New Features:

• In response to user feedback, the 8th Edition has been shortened from 17 to 15 chapters. Specifically the introductory material in Part I has been consolidated from 4 chapters to 2, allowing students to get to the applied chapters faster, and subject areas throughout the book have combined when appropriate (e.g., two international chapters in the 7 th edition have been combined into one—Ch. 4, Identifying and Analyzing Domestic and International Opportunities."
• Two new cases have been added (Amy's Bread and Jim Boothe, Inventor), and all of the cases have been moved from end-of-parts to end-of-book, giving the instructor more flexibility in assigning them.
• Chapter 4 includes new coverage on trends (Green, Clean Energy, Organic Orientation, Economy, Social Entrepreneurship, Health, and Web)
• New material on Information Sources has been added to Chapter 5, including General Information, Industry and Market Information, Competitive Company and Product Information, Government Sources, Search Engines, Trade Associations, Trade Publications. Chapter 5 includes a new section on Entrepreneurial Entry Strategies, including exporting, nonequity arrangements, and direct foreign investments.
• The final chapter, "Succession Planning and Strategies for Harvesting and Ending the Venture," has been expanded to incorporate new material on exit strategy, succession of business, transfer to family members, transfer to nonfamily members, options for selling the business, direct sale, employee stock option plan, and management buyout.

Retained Features:

• "As Seen in Entrepreneur Magazine" boxes are article excerpts from Entrepreneur magazine that present current topics in entrepreneurship and allow students to analyze business opportunities and advise entrepreneurs.
• Ethics boxes throughout provide real-world examples of how ethical issues relate to chapter topics. Always an important topic, ethics is critical in light of the various "Ponzi schemes" and other questionable practices in today's business headlines.
• Research tasks and class discussion questions at the end of each chapter encourage thinking and classroom debate.
• A strong and up-to-date marketing chapter that emphasizes customer service, stronger marketing research and market segmentation
• An increased emphasis on the presentation of the business plan to investors, the management team, and forecasting sales in the early stages of the start-up.
• As in previous editions, the 8 th edition not only integrates international coverage throughout the text but also contains a chapter dealing in International issues, a must for any textbook in this era.
• Author team credentials. Dean Shepherd is a top academic researcher in entrepreneurship who also chairs the Doctoral Consortium for the Academy of Management, and is well known especially by younger faculty. Shepherd's research has been widely published in several books and leading journals, including The Academy of Management Review; Journal of Business Venturing and The Journal of Management. Robert Hisrich is one of the founding fathers of entrepreneurship education and one of the leading experts on international entrepreneurship, and Michael Peters is an academic and real life entrepreneur who brings a practical orientation to the book.