Business : Corporate & Business History

Traditionally, researchers have defined entrepreneurship in terms of the entrepreneur - the individual who exploits a previously unnoticed opportunity. Entrepreneurship research thus focused on the attributes of the person and how these might be related to exploiting opportunities which others either didn't see or chose not to pursue. In this way, classic entrepreneurship research explored individual characteristics such as willingness to bear uncertainty (Khilstrom & Laffont, 1979), tolerance for ambiguity (Schere, 1982), or need for achievement (McClelland, 1961). Unfortunately, focus on the individual entrepreneur has proved unsatisfactory because it cannot explain the fact that entrepreneurial behaviour is episodic and clustered at particular points in time. It also does not explain how entrepreneurship is often a response to specific situations (Gartner, 1985). Stated differently, this individual entrepreneur view of the field does not acknowledge the context within which entrepreneurship takes place (Shane, 2003; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Shane and his colleagues encourage researchers to view entrepreneurship as the nexus of entrepreneur and context. more...

Price: $99.00

The captivating story of the mavericks who emerged from the. dotcom rubble to found the multibillion-dollar companies taking the. Web into the twenty-first century. Everyone has heard the story of the Internet Bubble. Beginning. with Netscape’s IPO in 1996, billions flowed into Internet. startups, and companies with no revenues and shaky business. plans earned sky-high valuations on Wall Street. It was. the era of paper millionaires, $800 office chairs, and Super. Bowl ads for dotcoms. Then in 2000 the Bubble burst, with. the NASDAQ losing 75 percent of its value and hundreds of. companies closing up shop. It was all written off to “irrational. exuberance,” and everyone moved on. Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good is the story of the. entrepreneurs who learned their lesson from the bust and. in recent years have created groundbreaking new Web. companies. The second iteration of the dotcoms—dubbed. Web 2.0—is all about bringing people together. Social networking. sites such as Facebook and MySpace unite friends. online; YouTube lets anyone posts videos for the world to. see; Digg.com allows Internet users to vote on the most. relevant news of the day; Six Apart sells software that. enables bloggers to post their viewpoints online; and Slide. helps people customize their virtual selves. Business reporter Sarah Lacy brings to light the entire. Web 2.0 scene: the wide-eyed but wary entrepreneurs, the. hated venture capitalists, the bloggers fueling the hype,. the programmers coding through the night, the twentysomething. millionaires, and the Internet “fan boys” eager. for all the promises to come true. more...

Price: $26.00

The greatest brands of all capture the hearts, minds and dollars of the whole world. They break out of business and become part of everyday life, inspiring unparalleled loyalty and even affection. But how do they do it? The Ultimate Book of Business Brands shows how apparently ordinary products and services are transformed into business legends. Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer tell the inspiring stories behind industry greats like Starbucks, Adidas, Ferrari and Marlboro. You will discover the brand-building secrets of giants like Toyota, Disney, Sony, Guinness and Hoover. more...

Price: $24.95

The fascinating story of a company that has been at the forefront of American business for over one hundred years. The story of Walgreens spans over a century of U.S. history. It’s the story of the most successful drugstore chain in the nation, an industry leader from the 1920s right up to the present. Today, the company still surpasses its competition in both size and profitability. more...

Price: $24.95

A unique history of Cuba, captured in the life and times of the famous rum dynasty. The Bacardis of Cuba, builders of a rum distillery and a worldwide brand, came of age with their nation and helped define what it meant to be Cuban. Across five generations, the Bacardi family has held fast to its Cuban identity, even in exile from the country for whose freedom they once fought. Now National Public Radio correspondent Tom Gjelten tells the dramatic story of one family, its business, and its nation, a 150-year tale with the sweep and power of an epic. The Bacardi clan--patriots and bon vivants, entrepreneurs and intellectuals--provided an example of business and civic leadership in its homeland for nearly a century. From the fight for Cuban independence from Spain in the 1860s to the rise of Fidel Castro and beyond, there is no chapter in Cuban history in which the Bacardis have not played a role. In chronicling the saga of this remarkable family and the company that bears its name, Tom Gjelten describes the intersection of business and power, family and politics, community and exile. more...

Price: $27.95