In Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Clusters, Panos Piperopoulos provides a comprehensive introduction to what entrepreneurship is all about, how and why entrepreneurs innovate and how innovation systems operate. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of most economies, so the author examines their characteristics and the crucial role played by the owners and entrepreneurs who innovate to ensure the survival and continued growth of their firms. He also includes the particular phenomena that arise where the entrepreneurs are either female or from ethnic groups, or where the context is that of a developing region or country. The importance of co-operative strategic alliances and networks between firms is discussed, along with how these strengthen SMEs' competitiveness. The concept of open innovation has been proposed as a new paradigm for the management of innovation and the author presents a hypothetical model for enhancing the competitiveness and performance of SMEs by properly utilizing employees' creative potential, emotional intelligence, tacit knowledge and innovative ideas. The contemporary model of business clusters, involving partnerships with competitors, agents, universities, research centres and local, regional and national governments is discussed. The ways, means and methods through which SMEs' competitiveness and innovation can be enhanced within business clusters is illustrated by cases that identify four types of SMEs, that behave differently and play different roles in the networks and clusters of which they form a part, but all of whose performance and competitiveness is a function of their position and role in the wider scheme of things.

In Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Clusters, Dr Panos Piperopoulos provides a comprehensive introduction to what entrepreneurship is all about, how and why entrepreneurs innovate and how innovation systems operate. Acknowledging that what are now known as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of most economies, the author then examines in depth the characteristics of SMEs and the crucial role played by the owners and entrepreneurs who innovate to ensure the survival and continued growth of their firms.

In Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Clusters, Panos Piperopoulos provides a comprehensive introduction to what entrepreneurship is all about, how and why entrepreneurs innovate and how innovation systems operate. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of most economies, so the author examines their characteristics and the crucial role played by the owners and entrepreneurs who innovate to ensure the survival and continued growth of their firms. He also includes the particular phenomena that arise where the entrepreneurs are either female or from ethnic groups, or where the context is that of a developing region or country. The importance of co-operative strategic alliances and networks between firms is discussed, along with how these strengthen SMEs' competitiveness. The concept of open innovation has been proposed as a new paradigm for the management of innovation and the author presents a hypothetical model for enhancing the competitiveness and performance of SMEs by properly utilizing employees' creative potential, emotional intelligence, tacit knowledge and innovative ideas. The contemporary model of business clusters, involving partnerships with competitors, agents, universities, research centres and local, regional and national governments is discussed. The ways, means and methods through which SMEs' competitiveness and innovation can be enhanced within business clusters is illustrated by cases that identify four types of SMEs, that behave differently and play different roles in the networks and clusters of which they form a part, but all of whose performance and competitiveness is a function of their position and role in the wider scheme of things.

In Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Clusters, Panos Piperopoulos provides a comprehensive introduction to what entrepreneurship is all about, how and why entrepreneurs innovate and how innovation systems operate. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of most economies, so the author examines their characteristics and the crucial role played by the owners and entrepreneurs who innovate to ensure the survival and continued growth of their firms. He also includes the particular phenomena that arise where the entrepreneurs are either female or from ethnic groups, or where the context is that of a developing region or country. The importance of co-operative strategic alliances and networks between firms is discussed, along with how these strengthen SMEs' competitiveness. The concept of open innovation has been proposed as a new paradigm for the management of innovation and the author presents a hypothetical model for enhancing the competitiveness and performance of SMEs by properly utilizing employees' creative potential, emotional intelligence, tacit knowledge and innovative ideas. The contemporary model of business clusters, involving partnerships with competitors, agents, universities, research centres and local, regional and national governments is discussed. The ways, means and methods through which SMEs' competitiveness and innovation can be enhanced within business clusters is illustrated by cases that identify four types of SMEs, that behave differently and play different roles in the networks and clusters of which they form a part, but all of whose performance and competitiveness is a function of their position and role in the wider scheme of things.

øIn the geography of the global economy, there are known Šhot spots� where new technologies germinate at an astounding rate and pools of capital, expertise and talent foster the development of new industries and new ways of doing business. These cluste

Leading international scholars provide a timely reconsideration of how and why entrepreneurship matters for economic development, particularly in emerging and developing economies. The book critically dissects the evolving relationship between entrepreneurs and the state.

"This book focuses on innovations and economic development from the Dubai Emirate. It also examines opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurial activity and non-entrepreneurial engagement in this region"--

Industrial Clusters shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic of industrial clusters, with a particular focus on clustering in the UK, bringing together a chronological coverage of the phenomenon. This set of original essays by a group of leading business and industrial historians offers fresh perspectives about clusters and clustering. A primary emphasis of the collection is how knowledge is generated and disseminated across a cluster, and whether these processes stimulated innovation and consequently longer-term sustainability. This analysis also prompts questions about which unit of analysis to examine, from the entrepreneurs and firms they created through to the industry as a whole and district in which they are located, or whether one should look outside the region for explanatory factors. Covering regions as diverse as North Wales, the Scottish Highlands, the City of London, the Potteries, Sheffield and Lancashire, the essays have been channelled to provide a detailed understanding of these issues. The editors have also provided a challenging Conclusion that suggests a new research agenda that could well unravel some of the mysteries associated with clustering. This edited collection will be of interest to international researchers, academics and students in the fields of business and management history, innovation, industrialisation and clusters.

Three sets of questions are addressed.

Entrepreneurship and Regional Development aims to make a theoretical and practical contribution meeting the need for studies on the impact of clusters on entrepreneurship and societal outcomes. This book aims to answer the following research question: Do clusters matter to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship outcomes at the societal level?