What is Entrepreneurship – The Theory of Entrepreneurship

Not too long ago, the field entrepreneurship was considered little more than an applied trade as opposed to an academic area of study. There was no “research” to be accomplished, because it was thought that those who could attend college would simply “practice” the concept of new business start-up. Yet our economy was actually based upon entrepreneurship, and history has proven that with each downturn in the economy, it is entrepreneurial drive and consistent bring us back. Thus, individual scholars began to examine entrepreneurship from a research perspective, and in doing so they initiated an academic field of scholarly pursuit. So we look back at some of the “believers” among the academic community, such as Arnold C. Cooper (Purdue University), Karl A. Vesper (University of Washington), and Donald L. Sexton (Ohio State University), all of whom are examples of the pioneering researchers in the embryonic days of entrepreneurship. Their wisdom, scholarship, and persistence guided the field of entrepreneurship from what was once considered a disrespected academic area to a field that has gained unimaginable respect and admiration among business schools in the twenty-first century. Their willingness to delve into the research issues important to this developing discipline provided motivation for the next generation of scholars to pursue the entrepreneurship field with greater vigor.

Today we celebrate the immense growth in entrepreneurship research as evidenced by the number of academic journals devoted to entrepreneurship (44), the number of endowed professorships and chairs in entrepreneurship (more than 300), the development of the 21st Century Entrepreneurship Research Fellows by the Global Consortium much of their valuable research time and efforts to publishing on aspects of entrepreneurship in the top academic journals. It is indeed gratifying to see Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Operations Management, and Journal of Management publishing more entrepreneurship research; this increase is in direct proportion to the change in the field. Finally, many universities now include certain entrepreneurship journals in their lists of the top journals in which faculty should publish. Many of the top schools in the United State have accepted the two academic journals in the field of entrepreneurship in their prestigious lists of top tier journals: the Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Additionally, a number major academic institutions have developed programs in entrepreneurial research, and every year Babson College conducts a symposium entitled “Frontiers in Entrepreneurship Research.” Since 1981, the conference has provided an outlet for the latest developments in entrepreneurship.

In 1998, the National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (NCEC) was founded for the purpose of continued collaboration among the established entrepreneurship centers, as well as the newer emerging centers, to work together to share information, develop special projects, and assist one another in advancing and improving their centers’ impact. Today that organization has changed its name to the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) too better reflect the international growth of entrepreneurship centers. As mentioned earlier, this consortium also established the 21st Century Entrepreneurship Research Fellows, a growing collection of scholars in the field of entrepreneurship who have created a mission to identify leading edge research issues and domains and to develop high profile research initiatives that demonstrate the highest level of scholarship to entrepreneurship centers ant eh academic community at large. Research drives business schools. Today we see research in entrepreneurship as an accepted and respected part of this drive.

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