Sources of Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Behavior

"The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE) is among the most important contributions of the economics of entrepreneurship since its revival in the late 1980s. The theory is all about context and contributes little to the antecedents of entrepreneurial behavior, which is another but poorly understood part of the economics of entrepreneurship. The present book addresses precisely this gap. Using a big European data set of entrepreneurial firms and a combination of KSTE and a human capital perspective, it is shown that a diversity of knowledge sources drives a diversity of entrepreneurial behaviors. The book is a brilliant example of the richness of the economics of entrepreneurship: individual human capital and context lead to a diversity of entrepreneurial behaviors."

Roy Thurik, Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship and Economics, Erasmus School of Economics and Montpellier Business School

"Where entrepreneurs draw their inspirational ideas from has both fascinated but also eluded researchers and thought leaders in policy and business. This important new book is able to unravel this mystery and explicitly identify the key sources of knowledge and ideas fueling entrepreneurship."

Erik E. Lehmann, Professor of Management and Organization, University of Augsburg

"Much of traditional economics and management has been woefully lacking in its treatment of the contribution of knowledge and entrepreneurship to economic activity. In this path-breaking volume, Audretsch and Link make a step change in our understanding of the role of knowledge in the new economic environment where knowledge capital supersedes physical capital. Their rigorously derived, novel insight that knowledge for entrepreneurship emanates from a myriad of sources has profound implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers alike."

Mike Wright, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Imperial College London