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Entrepreneurship Law Editorial Team

Books

Christina Abreo et al., Latino Immigrants Guide to Starting a Business in Arkansas: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs (2011).
Abstract (from author): This guide is designed to provide information to Latin American immigrants who are considering starting a small business in Arkansas as well as established business owners who want to learn more about successful business practices. Our goal is to help you start a business in Arkansas by providing information about each step of the start-up process. The step-by-step process is also designed to help you develop a business plan by organizing your information through the use of worksheets and activities included in each step. While almost all start-up businesses will eventually need to consider each of the topics we have included in this guide, you may choose to go through each step in a different order than they are listed. Most of the material we have included was developed in direct response to survey results collected from Latino entrepreneurs in Arkansas about special training or information they would like to receive.

John C. Allen & Don A. Dillman, AGAINST ALL ODDS: RURAL COMMUNITY IN THE INFORMATION AGE (1994).
Abstract (from authors): The authors model orients this community in the vortex of contemporary forces, pointing up, for example, the need for face-to-face interaction among residents versus the larger societys demand for electronic communication. With increasing conflicts between the culture of rural communities and that of the outside world occurring, small towns all over the United States are losing their businesses, their doctors, and their sense of community. Yet the town described in this study is thriving. Against All Odds identifies pride, determination, and a sense of belonging that must be nurturedand the local organization that binds all of these factors togetherin order to keep a small town alive in the face of powerful disruptive forces.

John C. Allen & Don A. Dillman, ELECTRONIC BYWAYS: STATE POLICIES FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TELECOMMUNICATIONS (2000).

Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com):Offers an instructive look at the role modern telecommunications infrastructures play in promoting vibrant rural economies. The authors provide prescriptive policy recommendations for everyone concerned with rural economic development, from state and rural policymakers to telecommunications industry executives.

Gry Agnete Alsos, Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Rural Development (2011).
Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com): The agriculture sector around the world has experienced profound changes in recent years. This unique and path-breaking Handbook draws together the best current research in the area of entrepreneurship in agriculture, food production and rural development. Agriculture policy reforms have impacted farm incomes, while demand side changes have required the development of sophisticated market driven strategies. Farmers have demonstrated uneven abilities to adapt and adjust to these ongoing changes. The ability and propensity of farmers to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors is a key explanation of the different patterns of responses within the sector. This book examines these issues through three main themes. The first theme focuses on the firm and the individual entrepreneurs, exploring entrepreneurship within the farm sector. The second takes a sector and industry perspective, exploring new developments in food production and distribution systems. The third theme explores the inter-relationship between agricultural entrepreneurship and its spatial context. Contributions are drawn from international research settings (Scandinavia, Europe, Asia, North America, Australasia) and offer an interdisciplinary approach to the subject This astute Handbook, which will challenge and enrich the current literature, will appeal to academics in entrepreneurship, small business studies, agriculture, rural studies, rural sociology and agricultural economics, food industry economists, policymakers and all those interested in supporting agricultural and rural businesses.

Elaine Edgcombe & Tamra Thetford, The Informal Economy: Making it in Rural America (2004).
Abstract (from The Aspen Institute website): This publication examines the experiences of 29 entrepreneurs living and working in several rural counties in Nebraska.

Harold L. Fossum, COMMUNITIES IN THE LEAD: THE NORTHWEST RURAL DEVELOPMENT SOURCEBOOK (1993).

Abstract: Includes ideas for rural development, including some that are entrepreneurship and self-employment oriented.

Stephan J. Goetz, Steven Deller & Tom Harris, TARGETING REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (2009).
Abstract (from product description at Amazon.com): This book builds on a series of workshops and papers organized by The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) at the Pennsylvania State University and the Rural Policy Research Centre (RUPRI) at the University of Missouri. The authors present an innovative approach through a collection of chapters discussing industry targeting and the relevance of Targeting Regional Economic Development as an important analytical tool for practical targeting purposes. The papers present issues surrounding community economic development, clusters in industry and rural communities and the role of agglomeration economies.

