Who Are the Entrepreneurs:

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Who Are the Entrepreneurs: "
Haveman, Heather A.; Habinek, Jacob

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	917545
Doc. No	:	LA392635v2
Title & Author	:	Who Are the Entrepreneurs:. The Elite or Everyman? [Article]\ Haveman, Heather A.; Habinek, Jacob
Date	:	2011
Title of Periodical	:	UC Berkeley
Abstract	:	We trace the social positions of the men and women who found new enterprises from the earliest years of one industry’s history to a time when the industry was well established. Sociological theory suggests two opposing hypotheses. First, pioneering entrepreneurs are socially prominent individuals from fields adjacent to the new industry and later entrepreneurs are from an increasingly broad swath of society. Second, the earliest entrepreneurs come from the social periphery while later entrepreneurs include more industry insiders and members of the social elite. To test these hypotheses, we study the magazine industry in America over the first 120 years of its history, from 1741 to 1860. We find that magazine publishing was originally restricted to industry insiders, elite professionals, and the highly educated, but by the time the industry became well established, most founders came from outside publishing and more were of middling stature – mostly small-town doctors and clergy without college degrees. We also find that magazines founded by industry insiders remained concentrated in the three biggest cities, while magazines founded by outsiders became geographically dispersed. Finally, we find that entrepreneurship evolved from the pursuit of a lone individual to a more organizationally-sponsored activity; this reflects the modernization of America during this time period. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of grounding studies of entrepreneurship in historical context. Our analysis of this “old” new media industry also offers hints about how the “new” new media industries are likely to evolve.