Previous generations enjoyed the security of lifelong employment with a sole employer. Public policy and social institutions reinforced that security by producing a labor force content with mechanized repetition in manufacturing plants, and creating loyalty to one employer for life. This is no longer the case. Globalization and new technologies have triggered a shift away from capital and towards knowledge. In today's global economy, where jobs and factories can be moved quickly to low-cost locations, the competitive advantage has shifted to ideas, insights, and innovation. But it is not enough just to have new ideas. It takes entrepreneurs to actualize them by championing them to society. Entrepreneurship has emerged as the proactive response to globalization. In this book, award-winning economist David B. Audretsch identifies the positive, proactive response to globalization--the entrepreneurial society, where change is the cutting edge and routine work is inevitably outsourced. Under the managed economy of the cold war era, government policies around the world supported big business, while small business was deemed irrelevant and largely ignored. The author documents the fundamental policy revolution underway, shifting the focus to technology and knowledge-based entrepreneurship, where start-ups and small business have emerged as the driving force of innovation, jobs, competitiveness and growth. The role of the university has accordingly shifted from tangential to a highly valued seedbed for coveted new ideas with the potential to create not just breathtaking new ventures but also entire new industries. By understanding the shift from the managed economy and the emergence of the entrepreneurial society, individuals, businesses, and communities can learn how to proactively harness the opportunities afforded by globalization in this new entrepreneurial society.

In the depiction of the post-World War II economy, two factors mattered for economic growth: capital and labor. Economists were thus focused on macroeconomic policy, in order to induce investment in capital, while social institutions like education were oriented towards producing a labor force equipped to work in an economy consisting of large-scale factories. However, in the leading developed economies, globalization and technology have triggered a shift away from capital, which can be moved to lower-cost locations through downsizing and outsourcing of employment, and towards knowledge. Audretsch argues in this book that the entrepreneurial economy is the strategic response to this shift. In this economy, a new growth policy has emerged, focusing on promoting knowledge capital and entrepreneurship capital with programs like incubators, science parks, and start-up programs. In addition, knowledge-based geographic clusters have arisen, like Silicon Valley, Cambridge, and Bangalore. This book will provide a lens for understanding and interpreting the emergence of entrepreneurship policy. Audretsch will make connections between entrepreneurship and economic growth at the levels of individual firms and entire regions. He concludes that entrepreneurship contributes to economic growth by serving as a conduit for knowledge spillovers, injecting competition into the market for new ideas, and increasing the amount of diversity. This book should appeal to researchers and students in developmental economics.

Entrepreneurship is the engine of economic development, which in turn impacts upon the challenges facing future entrepreneurs. This timely book explores institutional, behavioural and policy issues of primary importance to understanding the entrepreneurial society. Topics covered include entrepreneurship in relation to formal and informal institutions; entrepreneurial choice, orientation and success; entrepreneurial behaviours; entrepreneurial finance, growth and economic crises; and entrepreneurship, social dimensions and outcomes.

This open access book is an outcome of the EU’s Horizon 2020 project ‘Financial and Institutional Reforms for an Entrepreneurial Society’ (FIRES). Building on historical, economic and legal analysis, and combining methods and data across disciplines, the authors provide policymakers, stakeholders and scholars with valuable new tools for assessing and improving Europe’s entrepreneurial ecosystems. Then experts from Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom discuss tailored strategies for introducing entrepreneurial policy reforms in their respective countries.

This timely book analyses the emergence of new firms in a broad context where economics, management and sociological approaches may be joined for a new perspective. The Entrepreneurial Society reveals that the market benefits of an entrepreneurial economy are evident in the new technology that has been made available to consumers over the past ten to 20 years. It illustrates that entrepreneurial firms provide the market with innovations that create new products and, in turn, generate new employment and tax revenue, thus playing a critical role in surviving the economic crisis. The expert contributors explore the diverse conditions that explain, permit and support entrepreneurship, allowing thinking outside the box and enhancing breakthrough innovations. At a time when new challenges relating to the ecological footprint are appearing, this work will prove crucial. The eclectic approaches to entrepreneurship within this book, gathered from different countries and fields of research, will prove to be hotly sought after by researchers and postgraduate students of entrepreneurship and social policy.

This open access book explores the global challenges and experiences related to digital entrepreneurial activities, using carefully selected examples from leading companies and economies that shape world business today and tomorrow. Digital entrepreneurship and the companies steering it have an enormous global impact; they promise to transform the business world and change the way we communicate with each other. These companies use digitalization and artificial intelligence to enhance the quality of decisions and augment their business and customer operations. This book demonstrates how cloud services are continuing to evolve; how cryptocurrencies are traded in the banking industry; how platforms are created to commercialize business, and how, taken together, these developments provide new opportunities in the digitalized era. Further, it discusses a wide range of digital factors changing the way businesses operate, including artificial intelligence, chatbots, voice search, augmented and virtual reality, as well as cyber threats and data privacy management. “Digitalization mirrors the Industrial Revolution’s impact. This book provides a complement of perspectives on the opportunities emanating from such a deep seated change in our economy. It is a comprehensive collection of thought leadership mapped into a very useful framework. Scholars, digital entrepreneurs and practitioners will benefit from this timely work.” Gina O’Connor, Professor of Innovation Management at Babson College, USA “This book defines and delineates the requirements for companies to enable their businesses to succeed in a post-COVID19 world. This book deftly examines how to accomplish and achieve digital entrepreneurship by leveraging cloud computing, AI, IoT and other critical technologies. This is truly a unique “must-read” book because it goes beyond theory and provides practical examples.” Charlie Isaacs, CTO of Customer Connection at Salesforce.com, USA "This book provides digital entrepreneurs useful guidance identifying, validating and building their venture. The international authors developed new perspectives on digital entrepreneurship that can support to create impact ventures.” Felix Staeritz, CEO FoundersLane, Member of the World Economic Forum Digital Leaders Board and bestselling author of FightBack, Germany