Clusters - International Entrepreneurship and Small Business

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

The goal in preparing this book compilation on CLUSTERS, SMALL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP is to provide students with the opportunity to comprehend and analyse the field of international entrepreneurship broadly.
The main purpose of this book is to provide some resources for students, managers and anyone interested in the development of SMEs and the field of entrepreneurship by assisting them in learning and contributing to the formulation of strategies for those companies they might get involved with in the future.

Aims
1. To build on the strategy and international business courses taught in the degree of Management, and complement them with a perspective on the same issues but with a focus on small and medium enterprises, new firms and industrial clusters.
2. To provide an understanding of the different way in which small and medium companies compete – their advantages, such as flexibility, and their disadvantages, such as resource constraints.
3. To explain the functioning of clusters and the role of location in shaping companies’ strategies, opportunities and competitiveness.
4. To provide a theoretical as well as a practical outlook of collaborative strategies as a means for small companies to compete in the global economy.
5. To explain how small companies and multinationals interact, linking this course to others that focus on the functioning of multinationals.

Learning outcomes

1. Understand theories of clusters, and apply them to the analysis of small and medium enterprises operating in different contexts.
2. Understand vertical and horizontal collaborative strategies, and their impact on firms’ capabilities, resources, and performance.
3. Assess the relationships between small companies and multinationals, and the mechanisms through which small companies are linked and contributed to the global economy.
4. Compare different clusters and assess the competitive advantages and disadvantages they generate for companies.
5. Evaluate when clusters may foster innovation.

By reading and analysing the topics in the format of chapters and the case studies here presented, the reader will be able to demonstrated highly understand in the development of SMEs and the field of international entrepreneurship. To facilitate an understanding of the material and allow the reader to apply it in a global context, original case studies are contained in the last section of the book.
I hope that you will find this book compilation useful for your studies. I welcome your ideas and recommendations about the topics and cases chosen to be in this compilation. Please feel free to contact me if you have any suggestion.

Original languageEnglish
PublisherMcGraw Hill
Number of pages204
Volume1
Edition2014
ISBN (Electronic)9781308426983
Publication statusPublished - 16 Dec 2014

Keywords

  • smal business
  • entrepreneurship
  • clusters
  • international business

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