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The field of entrepreneurship involves the study of sources of opportunities; the processes of
discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities; and the set of individuals who discover,
evaluate, and exploit them. (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000)

Entrepreneurship is a context dependent social process through which individuals and teams create
wealth by bringing together unique packages of resources to exploit marketplace opportunities.
(Ireland, Hitt, & Sirmon, 2003).

The concept of entrepreneurship generally refers to enterprising individuals who display the
readiness to take risks with new or innovative ideas to generate new products or services. (Drivers
of Growth, 2001).

The academic analyses of entrepreneurship phenomenon and process are centered on the figure of
entrepreneur and on the innovation process. These are embedded in their social contexts –
regulatory framework (taxes, regulations and relevant public rules and institutions), market
conditions (public involvement in markets, competition in the markets, access to foreign markets,
procurement regulation), macroeconomic conditions, innovation infrastructure, culture (factures
into entrepreneur‘s behavior and attitudes). The entrepreneur is a visionary, innovator and risk-
taker. The entrepreneur assesses the combination of opportunity, capabilities and resources and is
ready to take the risks involved when venturing into a start-up or entrepreneurial activities.

To sum up, the analytical framework of entrepreneurship entails the contextual legal,
technological, market and cultural determinants of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is
embedded in its social, political and technological contexts and has a range of policy determinants
and factors. Academic studies discuss the factors affecting entrepreneurship. Conventionally,
central factors are opportunities, skilled people and resources (capital, R&D and technology).
These three factors are determined by contextual conditions, namely the regulatory framework and
culture.

International organizations and institutions contribute to the study of Entrepreneurship. The EU
definition is as follows: Entrepreneurship is the mindset and process to create and develop
economic activity by blending risk-taking, creativity and/or innovation with sound management,
within a new or an existing organisation. (Commission of the European Communities), 2003

The OECD contributes to the development of the notion of entrepreneurship in a series of studies
and gives the following definitions:

- “the dynamic process of identifying economic opportunities and acting upon them by developing,
producing and selling goods and services” (Economic Survey, 1997);

Project 2019-1-BG01-KA204_062299
The content of this material does not necessary reflect the official position of the European Union.