Understanding the origins of new businesses - the firm creation process - has been dramatically affected by the development of longitudinal studies of business start-ups. A number of projects have been implemented to track the development of new firms, starting with the emergence of a business...

The study of firm creation is becoming a focal point of business research, education, practice, and policymaking. Currently, it is estimated that 12 million people in the United States are involved in business start-ups, the phenomenon is embedded in the American culture—and in many others...