ABSTRACT
The search for entrepreneurship The fi rst business textbook this author acquired was initially published in 1958, it had the title ‘Business Enterprise’ 1 and it purported to be ‘a study of the economic and political organisation of British industry’ and to describe and analyse its variety. However, in looking at the book now, what seems to be particularly noticeable is not what it says but what it doesn’t say. For instance, while it does occasionally indicate that some businesses are small and that most businesses start small, nowhere does it treat small businesses as being in any way distinct or worthy of any form of separate consideration. It generally focuses on fi rms and does not dwell a lot on the people behind them. Also, in looking at the birth of fi rms, it suggests that ‘new fi rms generally do the same sort of things as old ones’ and does not consider issues such as ‘creative destruction’. The people who start businesses are generally referred to as ‘founders’, although the person starting from scratch to do something new is referred to as ‘an innovator’ who is ‘generally giving a longer rein to his enthusiasm than to his common sense’ 2 and, possibly what is most signifi cant for a book on ‘business enterprise’, is that it does not appear to use the word ‘entrepreneur’ at all.
