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This study explores management and ownership imperatives facing 427 independent unquoted (i.e., nonpublic) companies in the United Kingdom. To detect real rather than sample differences, the study used a matched pairs methodology. Chi-square and student's T-tests confirmed several similarities among the 73 family companies and the comparable 73 nonfamily companies. The tenure periods of CEOs in both groups of firms before being appointed to the CEO position were similar. CEOs in family firms had not remained in this position for significantly longer periods than CEOs in nonfamily firms, and the majority of directors in family and nonfamily firms did not hold outside directorships in other companies. Several significant differences were also detected. CEOs from the kinship group owning the family business had been in the CEO position for much longer than “outside” CEOs in family firms. Furthermore, the proportion of total shares owned by directors in family firms was significantly more than the proportion owned by directors in nonfamily firms. A significantly larger proportion of nonfamily rather than family firms had employed a nonexecutive director. In concluding, it is highlighted that a firm's identification of itself as a family firm is important in defining family firms and that firms that do not currently perceive themselves to be family firms may in the future.

New private tourism firms play a key role in promoting local and national wealth creation. Building upon insights from entrepreneurial motivation and human capital theories, in this study fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of longitudinal data was employed to identify the human capital pathways of 1182 entrepreneurs in Portugal engaged in tourism reporting high firm sales growth between 2008 and 2015. Two dimensions of entrepreneur human capital at firm start-up were found to be sufficient for high sales growth: a) Necessity- and opportunity-based entrepreneurs with specific human capital industry experience relating to tourism, and b) Opportunity-based entrepreneurs with managerial experience.

No feature of a region is more critical than its economic well-being. Maintaining the prosperity of the citizens may require continuous economic change and adaptation. Central to such shifts is the birth of new firms-entrepreneurship. Substantial evidence suggests that the implementation of new firms has a central role in regional economic advances (STOREY, 1984). But what processes lead to the birth of new firms? What is the relative effect of different 'birth processes' on the implementation of new firms? Further, are these processes universal? That is, can they be observed to have an impact in all advanced market economies? Finally, does an enhanced understanding of these mechanisms have implications for government policy designed to enhance regional-and national-economic growth? These questions form the basis for the cross-national project reviewed in this special issue. The project involved comparisons of standardized analyses completed for seven economically advanced countries: France; Germany (West); Ireland; Italy; Sweden; United Kingdom; and the United States. The introduction will discuss the perspectives and strategy for this approach, including a review of the major assumptions and associated advantages. There were, of course, disadvantages, and these are given some attention. A review of the organization and history of the project is provided, followed by a summary of the conclusions.

The article focuses on the reason why serial entrepreneurs do not learn from their mistakes. A survey of entrepreneurs based in Great Britain found portfolio entrepreneurs, those who have multiple business enterprises, are realistic and learn from their failures. Serial entrepreneurs, those who work on one project before going on to the next, were found to be overly optimistic which makes them less capable of reflecting on failure.