Gary P. Green, Steven C. Deller & David W. Marcouiller, Amenities and Rural Development: Theory, Methods and Public Policy (2005).
Abstract (from Amazon Product Description): While many rural areas continue to experience depopulation and economic decline, others are facing rapid in-migration, as well as employment and income growth. Much of this growth is due to the presence and use of amenity resources, broadly defined as qualities of a region that make it an attractive place to live and work. Rather than extracting natural resources for external markets, these communities have begun to build economies based on promoting environmental quality. Amenities and Rural Development explores the paradigmatic shift in how we view land resources and the potential for development in amenity-rich rural regions. Amenity-based growth can lead to several paths, based largely on proximity to urban areas and the type of development that occurs, whether it be seasonal residents, retirees, or tourism. The distributional implications of amenity-led development are an important consideration for policy, both within and between communities and regions. The contributors conclude that public policy needs to focus on maximizing complementary and supplementary uses while minimizing antagonistic uses of amenities.

Norris Krueger, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (2002).

Deborah Markley, Don Macke & Vicki Luther, ENERGIZING ENTREPRENEURS: CHARTING A COURSE FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES (2005).
Abstract: Energizing Entrepreneurs is a guide for the rural community leader who is helping to transform their communities into hotbeds of entrepreneurship. It discusses what communities can do to energize entrepreneurship in general, and how to support local entrepreneurs individually. Packed with insightful tips and advice from experts with years of experience in the field, Energizing Entrepreneurs is a must have for anyone working to create supportive environments for entrepreneurs, new sources of wealth and sustaining economic betterment.

Henry Asiel Wadsworth, Community Planning and Decision Making to Attract Industry, in Rural Industrialization: Problems and Potentials (Larry R. Whiting ed., 1974).
Abstract (from National Agricultural Library website): This text focuses on some of the pragmatic considerations which need to be taken into account when industry locates to or relocates within a rural community. It centers its attention on the logistics of integrating new industry into rural areas and on the positive effects such location offers. Its purpose is to organize, interpret and communicate existing knowledge on industrialization as a means of empowering communities to both attract and constructively integrate new industry into the social, economic and physical locale. It presents information on what characteristics of a community act as industrial attractants and provides advice on corporate leader/community leader communication. Major sub-topics include: location of industry, national policy, guidance of market forces to achieve benefit maximization, industry's view of rural areas, impact on the community and effects on labor demand and employment.

Kenneth P. Wilkinson, THE COMMUNITY IN RURAL AMERICA (1991).

Abstract: A study of community in rural America that synthesizes the dominant conceptual approaches to the study of community and provides a review of the literature on each conceptual approach. The book discusses the critical variables or measures in the study of community in contemporary rural America.

Articles

Stephen M. Aigner, Cornelia Butler Flora, Syed Noor Tirmizi & Carrie Wilcox, Dynamics to Sustain Community Development in Persistently Poor Rural Areas, 34(1) Cmty. Dev. J. 13 (1999).

Abstract (from publisher): In confronting the problem of persistent rural poverty, scholars and practitioners of rural development have increasingly questioned the utility of previous antipoverty approaches that emphasize individually oriented cash transfer programs or policies guided by a modernization/development model. Instead, to design a recent ten-year policy initiative, the 1994 US Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community Initiative, policy framers chose a new approach, locality-based rural development. Using rural census tracts with persistently poor profiles, the selection process emphasized the primary outcome goals of (1) sustainable community development and (2) economic opportunity for all residents, and two process goals of (3) citizen participation in the construction of a locally defined strategic vision and (4) the formation of community-based partnerships to implement benchmark activities to achieve the two primary outcome goals. The rural sites extend from the Eastern Shore of Virginia to the Deep South, from states which border Mexico to the Great Plains and the Northwest. An evaluation of the first three years reveals that steps undertaken during the strategic planning phase to actively reach out to residents with low income and to channel participation using groups increases citizen participation in governance during implementation but it is not associated with increases in community-based partnerships. To adapt new approaches to rural development and to partnerships between and across sectors, scholars and practitioners need to build trust between individuals and between segments of the community and levels of government.

