Pioneering Entrepreneurship Research lists the seminal and pioneering research efforts conducted by a limited group of scholars from different disciplines that challenged traditional thought on small business and entrepreneurship – these pioneers and their specific contributions transformed our thinking about entrepreneurs. This monograph also discusses the drivers that motivated their entrepreneurial endeavors, their influence at the firm/micro-level and their role in fostering economic development and growth. It explores how their breakthrough contributions increasingly gained acceptance in several disciplines, thereby toppling previous views with profound implications for theory, empirics, methodology and policy.

Research on entrepreneurship has witnessed a tremendous renaissance and continues to rapidly evolve. This monograph identifies scholars who have played a particularly important role in pushing the research frontier through their seminal work in the entrepreneurship field. Following an introduction, the authors discuss the definition of entrepreneurship and the academic domain of entrepreneurship research. Next is a chronological account of the early pioneers and the origin of entrepreneurship research. The monograph provides a more detailed description of contemporary pioneers, defined as those that contributed to shaping and defining the research field in the latter decades. It then groups pioneers into specific research categories aiming to give a comprehensive picture of how the advances made has served to deepen our understanding of how the economy works. This is followed by a discussion of avenues for future entrepreneurship research and a conclusion with references.