Journal Of Small Business Management Research Articles

Human capital and business growth of the Startups: an approach to the state of the art

This document is a systematic and bibliometric review on the transitory characteristics and research trends in the last 7 years, on human capital and business growth in the field of startups. The exploration was carried out in the bibliographic database Scopus, obtaining 111 documents, including articles, book chapters, books, conferences and abstracts, in the areas of knowledge related to the topic. For this, the Biblioshiny web interface of the Bibliometrix package of the statistical program Rstudio was used, the file was processed in csv format downloaded from the Scopus metasearch engine. The results suggest a higher percentage of scientific articles (79 %), with a higher volume in 2021 (25 works), while the Journal of small business management stands out as having a great impact and one of the authors with the highest H index, was Frid C.J. with an indicator of 2 points, together with Gartner W.B., Nigam N. and Wyman D.M. Regarding the analysis of co-occurrences of words, the terms entrepreneuship and human capital are the most relevant and those that have the strongest relationship in the field of study.

Analyze of STEAM education research for three decades

The main objective of research is to ascertain the existing situation of STEAM education research over three decades based on the Scopus database. The entire documents are 256 findings globally data shorted by year, region, and highest cited to 100 documents. The analysis technique used VOSViewer, Microsoft Excel and word cloud generator. The result of document type articel is ranks first in Global and conference paper rank first in South East Asia. The sources that have published the top cited papers are “Journal of Small Business Management” in global and the “Education Sciences” in South East Asia. Meanwhile, the author with the most citations is Jeon M from the U.S.A. Specifically, the country with the most publications is US with 31 articles and 2553 citations. Whereas the majority of Southeast Asian countries have 9 articles and 10 citations. Supported the visualization analysis, VOSViewer's global region is divided into 4 clusters and 62 keywords to assist with the visualization analysis. A pair of clusters containing 14 keywords each for the South Asia region. The terms program, project, environment, model, and implication are frequently used in STEAM throughout the world. The keyword STEAM education appears in analyses conducted in South-East Asia. The outcome of this research can serve as a resource for scholars interested in STEAM and education. Further research into STEAM education trends can be conducted by focusing on a single region or on more specific issues.

Initial public offering: a critical review of literature

PurposeThe main purpose of the paper is to critically review the studies in the area of management and entrepreneurship. Secondly, the study aims to identify various performance measures used by researchers to evaluate short and long-term IPO performance.Design/methodology/approachThe author used systematic database survey procedures recommended in previous studies for the review (Short, 2009; Uberbacher, 2014). The review of the study includes articles published in top management and entrepreneurship journal published after 2008 (January 2009 to December 2020). The source of the collection of articles is the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The search included keywords: initial public offering(s) and IPO(s). The study considers the top journals in the area of management, which includes Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science and Strategic Management Journal. In entrepreneurship, the author included: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Venturing and Journal of Small Business Management. After careful consideration of each article, the search returned 104 articles, of which (92 articles) were empirical studies.FindingsThe outcome of the study will recommend research gaps and questions for future studies. The review will also recommend prominent performance measures to evaluate IPO performance.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature of management and entrepreneurship in two folds. First, the study critically reviewed the three themes (“Corporate governance”, “Upper echelons” and “Social influence”). Second, the author also reviewed various IPO performance measures used the management and entrepreneurship scholars from IPO context. Finally, the study identifies the research gap/research question in the three themes as well as five new themes, which can be a valuable addition for future studies. The author hopes that this study will further help future scholars to enhance the understanding of IPO in the area of management and entrepreneurship.

The effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation Market Orientation, Marketing Capabilities on Firm Performance of entrepreneurs in the Northeastern region of Thailand

The effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation Market Orientation, Marketing Capabilities on Firm Performance of entrepreneurs in the Northeastern region of Thailand

The Model of Job Performance : Leadership, Workplace, and Motivation

The Model of Job Performance : Leadership, Workplace, and Motivation

Etching a place in the design industry – case of DesignTheme Innoventics

Study level/applicability This case can be used in the core course on entrepreneurship for Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration/Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA/PGDM) students. It will help them to understand the motivations and challenges of women entrepreneurs, strategies to manage challenges, interactive style of leadership and their contribution to the economic growth of the country. Subject area Entrepreneurship. Case overview Roopa Rani, co-founded a digital design company, DesignTheme Innoventics (DTI), with her husband Yoganand, in November 2007, on the first floor of their residence. Yoganand’s creativity and Roopa’s determination made them bootstrap, scale slow and steady. As a novice to the industry, the initial days posed many challenges. Roopa hired artists to be appointed as designers, which gave them a unique selling preposition. They progressed slowly from a team of 2 to 20, with a revenue of INR 0.3M per annum to INR 12M per annum. As the company grew, Roopa wanted Yoganand’s support in handling the responsibilities, and hence, converted DTI into a limited liability partnership in 2013 and the couple were directors. As the client base improved, the need for shifting to a bigger space became more evident. A calculative risk-taker, Roopa, was forced to move DTI to a bigger office space end 2017, with a rent of INR60,000 per month. Meanwhile, they became a team of 20, with revenue of INR12m. The shift from no rent to a rented space made DTI slip to break-even. However, after two years, they moved into a smaller space and it coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak. Although the backlog orders were processed during the first quarter of 2020–2021, the business for the next quarter was affected. Social distancing norms created a shift in the way of doing business, which was a boon for a designing company like DTI. Now, the task before this self-made woman entrepreneur was to formulate strategies to scale up the business. Expected learning outcomes After analysing the case, the students will be able to: i. Value the contribution of women entrepreneurs towards the economy. ii. Examine the motivational factors and challenges of women entrepreneurs. iii. Understand the importance of networking. iv. Appraise the socio-cultural factors in a patriarchal society and their impact on the work-life balance of a woman entrepreneur. v. Appreciate the interactive leadership style of women entrepreneurs. vi. Formulate strategies to scale up the business. Supplementary materials • Agarwal, S., & Lenka, U. (2015). Study on work-life balance of women entrepreneurs – review and research agenda. Industrial and Commercial Training, 47(7), 356–362. doi:10.1108/ict-01–2015-0006 • Amit, R., & Muller, E. (1995). “Push” And “Pull” Entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 12(4), 64–80. doi:10.1080/08276331.1995.10600505 • Buttner, E. H. (2001). Examining Female Entrepreneurs' Management Style: An Application of a Relational Frame. Journal of Business Ethics, 29(3), 253–269. doi:10.1023/a:1026460615436 • Carter, S.C. (1997). E. Holly Buttner and Dorothy P. Moore (1997), ‘Women’s Organisational Exodus to Entrepreneurship: Self-reported Motivations and Correlates with Success', Journal of Small Business Management, January, pp34-47. • Cohoon, J. McGrath and Wadhwa, Vivek and Mitchell, Lesa, Are Successful Women Entrepreneurs Different from Men? (May 11, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract = 1604653 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1604653 •Fletcher, J. (1998), Relational Practice: A Feminist Reconstruction of Work, Journal of Management Inquiry, 7(2), 163-186. • Kirkwood, J. (2009). Motivational factors in a push‐pull theory of entrepreneurship. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24(5), 346–364. doi:10.1108/17542410910968805. • Malyadri, G., Dr. (2012). Role of women Entrepreneurs in the Economic Development of India. Paripex – Indian Journal of Research, 3(3), 104–105. doi: 10.15373/22501991/mar2014/36. Pal, N. (2016). Women Entrepreneurship in India: Important for Economic Growth. International Journal of Pure and Applied Researches, 4(1), 55–64. Pugazhendhi, D. P. (2019). Problems, Challenges and Development of Women Entrepreneurs. Emperor Journal of Economics and Social Science Research, 1(4), 48–53. doi:10.35338/ejessr.2019.1407. Shastri, S., Shastri, S., & Pareek, A. (2019). Motivations and challenges of women entrepreneurs. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 39(5/6), 338–355. doi:10.1108/ijssp-09–2018-0146. Tende, S.B. (2016). The Impact of Women Entrepreneurs towards National Development: Selected Study on Taraba State. Information and Knowledge Management, 6, 30–43. Xheneti, M., Karki, S. T., & Madden, A. (2018). Negotiating business and family demands within a patriarchal society – the case of women entrepreneurs in the Nepalese context. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 31(3–4), 259–278. doi:10.1080/08985626.2018.1551792 Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The Journal of Small Business Management: A bibliometric overview of 1996–2019