David Bell & Kathy Evert, Effective Strategies for the Future of Rural Communities, 15(1) Econ. Dev. Rev. 59 (1997).
Abstract (from EBSCO): Discusses the economic and community development strategies particularly useful in smaller rural communities. Common trend existing in successful communities; Strategic planning for public education and job training, technology, revolving loan funds and health care.

Christopher R. Bryant, Entrepreneurs in the Rural Environment, 5(4) J. Rural Stud. 337-348 (1989).
Abstract (from author): Change in rural activities is frequently seen as: (1) reaction to changes in other areas and sectors, and (2) negative. This downplays the role and importance of entrepreneurs, both farm and non-farm, in sustaining the vitality of rural areas. The notion of entrepreneur can be extended to entrepreneurial activity by other people, e.g. local government activity, which is an integral part of rural community economic development. Both the entrepreneur and the quasi-entrepreneur in local government are critical leaders in urban fringes and other rural areas alike. Their activity in an area is partly dependent upon the broader political, social and economic environment which influences: (1) the need to change and (2) whether any benefit can be derived from

entrepreneurial activity. A framework is presented in this paper to place entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity into the context first, of decision-taking generally in the rural environment, and second, of the broader enabling environment. It is argued that constraints originating in this broader environment are often necessary, but they may have unforeseen side-effects in discouraging innovation. Changes in such constraints or in the manner in which they are implemented may be a necessary ingredient to maintain rural vitality through

Linda Fettig, Bootstrap Rural Development: How Putnam County (MO) Took Control of Its Own Future, 9(3) Econ. Dev. Rev. 50 (1991).
Abstract (from EBSCO): Reports on the efforts of Putnam County Foundation in Putnam County, Missouri to develop their community. Background on Putnam County; Information on the Foundation; Use of volunteers.

Jan L. Flora, Social Capital and Communities of Place, 63 Rural Soc. 481-506 (1998).
Abstract (from author) This paper develops a framework for examining the questions: Does social capital make a difference for well being in communities of place? How might rural sociologists utilize social capital to further well being in communities? The author reviews social capital literature, contrasting rational choice and embeddedness perspectives. Opting for a marriage between embeddedness and conflict theory, he introduces entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI) as an alternative to social capital. ESI adds to social capital the notions of equality, inclusion, and agency. Research results are presented which support the embeddedness approach: community-level action (the community field) is not simply an aggregation of individual or organizational actions within the community; social capital and ESI contribute jointly and independently to community action. Examining economic development as a form of collective action, the author concludes the following: a) ESI contributes to economic development, and b) inclusiveness (internal solidarity) is more closely related to community self-development while industrial recruitment is better predicted by strong external ties.

Jan L. Flora, Jeff S. Sharp, Bonnie L. Newlon & Cornelia Butler Flora,Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure and Locally Initiated Economic Development in the Nonmetropolitan United States, 38 Soc. Q. 623 (1997). Jorunn Grande et al., The Relationship Between Resources, Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance in Farm-Based Ventures, 23 Entrepren. & Regional Dev. 89 (2011).

Abstract (from author): The purpose of this paper is to investigate how firm-specific resources and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the firm may influence performance in small farm-based ventures. It builds upon theoretical strands from the resource-based and entrepreneurship perspectives. Research within these fields indicates that these relationships might be dependent on the context within which the firm operates. Hypotheses are developed to test the possible effect of entrepreneurial efforts and resources (financial position, farm size, location, network and unique competence) on short- and long-term performance. Data gathered in 2003 and 2006 from farms engaged in innovative ventures were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that financial capacity, unique competence and entrepreneurial efforts influence performance in the investigated firms. This suggests that firms do get paid back in the long run for engaging in entrepreneurial efforts. Thus, entrepreneurial activities and attitudes represent an important factor enabling firms to create, reconsider and apply their resources in more efficient ways.

