Foster Business Library


Entrepreneurship Resources


Foster Business Library research guides are aimed at University of Washington students, faculty, and staff, highlighting resources available to them; users not currently affiliated with the university may be unable to access some of these resources.
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Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of over fifty databases on its homepage; see under Databases. For a complete list of Foster databases, see the List of All Business Databases. Access to these databases from off campus requires that you first go to the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. These resources may not be accessed from off campus except by those with a valid UW Net ID and password. For more information on Foster business databases, click Databases, A-Z. For information on which Foster business databases to use, see the Database Index. For information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, see Database Access. For guidelines on responsible database usage, see Database Usage.

  • Digital Dissertations:   Available under List of All Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. This database provides indexing and abstracts for doctoral dissertations and masters theses from over 1,000 Universities and Colleges in the U.S. from 1861 to the present. The citations to dissertations are long and 24-page previews of the dissertations are available online for free.

    A search in this database for the keyword Entrepreneurship produced over 1,000 theses and dissertations; click here for an example of an abstract from one such disseration.

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under List of All Business Databases.   The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research; go to Business for three major business sources:   the Encyclopedia of American Industries (4th ed., 2005), the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (2001), and the Encyclopedia of Small Business (2nd ed., 2002).

    See Entrepreneurship, in the 2002 Encyclopedia of Small Business, and Entrepreneurship, in the 2001 Encyclopedia of Business and Finance.

  • JSTOR:   This database may be found under List of All Business Databases. JSTOR is a subject searchable index of 360 journals, with full-text backfiles of scholarly journals, some of which date back to the 1800's. Among the collections of scholarly journals on this site are ones for Business and for Economics, encompassing over seventy journals.

    A search for Entrepreneurship, limited to full text documents, produced a list of over 15,000 references.

  • PsycINFO: This database contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports in the field of psychology and on the psychological aspects of many disciplines including business. Over 1,300 periodicals are surveyed by this database, dating from 1987 for English language material. This database is produced by the American Psychological Association which adds 55,000 references annually.

    A search for the keyword Entrepreneurship produced a list of over 800 citations including journal articles, chapters in books, theses, etc.

  • Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS):   Available under List of All Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. This database indexes articles from over 1,400 journals along with thousands of government documents, statistical directories, reports, pamphlets, conference proceedings and books in the broad field of public and social policy issues, dating back to 1980. As an index and abstracts source, this database does not provide full text for the many articles indexed though it does provide links to websites cited.

    A search in this database for the keyword Entrepreneurship produced a list of over 500 records.

  • Social Sciences Citation Index:   This database "is a multidisciplinary index, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the social sciences. It indexes more than 1,725 journals spanning 50 disciplines, as well as covering individually selected, relevant items from over 3,300 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals. It "provides access to current information and retrospective data from 1956 forward."

    A search for the topic Entrepreneurship produced a list of over 2,800 citations.

  • VentureXpert Web:   This database of venture capital and IPO data, from Thomsen, contains venture capital and private equity information dating back to 1970. It includes data on private equity placements and IPO activity, with the ability to limit searches to geographic area, industry, etc.

    Web Resources:

    Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.

  • Academic Entrepreneurship Centers:   There are numerous entrepreneurship centers; this Foster Business Library list offers a sampling of such centers.

  • The Alliance of Angels:   This Seattle area organization, a "program of the Technology Alliance, is a regionally-focused group of about 140 individual investors and representatives of investment corporations in the Pacific Northwest. Our organization acts as a "matchmaker" for young technology companies and interested investors." See their Startup Resources, Presentation Guidelines, and Events.

  • Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500:   Deloitte Touche Tomatsu offers a website devoted to companies they consider to be the fastest growing technology companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific, a program initiated by their technology group in 1997. These lists can be searched by year, by region, by state, or by industry (Biotechnology, Communications/Networking, Computers/Peripherals, Internet, Life Sciences, Medical/Scientific/Technical/Manufacturing, Semiconductors/Components/Electronics, Software, and other). There is also a list of Rising Stars, companies on their way to joining the Fast 500 list. In addition, see their Highlights and Trends.