ABSTRACT The Journal of Small Business Management is a highly respected journal, which publishes research about small business and entrepreneurship. Using bibliometric analysis, this study presents an overview of the major trends and themes in the journal’s published content from 1996 to 2019. Over the years, the journal has grown significantly in terms of both publications and citations, with authors from the United States remaining the dominant contributors to the journal. The bibliographic coupling of the articles reveals that entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, family firms, board composition, and internationalization are among the major themes pursued by contributors.

Professionalisation of the Family Firm and Its Relationship with Personal Values

This study aims to determine the relationships between personal values (PVs) and the professionalisation of family firms. To achieve this objective, the theoretical model of PVs by Schwartz ( Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 25:1–65, 1992; Journal of Social Issues 50:19–45, 1994) and the multidimensional model of professionalisation by Dekker, Lybaert, Steijvers and Depaire ( Family Business Review 26(1): 81–99, 2013; Journal of Small Business Management 53(2): 516–538, 2015) were used, highlighting the inclusion of three more factors found in the literature and which became part of the extended model. As the data-collecting instrument, an online questionnaire was sent to Portuguese family firms, obtaining a final sample of 249 participants. To determine the relationships, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used, specifically Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), initially seeking to validate the constructs (PVs and professionalisation) by adjusting the general model. Then, the structural model was validated, determining the relationships between the variables of the constructs studied. The results demonstrated acceptance of the model and partial and total validation of most of the hypotheses investigated, showing that PVs are related to professionalisation of family firms. Some implications for theory and practice will also be presented.

Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and The Small Business—Technology and Innovation in Small Business

This is the second of a pair of special issues in Technovation (Volume 57–58 November‐December, 2016) and the Journal of Small Business Management that explore the interface between Technology Inno...

The construction of qualitative research articles: a conversation with Eileen Fischer

ABSTRACTEileen Fischer, Professor of Marketing and Anne & Max Tanenbaum Chair in Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at the Schulich School of Business at York University, has published research on entrepreneurs, consumers, and markets in several leading management and marketing journals. Professor Fischer has served on the editorial review boards of Consumption Markets & Culture; Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice; Family Business Review; Journal of Business Venturing; and Journal of Small Business Management and is a current co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Research. In preparation for this conversation, the interviewers invited questions about the construction of qualitative research articles from multiple junior scholars in the field of consumer culture theory (CCT). This invitation yielded dozens of questions that were whittled down to the final questions you see here.

Entrepreneurship Programs and the Modern UniversityEntrepreneurship Programs and the Modern University, by MorrisM. H., KuratkoD. F., and CornwallJ. R.. 2013. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 312 pages, hard cover.

Academy of Management Learning & EducationVol. 14, No. 1 Books & Resource ReviewsEntrepreneurship Programs and the Modern UniversityPer DavidssonPer DavidssonQueensland University of Technology.Published Online:3 Dec 2014https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2014.0398AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail View articleREFERENCES Amezcua A. S. , Grimes M. G. , Bradley S. W. , Wiklund J. 2013. Organizational sponsorship and founding environments: A contingency view on the survival of business-incubated firms, 1994–2007. Academy of Management Journal, 56: 1628–1654.Link , Google Scholar Fairlie R. W. , Karlan D. , Zinman J. 2012. Behind the GATE experiment: Evidence on effects of and rationales for subsidized entrepreneurship training. In National Bureau of Economic Research. Retreived from http://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Working-Papers/wp000/ddp0095.pdf. Google Scholar Martin B. C. , McNally J. J. , Kay M. J. 2013. Examining the formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship education outcomes. Journal of Business Venturing, 28: 211–224. Google Scholar Piperopoulos P. , Dimov D. 2014. Burst bubbles or build steam? Entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Small Business Management, 52: 2. Google Scholar Rideout E. C. , Gray D. O. 2013. Does entrepreneurship education really work? A review and methodological critique of the empirical literature on the effects of university-based entrepreneurship education. Journal of Small Business Management, 51: 329–351. Google Scholar Tamasy C. 2007. Rethinking technology-oriented business incubators: Developing a robust policy instrument for entrepreneurship, innovation, and regional development? Growth and Change, 38: 460–473. Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 14, No. 1 Permissions Metrics Downloaded 3 times in the past 12 months History Published online 3 December 2014 Published in print 1 March 2015 Information© Academy of Management Learning & EducationPDF download