Gary Paul Green, Is Small Beautiful? Small Business Development in Rural Areas, 25(2) J. Cmty. Dev. Socy 155-171 (1994). Seyed Jamal F. Hosseini & Gerard McElwee, Improving the Entrepreneurial Potential of Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Northern Iran, 12 Intl J. Entrepren. & Small Bus. 1 (2010).
Abstract (from author): Rural women in the Northern Iran were surveyed in order to explore their perception about the factors that influence them in the entrepreneurial activities. The methodology used in this study involved a combination of descriptive and quantitative research. The total population was 247 rural women entrepreneurs in the Provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan. Based on the results of the study, 67% of variance in perceptions of rural women about the factors influencing them in developing their entrepreneurial activities can be explained by education, motivation, economic and psychological/cognitive factors. The results also show that there is need for more training and education of rural women in improving their entrepreneurial activities.

Edward J. Malecki, New Firm Startups: Key to Rural Growth, 3 Rural Dev. Prac. 18-23 (1988). Lynn Ryan MacKenzie, Fostering Entrepreneurship as a Rural Economic Development Strategy, 10(4) Econ. Dev. Rev. 38 (1992).
Abstract (from EBSCO): Focuses on the fostering of entrepreneurship as a rural economic development strategy. Examination of rural economies in the context of current shifts in the world economy and modes of

production; Elements of successful economic reorganization; Interventions to stimulate and support entrepreneurial activity.

Deborah M. Markley, Rural Banks and Their Communities: A Matter of Survival, 10(4) Govt Fin. Rev. 53 (August 1, 1994).
Abstract (from the publisher): There are many developments that rural community banks need to address. These include the changing financial environments, internationalization of the US economy, industrial restructuring within the US, growing emphasis on agglomeration economies and changes in the financial services industry. To cope with these changes, rural community banks should more actively participate in the development of the economy in their territories.

Deborah M. Markley & Kevin T. McNamara, Sustaining Rural Economic Opportunity, 77(5) Am. J. Agric. Econ. 1259 (1995).
Abstract (from EBSCO): Focuses on sustaining rural economic opportunity. Industrial recruitment; Incubators; Industrial extension; Evaluation of business development policies.

Leigh J. Maynard, Timothy W. Kelsey, Robert J. Thee & Panajiotis Fousekis,Rural Migration: What Attracts New Residents to Nonmetropolitan Areas, 28(2) J. Cmty. Dev. Socy 131-139 (1997).
Abstract: This study uses the experience of three non-metropolitan counties in Pennsylvania to explore which community characteristics have the greatest influence on people's decisions to move to rural areas. Personal characteristics affected how in-migrants evaluated prospective rural residential locations. Higher income inmigrants placed a high priority on job opportunities, housing quality, a short commute to work, quality of schools, and low local taxes. Lower income in-migrants were more likely to value a location near family and friends. Ability to own a home, housing costs, and local taxes were also important.

Madhusudana N. Rao, Entrepreneurship and Rural Development: Role of Street-Level Bureaucracy in India, 6 Intl J. Bus. & Globalisation 1 (2010).
Abstract (from author): In this study, the authors apply the concept of street-level bureaucracy from public management to analyze the issues relating to the implementation of a mini Hydel project in India, and draw important lessons for entrepreneurs as well as policy planners for the promotion of rural development through entrepreneurship in emerging markets in general. India's energy policy promotes 'green energy' as a renewable and eco-friendly alternative to the fast depleting conventional energy sources with a variety of fiscal and other

incentives to encourage private investment in mini Hydel projects (India's 11th five-year plan, 2002-2007: energy sector). In this paper, based on first-hand observation of one such power sector start-up in India over a three-year period, we carefully analyze the issues confronting entrepreneurs in dealing with street-level bureaucracy, and draw important lessons for entrepreneurs as well as policy planners for the promotion of entrepreneurship and rural development.