  • Entrepreneur Magazine:   Entrepreneur Magazine is available in print format in the Foster Business Library Periodicals Collection as well as on the web. See their very long and complete list of Topics for information of interest to entrepreneurs as well as their list of How-To Guides, downloadable business Forms and much more.

  • Entrepreneurship Research Institute:   This institute, based at Florida Atlantic University, aims to "to foster better understanding of the various aspects of the entrepreneurial venture’s life cycle by using quantitative methods, tools, and techniques, as well as qualitative case studies that model, analyze, evaluate, and diagnose an entrepreneurial venture at various stages." See their Publications and, in particular, their Entrepreneurship in the U.S.: 2004 Assessment.

  • Entrepreneurship White Papers:   This archive of white papers, on Entrepreneurship, from the Coleman Council for Entrepreneurship Education, is a resource of about a dozen scholarly studies on aspects of entrepreneurship.

  • eVenturing:   This Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation site provides resources for entrepreneurs. See their Topics and Collections.

  • Franchise Zone:   Franchise information from Entrepreneur.com, with descriptions of businesses, costs and fees, number of units and corporate information; also includes ranking of the top 500 franchises in the nation.

  • Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research:   This site, from Babson College, provides access to a large number of papers on research into entrepreneurship, some in full text, some in summary form, presented at the annual Conference on Entrepreneurship. This list can be browsed by topic or by year presented.

  • Global Entrepreneurship Monitor:   A joint effort by Babson College, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and the London Business School, this research program is an annual assessment of the national level of entrepreneurial activity, begun in 1999 with 10 countries, expanded now to over 30 countries.

  • Inc Magazine:   Inc Magazine is available in print format in the Foster Business Library Periodicals Collection as well as on the web. It describes itself as the magazine for growing companies, aimed somewhat at newer, smaller, private companies. Their website offers How-To Guides, Articles By Topic, and their Inc 500 List of the fastest growing private companies in America. There is also a search engine to their archive of articles.

  • Inside Entrepreneurship:   This Seattle Post-Intelligencer series of columns offers locally-based information for entrepreneurs as well as an e-mail address for questions about startup business planning and financing.

  • National Business Incubation Association:   The National Business Incubation Association "is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. It provides thousands of professionals with the information, education, advocacy and networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage companies worldwide." See their Resource Center.

  • National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers:   This 57-member National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (which includes the University of Washington, though the link to the UW is dead) was established "for the purpose of continued collaboration among the centers. It is the vehicle by which the top established entrepreneurship centers, as well as the new emerging centers, can work together to share information; develop special projects, and assist each other in advancing and improving their centers' impact." See the list of Members (including the University of Washington).

  • National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship:   The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship "was established to provide local, state, and national leaders with a roadmap of how to sustain and expand a flourishing entrepreneurial economy." "The Commission is funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation." See their Research Papers and Official Reports, and Statistics.

  • Northwest Entrepreneur Network:   The Northwest Entrepreneur Network is a locally-based organization, located at Bellevue Community College, formed in 1985, and with a membership of over 700, dedicated to bringing local entrepreneurs together to make connections, provide mentoring, and access entrepreneurship resources. It publishes a monthly newsletter, holds meetings, and hosts events. This organization's board of directors includes a faculty mbmer from the University of Washington Business School, John Castle.

  • Startup Journal (Center for Entrepreneurs):   From the Wall Street Journal comes this online section for entrepreneurs, with new articles daily and links to franchising information and to trends in small business, a How-To section, and a Search engine.

  • State-By-State Guide to Doing Business:   Also prepared by Entrepreneur magazine, this site is based on the SBA 2000 State Small Business Economic Profiles, with overviews of the business environment in each state.

  • Venture Capital Notebook:   This Seattle Post-Intelligencer section covers venture capital funding and provides a list of venture capital firms in the Northwest, with columns on venture capital each Friday.

  • Wikipedia:   This free online user-created and maintained encyclopedia can be a good starting point for an orientation to a topic. See their entry for Entrepreneurship.

    Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

    The Foster Business Library Reference Collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster, arranged by call number. Reference materials cannot be checked out; they may only be used in the library.

