Surfing the Long Wave

Knowledge Entrepreneurship in Britain

Surfing the Long Wave was a 2001 report about the importance of knowledge entrepreneurs to an economy which trades on ideas and innovation.

Every developed economy wants an enterprise culture. As the rate of economic change increases, entrepreneurship is seen as vital for future prosperity and competitiveness. But it also has a broader significance, acting as a vital stimulant for an open pluralistic culture and a driver of social and civic renewal. But despite the emergence of a knowledge-based economy, and a distinct shift in the qualities needed for companies to succeed, myths about entrepreneurship still persist. This report sets out to explode those myths, and offers a systematic account of the conditions and strategies needed to sustain entrepreneurship in the new economy. Crucially, we argue that entrepreneurship should be seen as a process, driven by teams of people and involving collaboration across organisations and between sectors like higher education, government and the financial community. A sustained culture of knowledge entrepreneurship requires an infrastructure based on networks and clusters, which the government can facilitate. The report sets out wide-ranging recommendations for a more systematic approach to entrepreneurship, including enterprise education in schools, new forms of finance, the linkage of entrepreneurial firms with management skills, and a radical reshaping of the Department of Trade and Industry.