George T. Solomon

An examination of entrepreneurship education in the United States

Purpose – This paper seeks to provide an analytical overview of the current state of entrepreneurship education in the USA for the years 2004‐2005.Design/methodology/approach – The author performed an extensive review of the literature in entrepreneurship education and enhanced the review by conducting a national survey of two and four‐year colleges and universities. This survey was the sixth since 1979 conducted by the author to examine trends and the “current state of entrepreneurship education.”Findings – The 2004‐2005 survey indicates that the trends, especially in the use of technology initially examined in prior national studies of entrepreneurship, have continued in a similar direction and in some areas, for example, the use of technology has increased dramatically. Also, new findings confirm that the traditional teaching method of requiring students to create a business plan is still used and is popular. Finally, the data show that entrepreneurship educators are increasingly using guest speakers a...

Entrepreneurial selection and success: does education matter?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between general education, specific forms of entrepreneurial education and a range of entrepreneurial activities.Design/methodology/approach – The relationships were investigated through an analysis of peer‐reviewed research published in a wide range of journals and proceedings between 1995 and 2006.Findings – Findings suggest strong evidence supporting the relationship between levels of general education and several entrepreneurial success measures. The findings are less clear in regards to the link between general education and the choice to become an entrepreneur. The findings linking specific programs of entrepreneurship education to entrepreneurship, although ambiguous, suggest a positive link between such education and both the choice to become an entrepreneur and subsequent entrepreneurial success.Research limitations/implications – The review of research suggests four implications for existing research: a need for increased researc...

Trends in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Education in the United States

The critical importance of small business management and entrepreneurship in determining the future of the economic and social well-being of the United States is generally accepted by leading experts in government and business. While there clearly is a boom in entrepreneurial enterprise throughout the nation, the extent of the growth in the educational services supporting this effort is at best only partially known through prior studies, such as those of Vesper (1985). This paper reports the results of three surveys on the development of courses, academic programs, seminars, and workshops in small business management and entrepreneurship in the U.S. The survey results point to a dramatic change in the number of colleges and universities that are now offering small business management and entrepreneurship courses and programs and in the quantity and scope of the courses offered within schools.

A historical examination of small business management and entrepreneurship pedagogy

Four national surveys on course offerings and pedagogies in entrepreneurship and small business management were conducted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in 1979, 1982, 1986, and 1992. The data are summarized, providing historical information in terms of the number of responses received and the major teaching pedagogies used by both 4-year colleges and universities and 2-year community and junior colleges. Tables are provided that reflect a definite growth pattern in small business management and entrepreneurship course offerings at both 4-year and 2-year schools. Tables also are provided that indicate the extent and use of various teaching and evaluation pedagogies used by these academic institutions.

Value Profiles of Male and Female Entrepreneurs

Dr.George T. Solomon is currently an adjunct professor of mangament, George Washington University, Washington D.C., USA and serves as director of business education and resources mangment for the US small business administration. Dr.Lloyd W. fernald is an assistant profesor of mangment, university of Central Florida, orlando, USA. A smample off male and female enterpreneurs were surveyed in an attempt to identify a suseful and rigorous method for describingt the charactristics of enterpreneur. All respondents were administered demographic data form and the Rokeach Value survey. The latter is an instrumental used to determine two hierarchies of value importance for each respondent, a terminal value system and an instrumental value system. the result were analysed to determine the value profits of the enterpreneurs studied.

Small business training and development in the United States

Fifty eight per cent of reporting companies have a shortage of skilled workers and 64 per cent of manufacturers believe entry‐level workers lack the necessary skills to positively impact their company. The most recent reports estimate that employers spend around one per cent of payroll on training. Lack of investment in training is an often‐cited reason why companies in the USA. are losing market share to foreign competitors. This study provides data regarding the extent to which training is conducted, formally and informally, in a sample of small businesses. According to the results of the study and a review of current literature, employees need training in a variety of areas and are not receiving adequate training in today’s small business environment. The study specifically includes information with respect to: (1) the types of training that small business owners believe they need to be more successful; (2) the various training methods currently used in training both employees and managers; and (3) the primary training resources used by the small businesses. The study was intended not only to determine what is happening in training and development in small businesses, but also to make owner‐managers more aware of the importance of training to their long‐term success. If owner‐managers of small businesses worldwide both read and apply the results of the study to their own individual small businesses, they could be expected to increase the level of their training programmes and change their overall attitude towards the importance of training.