  • The Blackwell handbook of entrepreneurship.
    This British publication offers 21 essays on this topic, from thirty authors, in four parts, from setting the stage for international research in entrepreneurship, to governmental impacts on entrepreneurship, financing growth, and achieving growth, with a concluding chapter.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HB615 .B617 2000.

  • United States entrepreneurs and the companies they built: an index to biographies in collected works.
    Biographies of many entrepreneurs don't appear as books about them; instead, these biographies are part of larger works. This volume is an index to biographies of 1,700 American executives, appearing in over 120 sources.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC102.5 .A2 .M37 2003.

  • Puget Sound Business Journal Book of Lists.
    This annual publication is an invaluable source of information about public and private companies in the Puget Sound area, culled from lists that appeared weekly in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Besides lists of the largest and fastest growing public and private companies in the area, this reference work includes commercial real estate deals, banks and securities firms, contractors, education and employment, health care, title companies, marketing firms, nonprofits, professional services, executive compensation, real estate, retailers, software developers, biotech and travel and recreation. There is an index to companies and topics in the back of this volume. See the list of Venture Capital Firms.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC108 .S77 .P83 (Annual)

  • Business: the ultimate resource.
    This 2,200-page single volume is "designed to offer a wide range of insights, information, and practical guidance on every aspect of management" via 2.5 million words of text from 200 contributors, with 700 illustrations and 150 maps, in seven major sections including best practice, a management library, business thinkers and management giants, a business dictionary, a world business almanac, and a guide to business sources. See Entrepreneurs on pages 1969 to 1972 and Assessing your entrepreneurial profile on pages 818 to 819.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD38.15 .B878 2002.

  • SmartStart your Washington business.
    This paperback provides detailed information on starting a new business including initial considerations, business structure, startup details, employer duties, sources of business assistance, marketing, business plan, financing, accounting, human resources, insurance, office setup and specific Washington state information.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD62.5 .S62398 1997.

  • The business plans handbook.
    This multi-volume set is a compilation of over 200 actual business plans developed by entrepreneurs seeking small business funding. See the Cumulative Index in the latest volume to locate business plans by type of business.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD62.7 B865

  • Encyclopedia of small business.
    This two-volume set covers over 500 small business topics, arranged alphabetically by topic.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD62.7 .H553 1998.

  • The ultimate small business guide: a resource for startups and growing businesses.
    This paperback covers planning a new business, protecting your idea, setting up or acquiring a business, finding a property, financing a business (with many relevant calculators), marketing your idea, working and communicating with customers, growing your business, setting up a website, selling online, managing yourself and others, and selling or exiting a business.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD2340.8 .U48 2004.

  • Small business sourcebook.
    This massive two volume set is a good starting point for information about nearly 350 types of small businesses. For each type of business, there are references to startup information, associations and other organizations, reference works, statistical sources, trade magazines, franchises and business opportunities, Internet databases, libraries, and research centers.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD2346 .U5 .S66 2002.

  • International encyclopedia of business & management.
    This eight volume set provides 750 essays on topics from Accounting to Zimbabwe, Management In, in seven volumes; volume eight is an index to the seven volumes. Each essay is a dozen or more pages in length, with bibliographies and links to related essays. See the essays in volume two on Entrepreneurship (pages 1763 to 1770), Entrepreneurial Marketing (pages 1747 to 1753), and Entrepreneurial Strategies (pages 1754 to 1762).
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1001 .I53 2002.

  • Encyclopedia of business ethics and society.
    This five-volume reference work includes 900 essays by scholars, arranged alphabetically by topic, on all aspects of business ethics. See Entrepreneurship in volume two, on pages 724 to 728.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .E53 2008.

  • Pratt's guide to private equity sources.
    This reference work, formerly Pratt's Guide to Venture Capital Sources, starts with over 120 pages of information about the venture capital industry, with essays on the background of private equity, how to raise it, sources for business development financing, and other topics. There are also essays on the characteristics of a successful entrepreneurial management team, on the relationship between the venture capitalist and the entrepreneur, and an entrepreneur's guide to financing high technology companies. The major part of this reference is a directory of U.S. and non-U.S. private equity firms (arranged by state), with indexes by individual, industry and stage preferences, and by company name. See Washington state on page 1483.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG64 .P73 2004.

