National Systems of Entrepreneurship: Measurement Issues and Policy Implications

56 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2012 Last revised: 12 Apr 2014

See all articles by Zoltan J. Acs

Zoltan J. Acs

Schar School of Policy and Government

Erkko Autio

Imperial College Business School; Tilburg University School of Economics and Management

László Szerb

University of Pécs

Date Written: August 5, 2013

Abstract

We introduce a novel concept of National Systems of Entrepreneurship and provide an approach to characterizing them. National Systems of Entrepreneurship are fundamentally resource allocation systems that are driven by individual-level opportunity pursuit, through the creation of new ventures, with this activity and its outcomes regulated by country-specific institutional characteristics. In contrast with the institutional emphasis of the National Systems of Innovation frameworks, where institutions engender and regulate action, National Systems of Entrepreneurship are driven by individuals, with institutions regulating who acts and the outcomes of individual action. Building on these principles, we also introduce a novel index methodology to characterizing National Systems of Entrepreneurship. The distinctive features of the methodology are: (1) systemic approach, which allows interactions between components of National Systems of Entrepreneurship; (2) the Penalty for Bottleneck feature, which identifies bottleneck factors that hold back system performance; (3) contextualization, which recognizes that national entrepreneurship processes are always embedded in a given country’s institutional framework.

Keywords: National Systems of Entrepreneurship, National Systems of Innovation, Economic Development, Institutions, Index Methodology, Penalty for Bottleneck

Suggested Citation

Acs, Zoltan J. and Autio, Erkko and Szerb, Laszlo, National Systems of Entrepreneurship: Measurement Issues and Policy Implications (August 5, 2013). GMU School of Public Policy Research Paper No. 2012-08, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2008160 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2008160

Zoltan J. Acs

Schar School of Policy and Government ( email )

Founders Hall
3351 Fairfax Dr.
Arlington, VA 22201
United States
703-993-1780 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://home.ubalt.edu/zacs

Erkko Autio (Contact Author)

Imperial College Business School ( email )

South Kensington Campus
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ, SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom
+447786226452 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/erkko.autio

Tilburg University School of Economics and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Laszlo Szerb

University of Pécs ( email )

Rákóczi st. 80
Pécs, 7622
Hungary

HOME PAGE: http://ktk.pte.hu/en/department-quantitative-management/laszlo-szerb

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