This book takes an academic rather than practical approach, offering up studies, numbers, and analysis on how entrepreneurial ventures take place. How many entrepreneural ventures use teams during the start-up phase? Of those teams, how many members are women? Are social skills relevant to an entrepreneur's success?
For the authors it's more than ironic that for all the good that entrepreneurial efforts do in terms of job creation and other benefits, we know very little about entrepreneurs as people, or how their businesses came into existence, or the dynamics of why some succeed while others fail.
The book is based upon research conducted by the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, a research program spanning ten countries that located, interviewed, and analyzed entrepreneurial efforts as they occured. The project ultimately led to creation of the Entrepreneurship Research Consortium.
Part One explores the makeup of the entrepreneur, everything from time spent with traditional companies to family background to geogrgraphical location. The remaining parts explore characteristics of the entrepreneur, the start-up process, and the entrepreneurial environment.
Is this of interest to anyone outside a university setting? Yes. For example, policy makers can learn more about the right ingredients needed for new business formation.