Innovative Behavior of Minorities, Women, and Immigrants

Book excerpt: The relationship between the innovative behavior and the minority status, gender, and immigration status of, for example, owners, directors, principal investigators, and project managers has only begun to be explored, especially within and among entrepreneurial organizations. Data limitations are certainly one culprit for the paucity of research in this area, but also the economics literature has been slow to move from a technical capital (i.e., investments in R&D) to an innovative behavior focus to an alternative focus that examines the relationship between dimensions of human capital of those who are involved with R&D investments and resulting innovative behavior. The chapters in this edited volume advance this body of thought. These chapters represent foundational research for a nature versus nurture discussion as it relates to innovative behavior, especially a discussion that considers the innovative behavior within and among entrepreneurial organizations. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Economics of Innovation and New Technology.