Questions and Answers of Economics Principles and Policy

What are the main theories in economics that discuss the entrepreneur? In one of the theories identified, explain the role of the entrepreneur in the economy.
Kirzner’s theory of entrepreneurship revolves around the concept of ‘alertness to opportunity’. Describe and explain the concept and illustrate the idea as applied to entrepreneurs today.
Schumpeter’s theory of economic development presents the entrepreneur as an innovator. Using examples of contemporary businesses, explain the five forms of innovation and explain why they might be
‘Contemporary theory in entrepreneurship has become fragmented.’ Consider this statement critically, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of this diversity in thinking.
What role does entrepreneurship play in stimulating economic development?
Why do levels of entrepreneurship – expressed as new business start-ups – differ between nations, regions and localities?
What role do the concepts of ‘space’ and ‘place’ play in the analysis of entrepreneurship and economic development?
How does culture harness or hold back entrepreneurship?
How can higher levels of entrepreneurship be encouraged through public policy?
Which main form of government action is most likely to help small businesses?
Assess the arguments for segmenting policy to target parts of the small business market.
Has the provision of small business support in Britain since 199 0 provided a coherent and effective package for small firms?
Using the experience of Business Link to illustrate your argument, which strategies have been most effective for providing government advice to small firms.
Discuss whether or not the importance of the various contexts introduced in this chapter may differ depending on the characteristics of the respective entrepreneur and/or his or her venture (e.g.,
The chapter suggests embeddedness – in particular, the concept of mixed embeddedness – as a conceptual background in order to study the real world of the entrepreneur. Research and discuss
Compile a list of methodological challenges and problems that entrepreneurship researchers face when empirically researching the different contexts outlined in this chapter and discuss possible
Discuss your own context and the ways in which this could influence your own research project.
Why should the start-up of a new venture be thought of as a process?
What characterizes the discovery and exploitation subprocesses respectively?
What are the different possible uses of a business plan and for which of these uses is there a risk of detrimental performance effects?
What types of venture idea are more likely to be successfully exploited by an independent start-up?
What characterizes causation- and effectuation-driven processes, respectively?
Under what conditions can an effectuation-based process be more successful than a causation-based process?
Why are opportunities difficult to define and study?
What are the different levels at which opportunities can be studied? How and why would one choose the level at which to conduct one’s research?
What are the individual characteristics that can prove instrumental in the recognition of opportunities? Are any of these characteristics necessary or sufficient for one to recognize an opportunity?
What are the different processes that are relevant for understanding how opportunities are recognized and developed?
What makes particular situations or social circles unconducive to the recognition of opportunities?
Given that expert entrepreneurs prefer the use of effectual logic in building ventures, what is the role of business plans in the start-up process?
What is the difference between adapting to an environment and co-creating it?
What are three decisions that an entrepreneur might face in the start-up situation and how would an effectuator make those decisions?
What are the most difficult lessons for a novice entrepreneur to learn from effectuation? Why? How can they overcome the difficulties in learning those lessons?
Discuss the traits approach to entrepreneurial personality and explain why it fails to properly predict the behaviour of entrepreneurs.
Discuss the similarities and differences of attitude-based and achievement context models as examples of cognitive motivation theories.
What are the theoretical and practical advantages of cognitive models in describing the psychology of the entrepreneur?
Discuss the ways in which entrepreneurs can exit their firms.
Discuss the difference between an internal and an external failure.
Explain the changes to the bankruptcy laws and what effects those changes have produced.
Write a synopsis of how an event occurring in a firm can lead to ultimate failure for the entrepreneur and the firm.
How do exit strategies play an important role in the success of an entrepreneurial venture?
How adequate are ‘culturalist’ accounts in explaining ethnic minority involvement in self-employment?
What factors account for the different levels of self-employment among ethnic minorities?
How feasible is breaking out into majority markets for ethnic minority firms?
Discuss the possible explanations for the growth in the numbers of women-owned enterprises varying so much in different countries.
Do women experience disadvantage in raising business financing? Explain the reasons that lead you to your conclusion.
What factors should be taken into account when considering the performance of female-owned businesses?
Given the widespread emancipation of women, do you believe that researchers should continue to investigate gendered experiences of entrepreneurship? Explain your reasoning.
Research and discuss whether or not the following can be defined as family businesses: Sainsbury’s, A. F. Blakemore & Sons, Mitchells Hotels and Inns, Michelin.
Explain the family dynamics that may influence the creation or acquisition of additional businesses.
Why do some countries report higher percentages of family businesses than other countries?
How helpful is it to make a clear distinction between family and non-family firms?
Why has the role of women in family businesses been described historically as‘invisible’?
Why have habitual entrepreneurs been presented as distinct from novice entrepreneurs? Discuss the extent to which you think this is a valuable theoretical and policy distinction.
