscapes, including neoliberal urbanism, informal credit, heritage marketing, social enterprising, gift competition, and silicon utopias. With sensitivity to different theoretical, temporal, and ethnographic perspectives, the author presents a thorough cultural history of the entrepreneur―this ubiquitous, yet ambivalent contemporary character. This important volume will be of interest to scholars and students of anthropology, business studies and other related social sciences.