Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures

Abstract

Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures Bruce R. Barringer R. Duane Ireland Prentice Hall: Pearson Education, Inc. (2006) 479 pages, Hardcover, $106.67 Reviewed by: Donovan A. McFarlane St. Thomas University Entrepreneurship is at the heart of innovation, the emergence of great leaders and leadership, transition in business activities, and value creation in the global economy of the 21st century. number of opportunities available to start new ventures is constantly increasing as our knowledge, needs and wants, technology, communication, trade and borders expand to reflect the ongoing processes of globalization, market-based privatization and internationalization of business initiatives amidst various cultural, social and political changes. changes taking place in today's economies have become catalysts for individuals to seek new opportunities of survival in the form of establishing business ventures. These business ventures are entered into for economic and social independence, survival, and often the quest to fulfill the American Dream, which itself has undergone transformation through the entrepreneurial spirit and pursuits. Becoming a successful entrepreneur is the dream of Americans; owning one's business and being recognized as a leader within industries. Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures is just the right tool which the business student needs in order to understand the entrepreneurial process and how to create successful business opportunities. Barringer and Ireland have written an excellent book suitable for teaching entrepreneurship skills and principles to young minds in colleges and universities. While the book resembles a typical college textbook with all the features and interactive guides for students and instructors, it is a unique book on entrepreneurship that offers a thorough understanding of the entrepreneurial process. book explores the entrepreneurial process step by step and chapter by chapter - from the decision to become an entrepreneur; introduction to entrepreneurship, to the successful management and growth of entrepreneurial ventures. book has practical recommendations as it uniquely focuses on opportunity recognition and feasibility analysis as important aspects of the entrepreneurial process. In addition, it features countless motivational examples of entrepreneurial success in various and industries. According to Barringer and Ireland, the three primary reasons why people become entrepreneurs and start their own businesses are to (i) be their own boss, (ii) pursue their own ideas, and (iii) realize financial rewards. These factors have pushed millions of Americans and people across the globe to turn their great ideas into great businesses. Barringer and Ireland begin this book with a basic, yet comprehensive model of the entrepreneurial process. Chapter 1; Decision to Become an Entrepreneur discusses why and how people become entrepreneurs and the three major factors above formulate the argument presented by Barringer and Ireland for entrepreneurial pursuits. This chapter introduces the concepts of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intensity, and corporate entrepreneurship. Chapters, 2, 3, 4 and 5 deal with the development of successful business ideas. According to Barringer and Ireland, many new businesses fail not because the entrepreneur didn't work hard but because there was no real opportunity to begin with. This is quite the case, since entrepreneurship is at best the creation of new opportunities through great ideas, what the authors refer to as The entrepreneurial process: where a great idea meets a great process. …