Cultivating entrepreneurial spirit : on how institutional environments influence individual decision-making : implications for developing effective innovation strategies

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.