Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Choice and Challenge

This book discusses practical issues of innovation and entrepreneurship and outlines the basic factors contributing to the growth of a knowledge-based economy. It delineates the research to commercialization process, or the lab to market process, as consisting of two interlocking ingredients: developing industrial technology from research and nurturing an environment conducive to technology business. Thus the missions and roles of the four institutional players of the national innovation system, namely university, industry, technology institute and government, are clearly defined. It points out for each player what should and should not do. Such an innovation eco-system will provide a fertile ground for entrepreneurship. The examples of Silicon Valley in the USA and the Hsin-Chu Science Park in Taiwan will be discussed.For individual entrepreneurs, having niched technology is no guarantee of success. Besides having a proper business model, it will need an entrepreneurial culture to support and sustain the effort. This culture is shown related to the soft power attributes of the individual entrepreneur and the team.This book is not a treatise of academic theories but a summary of practices and observations from the author’s participation in the technology and economic developments in the Asia Pacific region, especially Taiwan’s economic transformation during the post-1980 period. The book is intended to be a reference of best practices for developing economies and countries as well as individual entrepreneurs.