  • Venture capital yearbook.
    This older yearbook starts with thirty pages about entrepreneurship:   who is the entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial process, predicting the success or failure of the entrepreneurial effort, the ultimate business plan, the oral presentation and a due diligence checklist, followed by information about the state of the venture capital industry (way back in 1998), where the money went, and from which firms, to which industry sector (for 1998).
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4028 .C4 .V462 1999.

  • The venture capital sourcebook.
    This older paperback is aimed at entrepreneurs, with an explanation of who is the entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial process, the factors that result in the success or failure of a new company, the ultimate business plan, the oral pitch, and a due diligence checklist.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4751 .S54 1994.

  • Incorporation and business guide for Washington.
    How to form your own corporation in Washington.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: KFW213.5. Z9 V36 1996.

  • Starting and operating a business in Washington.
    A step-by-step guide.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: KFW234 .J46 1997.

    Foster Business Library Books:

    The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics. To search for materials on all three campuses of the University of Washington, go to the UW Libraries Catalog, in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Search by keyword, title, author, series, etc.

    To limit the results of your search just to materials in the Foster Business Library collection, use the Modify or Limit options at the top of the search results and change the library location to Foster Business Library. Availablity is indicated on the right of each online catalog record. First, note in which collection, within Foster, your materials are in, since the library has ten different Collections, each in a different location and often with differing arrangements. "Available" indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. "Due" and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated; you can have the "Request/Place Hold" feature to recall the book for your use.

    If the material you want is not in the collections of the University of Washington, you can use the "Search Summit" feature to repeat your search in the combined holdings of over thirty cooperating libraries in Washington and Oregon. Use the "Request This Item" feature in Summit to have books in those library sent here to Foster for you to check out.

    The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

    A subject search for Entrepreneurship retrieved over 380 records in the UW Libraries, with over 180 records in the Foster Business Library. Examples include:

    A more focused search for the subject Entrepreneurship retrieved over 800 records in the UW Libraries, with over 280 records in the Foster Business Library.

    Related subject terms include (but are not limited to):

    Foster Business Library Periodicals:

    Foster Business Library Articles:

    Articles in academic journals, magazines, trade periodicals, and newspapers are one of the best sources for any kind of research. While the Foster Business Library offers a large periodicals print collection, comprising over 800 titles, articles are most easily accessed online, 24/7, in such fulltext article databases as EBSCO Business Source Premier, Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases are available in the library or from off-campus, and provide access to over 10,000 periodicals and millions of articles.

    Library access to most ProQuest databases will terminate at the end of spring quarter 2008, except for ProQuest NewsStand, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Historical New York Times, and the Historical Wall Street Journal. For more about this change, see UW Libraries Providing New Databases. After this change, comprehensive article searches should be performed in EBSCO Business Source Premier, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest NewsStand. Also, after this change, links to the articles below will be broken.

    ProQuest Databases:

    This database--actually, a family of over two dozen databases--offers full text articles for over 10,000 publications, including scholarly journals, magazines, trade and industry periodicals, newspapers, and reports on a very wide range of topics. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box--or search for your topic in the Topic Guide.

    Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article.

    As an example, a search in this database for the subject SUB(Entrepreneurs) produced over 95,000 articles, including over 5,000 articles in scholarly journals (many, unfortunately, without full text), over 17,000 magazine articles, almost 34,000 articles in trade publications, and over 48,000 newspaper articles. It is also possible to narrow a search for SUB(Entrepreneurs), in the Topic Guide, for five pages of applicable related terms. For example, a search for SUB(Entrepreneurs) and SUB(Business Plans) produced a list of over 380 articles.

    A more general search for Entrepreneurship produced over 28,000 articles, including over 4,000 articles in scholarly journals, over 1,300 magazine articles, over 3,400 articles in trade publications, and over 14,000 newspaper articles.

    Examples of articles produced by such searches include:

    Help:

    25 June 2003; updated 8 May 2008.   Peter Stevens, Business Librarian, stevens@u.washington.edu