George S. Spais, Building Adult Educational Programs in Entrepreneurship Based on Mezirow: The Case of Agricultural Entrepreneurship, in Global Perspectives on Educational Leadership Reform: The Development and Preparation of Leaders of Learning and Learners of Leadership (A. Normore, ed., 2010), available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1727748.
Abstract (from author): This chapter reports on a study of the benefits of the Integrated Education in Agricultural Entrepreneurship (IEAE) based on Mezirows critical reflection. The research intention is to categorize the constructs of the following fundamental concepts: a. farmers entrepreneurship skill, b. approach of integrated entrepreneurship education and c. life-learning process in agricultural entrepreneurship education. IEAE substantially covers the transfer of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will allow in each farmer/learner to plan, to launch, and to manage his/her own business and it should be approached from leadership perspective and as a life-long learning process. Entrepreneurship constitutes an important factor that determines the level of economic growth, competitiveness, employment, and social prosperity of a small country such as Greece (Spanoudaki, 2008). For purposes of this chapter agricultural entrepreneurship is defined as an effort developed individually or collectively for the exploitation of resources that the individual or the team allocates for the production of useful agricultural products, services, or goods connected with the production of agricultural products and their distribution in the market, satisfying market needs. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Bosma & Levie, 2010), entrepreneurship is conceptualized as each effort for building a new business or a new activity, such as the free profession, where the creation of a new business, or the extension of an existing one, is done by an individual or by teams of individuals, from public institutions or from established private businesses. Through the application of Mezirows critical reflection in agricultural entrepreneurship education, education leaders, policy-makers, researchers, and extensionists can create a learning environment to motivate agricultural entrepreneurs to evaluate their experiences and provide them the opportunity to review their beliefs, opinions, and values.

Joanna M. Wagner, Improving Native American Access to Federal Funding for Economic Development Through Partnerships with Rural Communities, 32 Am. Indian L. Rev. 525 (2008).
Abstract: This article explores the common interests of Indian reservations and small rural communities, especially geographic isolation, lack of financial and human capital, resource dependency, and lack of political power. The article also provides background information on federal rural development programming, and summarizes the economic development programming available to Indian communities. After discussing the relative accessibility and utilization of federal programs, the article suggests that non-Indian rural communities and Indian communities should work together on local and regional economic development efforts in order to fully take advantage of rural development federal funding available. The article concludes with an Appendix detailing Native American eligibility for every federal program currently available for economic development, and reports the few statistics regarding their utilization that are currently available.

Kenneth P. Wilkinson, In Search of Community in the Changing Countryside, 51 Rural Soc. 1-17 (1986).
Abstract (from author): The conventional sociological concept of community has special and continuing significance in rural sociology. The ideas of local ecology, local society, and local solidarity describe a form of social organization-the community-that can influence social well-being now as in the past in rural or urban localities. Small towns and rural areas have advantages for community development by virtue of their rurality, but rurality also contributes to problems of dependency and can limit access to re- sources needed to meet local needs. An effective strategy of rural community development must attack these problems without destroying the potential for community development associated with rurality. Rural sociology, because of its commitment to the use of scientific methods in the service of rural well-being, should be in the forefront of efforts to understand the process of community development.

Mike D. Woods & Tom Seth Smith, Rural Enterprises Incorporated of Oklahoma: A Case Study, 15(3) Econ. Dev. Rev. 52 (1997).
Abstract (from EBSCO): Presents information on a study which provided a brief history of Rural Enterprises Incorporated (REI), a private nonprofit corporation focusing on job creation. Information on REI businessoriented programs; Overview on REI structure; Lessons learned from REI.

