Advancing Research on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

In this Inaugural Year of Entrepreneurship Research Journal (ERJ), and with this new Issue 4 titled, „Advancing Research on Innovation and Entrepreneurship“, editors Chandra S. Mishra, Office Depot Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida Atlantic University, and Ramona K. Zachary, Academic Director of the Lawrence N. Field Programs and the Peter S. Jonas Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Baruch College, offer a dedication to Steve Jobs who was an innovator and entrepreneur extraordinaire. He transformed a sleepy Silicon Valley into the leading innovation center in the world. His technological creations, during his shortened but dynamic life, have not only revolutionized how consumers interact with technology but how we experience human interactions throughout the world. Researchers from all disciplines have been intrigued and inspired by his entrepreneurial vision and creative genius.

The lead article, by William J. Baumol, urges researchers to further investigate the innovation process, the incentives for innovators given their low returns and low odds of success, and the role of the public sector in encouraging innovation given the enormous social gains. The three competitive research articles contribute to our understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship literature by: 1) examining the types of entrepreneurial knowledge and their impact on innovation; 2) examining the linkage between a country‘s investment on R&D and number of startups; and 3) explaining the inability of an entrepreneur to move away from a struggling venture. As ERJ‘s first Commentary, Stuart A. Schulman and Edward G. Rogoff ask us to rethink the technology enabled entrepreneur and begin to build a bridge between economic theory about innovation and the funding and production challenges facing entrepreneurs as they bring their technologies to the market.