Editor's Column

This is my first Editor's Column of the Business Valuation Review. I am honored that Roger Grabowski and the Business Valuation Committee considered me for the task. As all know, Roger Grabowski is a giant in the business valuation field. His encyclopedic knowledge is well known, and his communication skills are the best. We are all most grateful for his service to our field, not only through his editorial services to the Business Valuation Review, but also his many insightful articles, courses taught, presentations, and the massive work, Cost of Capital, he co-authors with Shannon Pratt. Roger Grabowski is a hard act to follow.The Business Valuation Review depends on article submissions. I encourage you to submit articles—please refer to the Call for Papers on page? If you feel your work load is too high to spend time researching and writing on your own, please consider partnering with a finance or economics professor as a co-author. Academics need to publish to maintain their standing in academe.1 Academics may have access to some data you, the “practitioner” may not have, and you may have access to data they might not have; so you may find working with an academic to be a fruitful pooling of efforts. In addition, academics have the training to apply quantitative analytical methods to data and theories that most practitioners do not have. However, you, the practitioners of business valuation, have insights into finance and valuation that academics do not have. So with your experience with real-world issues and academics' quantitative skills, it can be a winning combination.Furthermore, it is nice to be able to report on your resume that you are the author of a solid article published by the premier journal in our field. Publishing in the Business Valuation Review will distinguish you from other “experts” through your contribution and your professional colleagues' recognition.There is no lack of important issues that need investigation and elucidation. The “experts” have not finalized the approaches to valuation issues. There is much to investigate, like the cost of capital, discounts for lack of marketability or control, liquidity, systematic risk, unsystematic risk, restricted stock studies, analyses of private company transactions, closed end funds' discounts, takeover premia, forecasting growth, measuring risk, private company values vs. public company values, financial distress, legal case analyses, accounting issues, the valuation of exotic and not so exotic options, as well as preferred stock and debt, and the list goes on. Have you had the thought, “I wonder about ______ (fill in the blank)?” Well, that may be an excellent topic for an article. What problems are you trying to solve? They may also be food for articles.The Business Valuation Review has been at the forefront of the business valuation field for more than thirty years because of the dedicated professionals in the business valuation field, and we appreciate your contributions.Dan McConaughy is a Director in Valuation Services at Crowe Horwath LLP′s Los Angeles office, and he is a Professor of Finance in the Department of Finance, Financial Planning and Insurance at the College of Business and Economics at California State University Northridge. He consults regarding the valuation of businesses and business interests, derivative securities, economic damages, and intangible assets for bankruptcy, financial reporting, tax purposes, mergers and acquisitions, financial structuring, and litigation support services.Dr. McConaughy has a PhD in Finance from the University of Cincinnati, PhD and MA degrees in Syriac and Greek from the University of Chicago, and a BS in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. He has published more than 25 publications in academic and professional journals in the areas of cost of capital, capital structure, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, illiquidity discounts, family business, executive compensation, and restricted securities under Rule 144. He was the co-editor of the Journal of Small Business Management.

