The state of innovation and entrepreneurship research

Abstract

Innovation is informed by the ability to see connections, spot opportunities, and take advantage of them. However, innovation does not happen automatically; it is driven by entrepreneurship. This quote by Drucker highlights the impulse behind changing products, processes and services that stems from individuals who make innovation happen. Indeed, entrepreneurship has always been considered a constituent part of any innovative process and, as an extension, a crucial determinant of economic performance [2,3] Kirzner [3] identified the function of entrepreneurship as a market discovery process, which highlights the processes of recognition and discovery of underexplored opportunities, the propensity to assume risk and launch a new business, and the capacity entrepreneurs have to move from discovery to real entrepreneurial action. Therefore, one could define an entrepreneur as someone who sees an opportunity and has the ability to act on that perception [4,5]. However, entrepreneurship is not constrained to starting a company. It involves a mixture of vision, passion, energy, insight, judgement and the plain hard work needed for good ideas to become a reality. Moreover, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial innovation can occur in a variety of settings, including small or large companies and governmental agencies. Whether it is an individual seeking to find a new product or service to make their fortune, or a large established organisation looking for new market space, the challenge is one of finding opportunities for innovation. Innovation makes a huge difference to organisations of all shapes and sizes. Those enterprises that survive do so because they are capable of regular and focused change [6,7]. New ventures that innovate are able to offer new or different goods or services to the market, enabling them to differentiate themselves from their competitors. When new ventures have this competitive advantage, it gives them an opportunity to attract new customers or retain the ones they already have. If entrepreneurs do not change what they offer the world and how they create and deliver it, they risk being overtaken by others who do. The papers in this Special Issue share a belief in the importance of innovation in entrepreneurship. The focus is on entrepreneurial innovators who forge new paths and break with accepted ways of doing business, creating new combinations that result in novel products, services, and operating practices.