Entrepreneurship and the early American clock industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of the early American clock industry as an entrepreneurial endeavor and to focus on the innovative marketing and financing practices that helped transform the industry during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the historical method to identify the critical factors that allowed the clock industry to expand. Primary sources were consulted whenever they were available, and a survey of the existing clock literature was conducted.

Findings

The nineteenth century New England clock industry provides a rich field of exploration into the entrepreneurial practices of the early American Republic and provides us with many insights that are applicable to the modern entrepreneur. The clock makers and peddlers who moved clock making from a backwater cottage industry to a modern international industry are examples of entrepreneurship at its best. From a marketing perspective, the clockmakers made use of the existing peddler system in order to create a market for their products. From a financial perspective, the clockmakers innovated when a ready source of capital was unavailable and made extensive use of credit.

Practical implications

This paper points out the importance of viewing entrepreneurship from a historical perspective. Furthermore, it finds that successful clock entrepreneurs understand the usefulness of connections, recognize traps to be avoided (such as the “Cottage Industry Syndrome”), and resolve to be persistent and optimistic in the face of adversity.

Originality/value

This is the first study of the early American clock industry to consider the entrepreneurial aspects that contributed to its successful transformation into an international industry.

Citation

Grinder, B., Pascal, V.J. and Schwartz, R.G. (2010), "Entrepreneurship and the early American clock industry", Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 54-70. https://doi.org/10.1108/14715201011060885