About Our Authors

About Our Authors

Chronicling the Saga of 25 Years of International Society of Franchising

This lead‐in to the Special Issue of Journal of Small Business Management based on the 25th International Society of Franchising's Annual Conference held at Boston in 2011, seeks to accomplish three goals. First, we provide a three‐part historical account of the evolution of this society founded in 1986 as narrated by Jim Brown (for the 1980s decade), Bob Robicheaux (for the 1990–2000 decade), and Gérard Cliquet (for the 2001–2011 years). Second, we reminisce and recognize various notable award winners and leaders of the International Society of Franchising (ISoF) over the past 25 conferences. We must note at the very outset that ISoF has been shaped and molded by the intellectual contributions of hundreds of scholars over the past quarter century. Space limitations prohibit us from recognizing each and every member individually, but omissions should not be construed as lack of recognition of the importance of those contributions. Finally, we present short synopses of the five papers included in this Special Issue.

Small & medium-sized enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: a systematic review of the literature

Most business management research to date has either failed to look at firm size as a factor or focused its attention on large companies. The fact is, however, that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are unique, making general assumptions applicable to other types of firms of little use. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is no exception. Recent decades have seen a plethora of studies which debate definitions, consider content and scope, and study causal relationships with antecedents and implications of applying CSR. Yet only a small percentage of the literature has delved into SME realities. Through a systematic review of the literature, the present study aims to analyze the state of the question and identify the theoretical framework of reference, and CSR antecedents and consequences in SME contexts in order to provide a jumping off point for future empirical studies. Hence, after consulting a cross-section of internationally renowned experts and the SSCI/JCR Index, we have reviewed articles in the foremost management journals (Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Management, Strategic Management Journal), SME management journals (Journal of Small Business Management, International Small Business Journal, Small Business Economics) and CSR-related journals (Business Ethics Quarterly, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics: an European Review and Business & Society). Our findings shed light on key themes including idiosyncrasies of CSR management, aspects such as terminology and language, the recommended theoretical framework, and antecedents, barriers and potential impact of CSR in the SME context.

A Vision and Guidelines for Better Quantitative Studies in the Social Sciences

Public Administration ReviewVolume 71, Issue 5 p. 807-810 A Vision and Guidelines for Better Quantitative Studies in the Social Sciences Andreas Schwab, Corresponding Author Andreas Schwab Iowa State UniversityAndreas Schwab is an assistant professor of management at Iowa State University. His research focuses on organizational learning theory in the context of innovative project ventures. He serves on the editorial board of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal and the Journal of Small Business Management. He received his doctorate in strategic management and organization theory from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has organized several workshops and symposia for the Academy of Management Research Method Division on Alternatives to Null-Hypothesis Significance Testing and Bayesian Statistics.E-mail:aschwab@iastate.eduSearch for more papers by this author Andreas Schwab, Corresponding Author Andreas Schwab Iowa State UniversityAndreas Schwab is an assistant professor of management at Iowa State University. His research focuses on organizational learning theory in the context of innovative project ventures. He serves on the editorial board of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal and the Journal of Small Business Management. He received his doctorate in strategic management and organization theory from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has organized several workshops and symposia for the Academy of Management Research Method Division on Alternatives to Null-Hypothesis Significance Testing and Bayesian Statistics.E-mail:aschwab@iastate.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 September 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02429.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume71, Issue5September/October 2011Pages 807-810 RelatedInformation

The Reinvention of Academic Entrepreneurship

What a delight it is to have this “essay” invited to appear in this edition of the Journal of Small Business Management (JSBM). Most of the research papers included in this issue were written by several of the courageous pioneers of the once incipient academic field of entrepreneurship. In addition, my very favorite former doctoral student and her coauthor created a cutting‐edge paper on entrepreneurial education that is not only superlative but also a “must read” for dedicated professor/teachers. Dr. George Solomon, editor of JSBM, has my sincere appreciation for creating and organizing this special issue.

Author and institution productivity in the Journal of Small Business Management from 1994 to 2003

This study provides concrete insight into which individuals as well as institutions contributed most to the JSBM during the last ten years. It examines the authorship and institutional affiliations of all the articles appearing in the JSBM from 1994 to 2003 (Vols. 32 to 42). There were a total of 326 articles published with 619 author appearances representing 270 different institutions. Tables show the most prolific authors as well as most represented academic institutions.