Discuss the different challenges and benefits facing entrepreneurs who build portfolios of businesses concurrently in contrast to serial entrepreneurs who own one business at a time.
To what extent should policymakers offer customized support to novice and habitual entrepreneurs?
Consider the assets and liabilities associated with the experience of business failure. Should entrepreneurs who have experienced business failure try again?
Identify the key characteristics of technical entrepreneurs and contrast them with those of entrepreneurs in general. Do they differ and, if so, how?
Select a technology-based business and develop a short case study profile of the firm and its founder (or principal founder in the case of a team-based start-up). How and in which areas of the firm
Which areas within your country have the greatest concentrations of technology-based firms? Why do you think that such firms are so common there and what resource or factor advantages exist?
How easy is it for technical entrepreneurs to set up firms in your local area? What forms of assistance are available to help them? What types of infrastructure, support and finance are provided by
Why is the debate regarding definitions surrounding social entrepreneurship and social enterprise important?
Why do social ventures pursuing both economic and social purposes often experience identity tension?
What are the political and economic factors that have led to the emergence of social entrepreneurship as a promising method of addressing social ills?
What are the challenges facing the social entrepreneurship research community?
What do critics believe are the drawbacks and limitations to social entrepreneurship?
Find examples of community ventures in your own local community. Try to identify their actors, what their goals are and how they acquire resources.
Why do you think some entrepreneurs engage in community entrepreneurship rather than using their skills and effort to create a commercial venture?
Where do you think community entrepreneurship is more relevant – in poor or rich communities? In urban or rural communities?
How can community entrepreneurship benefit from the business, voluntary and public sectors?
In what ways do the characteristics of small firms impact upon the marketing approaches and activities that they adopt?
How can Entrepreneurial Marketing be defined and what are the central tenets of this unique management paradigm?
Compare and contrast traditional with entrepreneurial approaches to marketing highlighting both commonalities and distinctions.
In what ways might small firms use word of mouth and networks as critical marketing resources? What market benefits can be acquired from networking and encouraging word of mouth?
Why might entrepreneurship be considered a ‘collective’ phenomenon?
If entrepreneurship is to be considered a ‘collective’ phenomenon, what would you think are the key roles, skills and resources of entrepreneurs?
In what ways might an entrepreneur’s social network be mobilised during the entrepreneurial process?
What characteristics of an entrepreneur’s social network are likely to promote successful entrepreneurial activity.
Are small enterprises constrained in their operations by a lack of finance?
Why do large companies use different types of finance from those used by small firms?
From a financial perspective, compare businesses where there is a separation between the owners and managers and the owner is also the manager.
What are the influential variables in the capital structure decision of businesses?Do they differ according to the size of the business (i.e., whether it is small or large)?
Small businesses invariably have higher gearing levels than large businesses. Discuss.
Why are the financial reports of small businesses used by banks when making lending decisions?
What strategic and structural weaknesses impact the development and implementation of effective strategies in small businesses?
What strategies are associated with success in small businesses?
How appropriate is it for policymakers to require owner-managers of small businesses to prepare formal business plans prior to receiving any financial assistance?
Given the strategic and structural weaknesses of small businesses, do the concepts of‘strategy’ and ‘competitive advantage’ have any relevance to small businesses?
To what extent do lifecycle and stages models of business development help in enhancing understanding of the growth process in small firms?
In what ways may rational long-term planning modes of management be inadequate for aiding small businesses to effect sustained growth?
What are likely to be the key constraints impacting small businesses in their attempts to effect growth through the broadening of their customer base?
Many SMEs are often constrained from internationalising by managerial and external factors. What are the implications of this statement for government policy making and support provision?
A fuller understanding of SME internationalisation can be gained by focusing on the potential complementarities of existing theoretical perspectives, as opposed to the current practice of viewing
Internationalized SMEs have progressed from being a rarity, to a significant exporting presence and are now serious contributors to direct foreign investments, especially the cooperation-based modes.
Share your thoughts on the probable future implications of continuing advances in information and communication technologies on the internationalisation of entrepreneurial SMEs.
Which of the following problems are likely to be studied by a microeconomist and which by a macroeconomist?a. The rapid growth of Googleb. Why unemployment in the United States fell from 2003 to
Name some companies that advertise that their products are “new” or “improved.”
If you want to buy a stock, when might it pay you to use a market order? When will it pay to use a limit order?
Consider two alternatives for Stromboli in 2009. In case (a), its inhabitants eat 60 million pizzas and build 6,000 pizza ovens. In case (b), the population eats 15 million pizzas but builds 18,000
Why do you think per capita income in Maryland is nearly double that in Mississippi?
Between 2008 and 2009, real disposable income (in 2009 dollars) declined slightly (by $19 billion), owing to a recession. The decline in real consumption expenditures was far larger: $133 billion.

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