ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

Entrepreneurship and Innovation



Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion3

When Did It Begin5

The Innovation6

The Intersection Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship7

More Detailed Information8

Recent Trends11

Conceptual Distinctions11

Unethical Entrepreneurship12

Doing Well By Doing Good12

The Future14

Conclusions15

References16

Appendix18

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Introduction

An entrepreneur is someone who owns an economic activity, producing goods or services to be traded on the market. To this end, he coordinates production factors and assumes the risks involved in running a business venture. The aim of entrepreneurial action is to maximize profits by using a particular combination of production factors—which can in turn be acquired on the market—whereby goods are produced and then placed on the outlet markets. Thus, the classic definition of entrepreneur emphasizes instrumental, tangible, and concrete action. This, in any case, is also the etymological meaning of the term, which comes from the French entreprendre: to do something. However, entrepreneurship should not be considered just a supply-side matter. Within a complex and diversified economy, entrepreneurial choices are also increasingly shaped by consumer needs, which express themselves in a heterogeneous commodities demand. Thus, entrepreneurship is a good point of view to analyze the mutual tension between economic action and consumption pattern.

Discussion

Entrepreneurship is the practice of forming a new business or commercial enterprise, usually in an industry or sector of the economy with a large capacity for growth. Entrepreneurship is generally synonymous with resourcefulness, ingenuity, and the ability to take calculated risks in order to introduce a new, untested product or service into the marketplace. These traits are often referred to collectively as the “entrepreneurial spirit.” (Prager 2000, 2-23)

Entrepreneurship is driven by the entrepreneur, a person who launches and oversees the operations of a new business venture. The entrepreneur is generally self-employed, self-motivated, and ambitious and is willing to take chances to meet his or her goals. Unlike the capitalist, a businessperson who generally limits his or her role to financing commercial ventures, the entrepreneur is the driving force behind the formation of a new business and asserts a great deal of control over the key management decisions. Many entrepreneurs also assume responsibility for hiring and managing employees. Successful entrepreneurs tend to be highly skilled at organizing and motivating their employees.(Acs 2006, 203-18)

In some cases the entrepreneur invents or develops a new product or service, which then forms the core of his or her new business. In other cases, however, the entrepreneur simply discovers a new way to market and sell an existing product or service. The risks undertaken by the entrepreneur are often considerable. Some entrepreneurs invest everything they own into their new enterprise, with no guarantee that the business will succeed. Other times a successful businessman will risk his reputation on a new idea, the failure of which could potentially jeopardize his entire career. Because of the high level of risk involved in entrepreneurial endeavors, the entrepreneur generally hopes to earn a high rate of return in the venture.

According to many twentieth-century economists, entrepreneurship is an indispensable aspect of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system characterized by free markets (situations in which ...