Research Methods in the Leading Small Business–Entrepreneurship Journals: A Critical Review with Recommendations for Future Research*

Small business and entrepreneurship scholars have made significant progress toward advancing the field and gaining recognition as an important domain of scientific inquiry. However, the authors suggest that a strong methodological foundation built on state‐of‐the‐art research technologies is necessary to support further paradigmatic growth and maturation. Using Chandler and Lyon's study as a benchmark for research methods through the 1990s, the study critiques research methodologies used by small business and entrepreneurship researchers over the ensuing years. The analysis includes all 665 papers published between 2001 and February of 2008 in the Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Business Venturing, and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. The research outlines key methodological issues, assesses recent methodological practice, identifies current trends, and offers recommendations for researchers in adopting existing and emerging research technologies.

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Marketing: An Introduction

This special issue emerged from the papers and discussant reports presented at the 2nd Office Depot Small Business Research Forum, the theme of which was and Small Business Marketing. The forum covered topics such as brand management in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the evolution of franchise contracts, effects of entrepreneurial orientation on market orientation, franchisee failure, the role of entrepreneurship in market-driving behavior, and relational governance in franchise systems. The College of Business at Florida Atlantic University organizes the Annual Office Depot Forum to showcase cutting-edge research in the field of small business and entrepreneurship. The forum is cosponsored by Office Depot and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The format involves a full day of presentations of a limited number of high-quality papers that focus on a specific small enterprise area or topic. The papers presented at the annual forums, after a review process, are published in special issues of the Journal of Small Business Management (JSBM). The field of small business and entrepreneurship research is unique in its multidisciplinary approach. The Office Depot Forum, by presenting and publishing the best scholarly research in a business functional area each year, strengthens the connections among researchers in finance, marketing, management, operations, and other areas. More information about the Office Depot Forum and the Call for Papers for the next forum is available at http://www.officedepotforum.com. The Office Depot Forum chooses to make its research available through JSBM because of its reputation for publishing excellent, high-impact scholarly research articles in the field of entrepreneurship and small business. The oldest, most widely distributed, and arguably the leading scholarly small business and entrepreneurship journal worldwide, JSBM earned the distinction, in March 2006, of having the highest percentage increase in total citations from January 1995 to December 2005 in the field of economics and business, according the ISI Essential Science Indicators. The Kauffman Foundation, dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship in the United States, has taken a leadership role in supporting entrepreneurship research. The foundation is committed to achieving a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship's contribution to the economy, the nuances of the entrepreneurial process, and policies that promote the formation and growth of the high-impact firms that hold great promise for improving living standards. In addition to providing research grants to leading scholars for the study of a wide range of topics within entrepreneurship, the Foundation is funding the development of several data sets for the study of entrepreneurship and supports doctoral dissertations in the field. We were fortunate to have three excellent session leaders: Dr. Rajiv P. Dant of the University of South Florida; Dr. Morgan P. Miles of Georgia Southern University; and Dr. Frank Hoy of the Centers for Entrepreneurial Development, Advancement, Research and Support at the University of Texas in EI Paso. The keynote speaker was Dr. Gerald E. Hills, Coleman Foundation Chair of Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois in Chicago. These leaders represent the heart and soul of the forum, and we owe them a great debt for making this special issue possible. Several other individuals provided significant comments, suggestions, and support that helped direct this forum to its successful completion. For their generous contributions, we thank Mrs. Karen Duray-Smith, Dr. Dennis Coates, Ms. Barbara Winczewska, Dr. Gary Giamartino, Dr. Joseph Michlitsch, Dr. Robert Strom, Ms. Mary Wong, Dr. Rob van der Horst, Dr. Carl Riegel, and Mr. Robert McCormet-Ballou. The inaugural Office Depot Forum represented in this issue was organized around three sessions, each of which contained two papers related to the session topic and was guided by a highly qualified session leader who provided discussant comments on each paper and an overall review of the topic area. …