Abstract
This thesis is a presentation of research on how
entrepreneurship happens. The connection between
individuals and surroundings is under close scrutiny. It is
argued that institutional systems exert important
influence on individuals’ willingness to engage in
entrepreneurial activity. Consequently, effective
innovation strategies should include emphasis on
creating milieus conducive of entrepreneurship. The
choice structure people relate to has to be constructed
favorable of innovative initiative, and efforts in directing
people’s attention to the issue are essential for the
freeing of innovative potential.
An empirical study of prospective entrepreneurs
(students participating in the Norwegian School of
Entrepreneurship, Gründerskolen) and an assessment of
the Norwegian climate for entrepreneurship
compliments review of literature from a range of social
sciences. The thesis is interdisciplinary, explorative, and
rooted in the Science, Technology and Society tradition.
The findings are compiled in an innovative
conceptualization of how individuals and systems
recursively interact, and are illustrated in a set of
models, where the Spatial Model of Entrepreneurship is
my contribution to contemporary research on
entrepreneurship.
Key words: Innovation, entrepreneurship, culture, institutions,
decision-making, entrepreneurial education, aspirations,
Norwegian climate for entrepreneurship.