Cosmopolitan Rurality, Depopulation, and Entrepreneurial Ecosyste ...

descriptive and analytical category by exploring the experiences and identities of entrepreneurs and the manner in which an entrepreneurial ecosystem has evolved during that time period.

Entrepreneur vs. Small-Business Owner

I will use the term “entrepreneur” throughout the book; therefore, it will be helpful to offer a brief discussion of how I conceptualize the nature and meaning of entrepreneurship. Within the academic literature on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity, the term entrepreneur tends to be variously defined and has come to be used in several different ways. The idea of the entrepreneur was initially defined by French economist and mathematician Léon Walras to describe individual or corporate entities who engage in agricultural, industrial, and commercial arenas of economic activity and the purchase of raw materials or productive services, transforming them in some way, and then selling those on the market at either a profit or loss.² Quite a bit has been written since Walras developed his ideas in the late nineteenth century, but as Howorth, Tempest, and Coupland point out, theoretical developments in the study of entrepreneurialism have been slow. As a result the definition of what constitutes entrepreneurship or identifies an entrepreneur continues to be debated and discussed in academic literature.³ The idea of the entrepreneur has taken on a variety of categorizations such as social entrepreneurs, technoentrepreneurs, venture capitalists, the self-employed, and so on. Some have even argued that individuals such as college coaches can be understood in terms of entrepreneurialism.⁴ In some cases, even institutions such as General Motors or universities have been identified as entrepreneurs.⁵ The list of definitions is long and analytical precision at times rather sparse. Key concepts that typically are used in defining entrepreneurial activity include: 1) risk openness and risk management, 2) innovation, 3) ability to recognize opportunity, and 4) ability to access and use available resources.⁶