Book Description

ÔThere is so much to praise in this important and timely book. Drawing on unique, fresh and intimate qualitative studies of families and the complex histories of their lives and businesses, the book will invigorate entrepreneurial studies with its intricate, theoretically bold and innovative analysis. The author takes us on a sensitive and fascinating journey with these families, and makes an outstanding contribution conceptually, politically, ethically and methodologically to the field, showing us how narratives are not simply methodological tools but ontological resources for gender and identify formation. It is an elegant and refreshing book which will be a rewarding and enlivening read for students and researchers.Õ Ð Elaine Swan, University of Technology Sydney, Australia ÔThoughtful, perceptive, and meticulously researched, Eleanor HamiltonÕs Entrepreneurship across Generations is an important contribution that will help advance the field of family business studies both conceptually and empirically. Based on fascinating field work with families in business and placing ÒfamilyÓ at the very heart of her study, Hamilton shows, through the stories her subjects tell, just how deeply and complexly family and firm are intertwined. A must-read for all those interested in family firm entrepreneurship.Õ Ð Andrew Popp, University of Liverpool Management School, UK Entrepreneurship across Generations examines dimensions of identity, gender and learning to understand the complex fabric of family business. An interpretation of narratives from two generations in five families constitutes entrepreneurship as an inherently social, rather than individual, phenomenon. This enriching book explains how entrepreneurial capacity is shared between generations, showing how learning is embedded within everyday social practice in the family and the business. It explores patriarchal practice and gendered entrepreneurial identities in family business. The author challenges dominant discourses of entrepreneurship. She argues that entrepreneurial identities are mediated by narrative and subject to constant negotiation within and across generations. With a new perspective on entrepreneurship, this insightful study will be essential and supplementary reading for students and practitioners within the field of entrepreneurship and family business.