Entrepreneurship Research and Education in the World: Past, Present and Future

Interest in the field of entrepreneurship has significantly increased among academics, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and government officials throughout the world in the past decade. The increased interest is reflected in: the increased number of courses, majors, and minors at colleges and universities; the increased number of endowed positions in chairs or professorships; the increased number of journals in the field; the increased coverage of the field by the media; and the increased interest by governments and the increased level of government support. In light of this significant increased interest, it is important to understand the present state of entrepreneurship education and research and its future direction.

Starting and operating a new business involves considerable risk and effort to overcome the inertia against starting something new. In creating and growing a new venture, the entrepreneur assumes the responsibility and risks for its development and survival and enjoys the corresponding rewards. The fact that consumers, businesspeople, and government officials are interested in entrepreneurship is indicated in the increasing research on the subject, the large number of college courses and seminars on the topic, the more than 2 million new enterprises started each year despite a 70 percent failure rate, the significant coverage and focus by the media, and the realization that his is an important topic for industrialized, developing, and once-controlled economies.

The interest in the field of entrepreneurship has impacted many aspects of business, education, government, and overall community life. In the area of business, this has taken the form of: increased formation rates of new ventures in countries throughout the world; increased focus of existing, mostly large, organizations on intrapreneurship (entrepreneurship in an existing organization) often in the form of creating new business venture units; increased flexibility in the work environment; and different compensation packages being offered.