Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Western Canada: From Family Businesses to Multinationals

Robert W. Sexty is a professor of commerce and business administration
at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the author of Canadian
Business: Issues and Stakeholders.

This volume is a collection of readings that were presented at the
Innovation Systems Research Network conference held in Calgary in 2000.
The readings are from several disciplines and focus on innovation,
entrepreneurship, and economic development. The editors claim that there
is an interconnection in that innovation requires entrepreneurship and
together they contribute to economic development.

A wide range of interrelated subjects are examined, from many
theoretical and methodological approaches. Fifteen chapters of diverse
materials have been organized into four sections. The first section
covers innovation systems such as R&D entrepфts, social capital as an
approach to understanding technology, government initiatives,
co-operative mercantilism, and public-policy dilemmas relating to
economic development. The second section examines entrepreneurship and
innovation, while the third presents an analysis of entrepreneurial
support programs designed to encourage innovation. The final section
discusses the relationships among innovation, entrepreneurship, and the
management in family businesses.

A 27-page introduction provides a general context for the book;
outlines the relationship between innovation, entrepreneurship, and
family businesses; and provides an overview of each chapter. In
addition, the editors identify three themes permeating all the readings:
knowledge created through the exchange of ideas, trust as exemplified by
co-operation among members of an entrepreneurial enterprise, and the
need for support systems to promote innovation. Readers interested in
economic development will find value in this collection of readings;
even though the focus is on Western Canada, the insights are applicable
elsewhere.