Online Resources

William Amt, Facilitating Entrepreneurial Success, Econ. Dev. Dig.(July 2002). http://www.nado.org/pubs/july024.html Brian Dabson, Fostering Entrepreneurship Development systems in Rural America: First Review of the Results of the Request for Proposals, Will Keith Kellogg Found. (January 2005). www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/content/cr_5/2_000242.pdf Stephan J. Goetz, Strategic Directions in Community and Economic Development Extension and Research in the Northeast: Building a Stronger Network in a Critical Time (2007). http://nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/rdppapers/rdp32.pdf Robert C. Lloyd & Kenneth P. Wilkinson, Community Factors in Rural Manufacturing Development, 50 Rural Soc. 27-37 (1985). www.ag.auburn.edu/auxiliary/srsa/pages/Articles/SRS %201985%203%2085-94.pdf Deborah Markley, David L. Barkley & R. David Lamie, Case Studies of ECommerce Activity in Rural and Small Town Business (May 2008). http://www.ruraleship.org/content/cr_2/2_000285.pdf Deborah Markley & Nancy Stark, Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line Entrepreneurship Development in Rural America: Insights into Triple Bottom Line and Wealth Creation Impacts of Entrepreneurship Strategies, A White Paper, RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship & CFED (February 2009). http://www.ruraleship.org/content/cr_11/2_000292.pdf Kevin T. McNamara, Warren Kriesel & Daniel V. Rainey, Manufacturing Recruitment as a Rural Development Strategy, in Rural Dev. Strategies, 119-136 (D. W. Sears and J. N. Reid eds., 1995). www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/EC/EC-659.html Bjornar Reitan, Where Do We Learn that Entrepreneurship is Feasible, Desirable and/or Profitable?: A Look at the Processes Leading to

Entrepreneurial Potential. http://usasbe.org/knowledge/proceedings/proceedingsDocs/USASBE19 97proceedings-P009Reitan.PDF

Abstract: Examinations of new venture creation in a prospective fashion are rather new. In this paper, the processes leading to entrepreneurial potential are investigated. The key argument is that behavioral potential, which is at the cognitive level, is influenced by the individuals perceptions or key attitudes toward venturing. Four key attitudes are of particular importance in this process: perceived feasibility, perceived desirability, perceived social norms, and perceived profitability. Personal, sociological and environmental variables are linked to decision making through these perceptions. In the empirical part of the paper, it is tested to what extent direct and indirect experiences, role modeling and education influence these perceptions or key attitudes toward venturing. The results indicate that different kinds of learning influence the key attitudes differently, and that it is easier to learn that entrepreneurship is feasible than to learn that it is desirable or profitable. Implications for future research are discussed.

Thomas D. Rowley, Entrepreneurship Means Adaptation, Ctr. for Rural Entrepreneurship (August 13, 2004). www.matr.net/print-12097.html RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Center Publications http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/site/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=36 RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Research & Policy Resources http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/site/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=36 Starting A Farm: A Planning Guide for What You Need to Know,http://www.beginningfarmers.org/planning-a-new-farm/ (last visited June 3, 2011). Will Keith Kellogg Foundation, Mapping Rural Entrepreneurship, Corp. for Enter. Dev. (2003). http://www.nmccap.org/files/Kellogg_mappingruraleship.pdf
Other Materials

Janet S. Ayres, F. Larry Leistritz & Kenneth E. Stone, Revitalizing the Retail Trade Sector in Rural Communities: Lessons from Three Midwestern States, N. Cent. Regl Ctr. for Rural Dev., Iowa St. U. (1992) (Technical Paper). Peter F. Korsching & John C. Allen, Local Entrepreneurship: A Development Model Based on Community Interaction Field Theory, presented at the Annual Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Washington D.C. (2001). Max S. Wortman, Jr., A Unified Approach for Developing Rural Entrepreneurship in the U.S., paper presented to the Agribusiness Research Meeting, Las Vegas, Nev. (1989).