The Entrepreneurship Research Challenge

Book excerpt: . . . this is a single-authored book; a series of academic papers (some original, some fairly recently published), neatly set around a unifying theme and tied into a comprehensive argument. . . once you have shared Davidsson s insights, stumblings, joys, and humor over some 240 pages, it feels as if he were part of your family. The book sets off with a very clear and helpful introduction that lays out the entrepreneurship phenomenon . . . This book is value adding for a fairly wide academic audience: essentially all those interested in diverse areas of entrepreneurship and innovation, or in questions of methodology, research design and interpretation of, ultimately, any complex, fast paced behavioural and social realities. It does not give us all the answers, thank heavens, but it certainly asks some excellent questions. . . the novice scholar, will find some welcome foothold and guidance. . . this book is simply fun to read; when could you last say that of a research methodology book? Jacqueline Fendt, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research Unquestionably, Per Davidsson can be considered a leading voice of authority on the study of entrepreneurship as an academic discipline. . . From the initial introduction through to the latter discussions, one aspect of this textbook that immediately makes itself apparent to the reader is Davidsson s markedly personal and deeply engaging writing style. The Entrepreneurship Research Challenge is notably distinct from many of the generic business research methods texts in that it does not attempt to portray an objective toolbox of methodological choices. Instead, the style is such that the reader feels that Davidsson truly wishes for his audience to learn from his unique experiences, opinions and even mistakes. . . the practical advice provided is both insightful and useful. . . this text is not simply about how to go through the motions of the research process. Instead, it makes a very well reasoned attempt to form a basis for the discipline as a whole as well as to address methods to overcome unique challenges while promoting research output that is useful. For these reasons it should be considered essential reading for any entrepreneurship scholar, and in particular, for those at the early stages of their research career. Russell Matthews, International Small Business Journal Entrepreneurship is an emerging, dynamic and to a considerable extent, unpredictable phenomenon. Thus, it makes for a challenging research subject. In this book, one of the most experienced empiricists in the field has collected some of his most important ideas on how improved conceptualization and research design can make this challenge more manageable. Per Davidsson addresses questions such as: What precisely is entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship research? What unique contribution can it make compared with research in other fields? Conversely, how can scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds best contribute to the study of entrepreneurship? What does the emergent and highly diverse nature of entrepreneurship imply for research design? And what is required from entrepreneurship researchers and practitioners in order for the research to make strong contributions to business and policy practice? This comprehensive, in-depth account of how the emergence of new entrepreneurial activity can be studied will be warmly welcomed by researchers and academics in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and methodology and research design.