Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Western Canada: From Family Businesses to Multinationals

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Dec 2003 by Leach, Ed

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Western Canada: From Family Businesses to Multinationals James J. Chrisman, J. Adam D. Holbrook, & Jess H. Chua (Eds.) (2002). Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 365 pages. ISBN 1552380750

Readers looking for a broad perspective on innovation and entrepreneurship, both in terms of subject matter and type of author (practitioner, public policy, and academic) will find this a good read. The book contains 16 papers organized into four broad themes: innovation Systems; entrepreneurship and innovation; innovations in entrepreneurial support programs; and innovation, entrepreneurship, and management in family business. all 16 papers were presented at the third conference of InnoCom, which was held April 27 and 28, 2000, in Calgary, Alberta. This review will first comment on the organizing principles of the book, then review the contents of each of the four sections, and finally offer an overall commentary.

I found the book a little bit of a "sheep" in wolf's clothing. In the minds of policy makers, innovation has become the panacea that will save Canada from the perils of encroaching global competition and declining access to skilled labour. The innovation mantra has been manifested in the Innovation Strategy and its two white papers, "Knowledge Matters" and "Achieving Excellence." I am of the opinion that the papers presented at this conference were coloured by the innovation agenda and the skills sets and interests of the organizers, namely entrepreneurship and family business. This is offered as an observation rather than a criticism.

Section I: Innovation Systems begins with a case study on the Saskatoon biotechnology cluster; it looks at the canola industry and suggests an entrepot approach where inputs are brought in tax-free, local value is added, and outputs are exported tax-free. Richard Smith reports on his techmap project, which attempts to identify the relevant population of innovative firms and their contributions to the pool of knowledge in a region. It is Smith's belief that techmaps are the first step toward a taxonomic research program akin to the identification of species in biology. Peter Josty provides a high-level policy look at the complex web of players who contribute to innovation in a region, but I was perplexed by the implicit suggestion that policy is the initiator of innovation rather than the facilitator. Michael Chiasson explores the relationship between science and innovation, and the role public policy can play in supporting regional and global knowledge in local economic development. Unlike the Saskatchewan approach to canola, Smith is a proponent of a cooperative mercantilism that develops local advantages and creates strong social networks regionally to provide benefits locally.

Section II: Entrepreneurship and Innovation examines innovation at the individual, social, business, and support organization level. On first read I found the Mitchell and Morse transaction cognition entrepreneurship theory a little tough to follow. But having heard Mitchell explain the theory at a recent conference I believe the theory indeed has something to offer to the native peoples of northwest British Columbia. In the second article, by Holbrook and Hughes, it is suggested that the way in which innovation is defined as "new to the firm" or "new to the market" influences the findings of innovation studies. The final chapter in this section, by Langford, Tyrie, and Peace, examines the role of catalysts or informational intermediaries as facilitators of new knowledge production. It has been my experience that it is easier to talk about facilitating innovation than it is to do it.

Section III: Innovations in Entrepreneurial Support Programs looks at entrepreneurial education and support programs. McMullan, Chrisman, and Vesper identify four successful models: the American Small Business Development Center (SBDC) assists by counseling rather than consulting; Fastrac and the Western Entrepreneurial Network (WED) offer 13-week courses; Swinburne University of Technology offers one-year certificate, two-year diploma, and three-year degree programs; the Small Business Institute in the United States and the Projects Program at the University of Calgary offer on-the-job training working with local entrepreneurs to develop business plans and conduct market research. I empathized with the triumphs, frustrations, and challenges chronicled by McMullan and Gough as they traced the heritage of the MBA in Enterprise Development at the University of Calgary. They report on the dramatic increase in venture ratings while also commenting on the pressures to conform to the norms of an MBA education. Weber, Chrisman, O'Grady, and Gough offer a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of project-based assistance to medical entrepreneurs at the University of Calgary, concluding that the program was valuable to medical entrepreneurs. Given my current work with the Dalhousie Medical School and the Heart Function Clinic at the QEII Health Sciences Centre to implement a telemedicine project I was (forgive the pun) heartened by the findings.