Small Business Institute Economic Impact Evaluation

Since the inception of the Small Business Institute (SBI) Program in 1972, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has conducted numerous client reaction and/or perceived value analysis evaluations. However, both the SBA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were more interested in evaluating the objective utility and economic impact of the SBI Program. This article shares with the readers the results of the first national pilot survey of the Economic Impact of the SBI Program on client small businesses. This initial study not only examined the economic impact of the SBI Program but also introduced and tested new methodologies which might be useful in developing a generally accepted technique to collect and analyze the level of economic impact on client businesses assisted by the SBI program. The results of the study indicate that those small businesses receiving counseling assitance from the SBI Program showed more positive increases in their employment and financial profiles than comparable small businesses. Finally, the scope and depth of the SBI consultant teams recommendations directly affected the level and intensity of the positive changes.

Self-Identified Management Deficiencies of Entrepreneurs

Every year thousands of courses, seminars, and training sessions in entrepreneurship and small business are offered. However, it is not obvious that the education and training needs of entrepreneurs and business owners are being met. The study examines the competencies that owner/managers and entrepreneurs of growing businesses identify as deficient. It then analyzes the self-identified training needs of people owning growth-oriented businesses, and compares and contrasts them to those of individuals owning stagnant or declining firms. If those needs differ, the results can help instructors and trainers make the content of their offerings more relevant to their target audience, whether it is entrepreneurs with growth intentions or small-business managers with their life-style intentions.

Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and The Small Business—Technology and Innovation in Small Business†

This is the second of a pair of special issues in Technovation (Volume 57–58 NovemberDecember, 2016) and the Journal of Small Business Management that explore the interface between Technology Innovation Management and Small Business Management. No longer are scholars and researchers looking at only one field of scholarship in examining issues and offering solutions but in fact, are adopting a more holistic, interdisciplinary approach. Universities are struggling with how to successfully integrating the hard sciences—physics, biology, and engineering with the technological breakthroughs that their faculty members create and transforming them into viable commercial products and services. Though the earlier issue in Technovation focused on how policy impacts Technology in Small Businesses (Apanasovich et al. 2016; Ho et al. 2016; Hong et al. 2016; Maresch, Fink, and Harms 2016; Nordman and Tolstoy 2016), this issue in the Journal of Small Business Management considers technologyintensive small business activity. Such activity may involve technology intensive start-ups or small businesses. Common but less frequently considered, are small business that change their product offering or underlying process through the adaption of new technology. In some cases, this change is part of a drive to grow sales and/ or profitability, whereas in other cases the successful adoption and integration of technology is needed for the survival and sustainability of the firm. As the interface between technology and small business is a critical issue that sits on the edge of the mission of Technovation and Journal of Small Business Management, a joint decision was made to tackle this together. It is natural for small businesses to go through a series of transitions or shocks that can result in a rapid increase in growth and value or a sudden and sharp decline. For example, the restructuring a small business faces when it receives its first large order. Whether the change involves information communication technology (ICT), such as ecommerce or materials requirements planning

Early‐Stage of Innovations: Selection System Criteria for Funding U.S. Biotech SMEs

The focus of this paper is small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the U.S. biotechnology industry and how they compete for financial resources during the early stages of innovation development. We utilize selection system theory, which describes how selectors use reputation‐based information about selectees as decision factors when making investments. Our findings suggest that there are different predictive variables for SME categories and the types of investors attracted to these categories, which is consistent with selection system theory. We extend prior studies by providing context to early‐stage innovation investment funding within an environment characterized as having a long development cycle and representing high uncertainty.