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This book examines knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) with a focus on the European textile and apparel industries. The primary purpose is to review the extant academic literature related to the European textile and apparel industries and reflect on that review empirically using a new and robust database on KIE to discover patterns between human capital and strategic entrepreneurial and innovative behavior.

According to the Advancing Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Economic Growth and Social Well-being in Europe (AEGIS) project, KIE is defined as an interface between knowledge generation and diffusion and the productive system. Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs are thus involved in mechanisms that translate knowledge into innovation, which in turn leads to economic development and growth within an industry and/or region. To date, KIE is often associated with high-tech industries such as aerospace, computer engineering, automotive or telecommunications. For this reason, few studies have been conducted that specifically examine KIE as an avenue for firm or sector growth in the textile and apparel industries. However, new studies have positioned these industries as ones in which KIE can foster growth through innovation, and where products and processes are often evaluated within a knowledge-based framework. Building on this growing literature base, this volume explores potential policies and strategies for driving innovation and growth at the firm and industry levels in Europe and other regions, including the United States.

Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship: An Analysis of the European Textile and Apparel Industries

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage.- Chapter 2: The European Textile and Apparel Industries.- Chapter 3: Trends in the European Textile and Apparel Industries.- Chapter 4: The AEGIS Database.- Chapter 5: Characteristics of KIE Textile and Apparel Firms and Founders.- Chapter 6: Sources of Knowledge used by KIE Textile and Apparel Firms.- Chapter 7: The Strategic Behavior of KIE Textile and Apparel Firms.- Chapter 8: The Entrepreneurial Performance of KIE Textile and Apparel Firms.- Chapter 9: The Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Performance in KIE Textile and Apparel Firms.- Chapter 10: Prescriptions for Growth for U.S. Textile and Apparel Firms.- Chapter 11: Concluding Remarks.