Entrepreneurship Research in Europe: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

Abstract

With this article, as introduction to a special issue on entrepreneurship research in Europe, we hope to initiate a discussion about the importance of grounding entrepreneurship research in its national context. Different European researchers, all knowledgeable about the entrepreneurship research scene in their respective country, present the state of the research field for France, Germany, the United Kingdom (Blackburn & Smallbone, 2008); and Scandinavia. Two articles from U.S. authors complement this issue, reviewing differences in how entrepreneurship scholars measure the phenomenon and assessing the European approach(es). This special issue sets out to demonstrate the value of variety in the field—variety that very much depends on the different national, methodological, and thematic contexts entrepreneurship research takes place in.

Globalisation, entrepreneurship and regional environment

“…European entrepreneurship research differs from US research in terms of methodological and thematic openness. Demonstrating the value of variety in the field, it also underlines that entrepreneurship research takes place in different national, methodological and thematic contexts (Welter and Lasch, 2008). However, international research represents a modest part of the empirical research in the area and deserves to be encouraged (Mullen et al, 2009).…”

“…The dimension of cultural differences regarding research designs and methods is another factor contributing to a certain heterogeneity -but also richness -of the field. A recent issue of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice highlights the importance of grounding entrepreneurship research in its national context and reviews the state of the research field in four European countries compared to the USA (Welter and Lasch, 2008). European entrepreneurship research differs from US research in terms of methodological and thematic openness.…”

A review of research methods in entrepreneurship 1985-2013

“…Instead, what is needed is methodological openness (Aldrich, 2000;Huse and Landström, 1997;Welter and Lasch, 2008) and pragmatism (Collin et al, 1996) in terms of matching research designs to specific entrepreneurship problems and specific research questions (Anderson and Starnawska, 2008). Rather than an increase in the sophistication of statistical techniques (Wortman, 1987) or entrepreneurship-specific approaches (Bygrave, 1989), it is felt that this could best be achieved through more imaginative borrowing of methods from other fields (Sexton, 1987;Kryö and Kansikas, 2005).…”

“…Published books of conference proceedings have been particularly important within European Entrepreneurship research in the past (Watkins, 1994;Watkins, 1995;Veciana, 1993;Anderssen, 1994;Landström and Huse, 1996). Nonetheless, many of the debates are moving into the journals, with, for example, special issues of top journals dedicated to European research (Welter and Lasch, 2008). Studies by Watkins (1995) and Déry and Toulouse (1996) have shown that the use of journal articles in entrepreneurship citations is rising and, as a result, entrepreneurship journals are an increasingly important means of disseminating research in the field (Romano and Ratnatunga, 1996).…”

A CULTure of entrepreneurship education

“…Landström and Benner 2013;Landström, Harirchi, and Åström 2012;Watson 2013;Welter and Lasch 2008). Through classroom vignettes, and a discussion of deities, rituals, and ideas of salvation evident in EE, we discuss how the institutionalisation of entrepreneurship involves a normative promotion of beliefs and values and therefore compares with forms of evangelising (Tedmanson et al 2012;Du Gay 1996).…”