Abstract
Entrepreneurship research has often relied on concepts and theories from other academic disciplines, and it has been suggested that an effort to further contextualise and develop theory be made (Patriotta and Siegel, 2019; Thurik et al., 2023). A new book edited by Vanessa Ratten focuses on the connection between ‘heritage’ and ‘entrepreneurship’ and applies a theory-building lens. Her book (2023: 157) views heritage entrepreneurship as a ‘business activity that meets the needs of the present whilst incorporating cultural and social elements’. Attempting to move beyond culture and tourism theories, the book sheds light on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business model innovation in a heritage context to better frame how entrepreneurship occurs in society, a direction that, to us, is sound and worthy of further exploration.
The rationale for our view is built on the established recognition of heritage being a cornerstone of regional identity (see Graham et al., 2016), and a driver of regional development. According to the OECD (2021), heritage entrepreneurship can contribute to increasing levels of regional innovation and productivity, through product and service design, business model development and marketing and communications. Through the nine chapters of this book, many ways of applying heritage-led entrepreneurship to foster and strengthen regional identity and regional development are explored.
Framing the concept of heritage entrepreneurship is established in Chapter 1. The discussion of heritage entrepreneurship is categorised under the umbrella of cultural entrepreneurship. While cultural entrepreneurship and heritage entrepreneurship are not explicitly differentiated in the book, heritage entrepreneurship is highlighted as a promising way to encourage thinking about the past and consideration of history in current business activities. It showcases the global nature of entrepreneurship and has the potential to fuel the conversation on heritage entrepreneurship for novel research.
In terms of regional development, several chapters make connection between heritage entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial ecosystems and business model innovation. Chapter 2 explores Thailand’s effort to protect its heritage through the initiative of an entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes social enterprises and value contributing to regional development. Chapter 3 further examines an entrepreneurial ecosystem addressing heritage issues and offers insights into how soft attributes drive social innovation in the local context. Chapter 5 takes a much-needed review of the literature around informal entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial ecosystems and heritage entrepreneurship, identifying key authors and publications contributing to this emerging body of research. Business model innovation and emerging opportunities due to COVID-19-related lifestyle changes are the focus of Chapter 6, specifically associated with developing and enhancing the heritage value of the alpine region of Switzerland.
We see the alignment of heritage entrepreneurship and regional identity emphasised in several chapters studying culture, tourism and innovation in Asia, Europe and North America. Chapter 4 provides an insight into regional identity by exploring a key actor in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, family business, and further identifies a tension between tradition and innovation in Indonesia. Chapter 7 highlights World Heritage Sites (WHS) in Italy in terms of their cultural significance and explores the ways in which tourists engage with historical, natural and urban environments. By positing these WHS as places of interests, the author also offers an overview of the importance of cultural tourism to the economic and social development of Italy. Chapter 8 focuses on WHS in the United States of America including national parks and buildings of cultural and historical importance. In this chapter, the author focuses on the US tourism context of heritage entrepreneurship and the way WHS fosters tourism development in areas of most interest to visitors.
The scholarly work in this book bridges the past with the present and future and provides fresh and valuable insights into the emerging field of heritage entrepreneurship. Chapter 9 returns to a theory-framing perspective by providing an overview on the current research in heritage entrepreneurship and extends into new directions. With the hope of advancing the body of entrepreneurship knowledge through studies on heritage and promoting scholarly diversity, a research agenda is proposed in the areas of entrepreneurial strategy, entrepreneurship orientation, entrepreneurship resources and indigenous entrepreneurship.
In addition to future research directions in the book, we believe there is further scope to explore the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) and/or Libraries, Archives, Museums, Monuments and Sites (LAMMS) sectors in heritage entrepreneurship research. While the emphasis of the initial exploration in this book highlights natural and tangible heritage, primarily through the subject of WHS, this extends into regional development. Key heritage locations in many countries fall under the purview of GLAM and LAMMS organisations, and this entrepreneurial focus could prove useful. Consideration of heritage from an entrepreneurship perspective may allow for further development and recognition of value within these sectors. Similarly, heritage in communities is often closely tied to local businesses that have been instrumental in creating heritage value that brings tourists and supports regional identity. As communities and regions undergo shifting economic conditions, urbanisation/counter-urbanisation or even gentrification, heritage acts as a driver for new creative entrepreneurship.
The book is largely exploratory, heavily based on secondary data and links different components to heritage entrepreneurship to build theory. This book allows one to easily understand the theoretical concept and see the application of heritage entrepreneurship. From our viewpoint, the book utilises heritage entrepreneurship as a contemporary theory that can be applied as an alternative view to what more specific theories associated with culture or tourism provide. For instance, tourism is often associated with development theory (see Harrison, 2015) and mass tourism (see Biddulph, 2015), rather than focused on value creation through heritage and the entrepreneurs behind these enterprises collaborating with the broader community. Towards regional development, it provides new perspectives through entrepreneurial ecosystems and business model innovation; perspectives reliant on creating value via the collaboration of ecosystem actors (see Chapters 3 and 6), utilising social entrepreneurship to protect and enhance heritage value (see Chapter 2), and acknowledging of the challenges involved in passing on tradition (see Chapter 4). Though diverse in nature, each chapter provides insights into entrepreneurship research that, when taken together, provide an understanding of heritage entrepreneurship. However, as a theory-building book, emphasis is placed on more traditional heritage paradigms and could have been strengthened by bringing in more diverse views of heritage, particularly relevant in today’s day and age. The move to a broader understanding of heritage entrepreneurship by extending beyond culture and natural heritage to the tangible (artefacts, artwork) and intangible (experiences, knowledge) in particular would have allowed for a more holistic view and in turn generated more contexts to understand the emerging concept.
The concept of heritage is multifaceted and complex (Panataztos, 2017). We believe as a theory, heritage entrepreneurship is applicable to both developed and developing countries, urban and rural ecosystems alike and to both modern and traditional perspectives on heritage. We recommend this book to researchers looking for new perspectives, early career scholars and aspiring PhD candidates in the fields of entrepreneurship and management with an interest in heritage or those in history, culture and tourism fields who wish to expand their view to include entrepreneurship. We encourage scholars to take a more balanced exploration of culture, nature, the tangible and intangible for a complete understanding of heritage entrepreneurship and contribute robustly to building theory in this domain.