Chapter 1: Introduction

  • Appreciate the economic, social and environmental significance of enterprise and entrepreneurship in the twenty-first century.
  • Identify different interpretations of the terms, ‘entrepreneur’, ‘entrepreneurship’, and ‘enterprise’, including ‘social’ and ‘commercial’ forms, and adopt suitable working definitions.
  • Understand the distinctive approach to studying entrepreneurship that has been adopted in this textbook, the purpose of its two-part structure, and how to make use of various components, including case studies, in order to connect entrepreneurial thinking, practice, and reflection.
  • Explore entrepreneurship in greater depth in the remaining chapters by engaging with entrepreneurial practice, with a particular focus on new venture creation (Part One), and by critically reviewing different research perspectives (Part Two).