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Entrepreneurial/Innovation Publications

MBDA provides a repository of publications for public research and review.

Categories include:  Demographic Trends | Entrepreneurial InnovationsExport  | Finance | Industry Trends | Strategic Alliances | Supply Chain | U.S. Economy | Technology

Innovation Accelerators: Defining Characteristics Among Startup Assistance Organizations
Year 2014

Many questions surround accelerators’ application to broader arenas, and there is a shortage of robust sources of data or metrics to evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness. This report aims to help entrepreneurs and policymakers to start answering these questions by categorizing a variety of startup assistance programs to determine what factors distinguish accelerators from other programs. Using these distinguishing characteristics, the report provides a robust definition of accelerators as well as a starting point for developing meaningful metrics to determine the relevance of accelerators for policymakers.

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Access to Capital among Young Firms, Minority-owned Firms, Women-owned Firms, and High-tech Firms
Year 2013

The availability of capital is crucial for small business startup, survival, and growth. This study investigates how the youngest small firms operated and were financed during the evolving financial environment of the recent Great Recession, especially high-tech firms and firms owned by women and minorities.

» Introduction
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The Sophisticated Innovator, Practical Insights from Provocative Stories of Innovation in Minority Business Enterprises
Year 2007

To sustain long-term growth, minority business enterprises must continuously innovate. Some innovations can be more or less sophisticated or difficult to implement than others. Regardless of the level of difficulty, successful innovations lead to increased business competitiveness and profitability. This paper provides a guide to implement business innovations successfully. Written by the faculty at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in collaboration with the Minority Business Development Agency, it also tells the story of several minority entrepreneurs who have embraced innovation, and as a result, have taken their businesses to the next level.

Download Report PDF 4.6MB


Entrepreneurship Policy Journal
Year 2005

The articles presented in this edition of Entrepreneurship Policy Journal promote the premise that, “through entrepreneurship, communities build nations.” This volume features research from an international group of scholars participating in conferences held in the United States and in South Africa. Many of the articles were presented at one of the U.S. African American Entrepreneurship Summit or at the Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship Conference: The Path to Empowerment, held in Cape Town South Africa.

Download Report PDF 1.1MB


Keys to Minority Entrepreneurial Success: Capital, Education, and Technology
Year 2002

Entrepreneurial energy is evident in all segments of the U.S. economy, but especially the minority business community. Nonetheless, minority-owned firms continue to be smaller than majority-owned firms, both in terms of numbers of employees and revenues. This report identifies the size and industry distribution of these businesses, as well as characteristics of the business-owners themselves, looking for factors that may be contributing to this outcome. We find that the keys to entrepreneurial success, as measured by the ability to grow the business, are capital, education, and technology.

Download Report PDF 1.3MB


Entrepreneurship Programs That Reach Minority Youth - Summary and Recommendations
Year 1994

Entrepreneurship Programs That Reach Minority Youth discusses the entrepreneurship programs that have become more evident since the mid-1980s. In addition to formal instruction that has materialized in collegiate settings. Learning about the tenets of entrepreneurship has increased significantly among minority populations. In this report thirty examples are described of programs that specifically target minority youth.

Download Report PDF 10.7MB


An Explanation of Minority/ Ethnic Group Differences in Entrepreneurship
Year 1987

An Explanation of Minority/ Ethnic Group Differences in Entrepreneurship examines differences across specific U.S. minority groups in entrepreneurial outcomes, i.e. business participation rates and self-employed incomes. It then offers some possible explanations for these differences by focusing on the unequal distribution of entrepreneurial inputs, i.e. financial capital, individual human capital and social capital.

Download Report  PDF 5.5MB