Regional systems of entrepreneurship in 2017–2018: An empirical study in selected regions of South America
Regional systems of entrepreneurship in 2017–2018: An empirical study in selected regions of South America

Summary/Abstract: Even with the progress in the understanding of regional entrepreneurial systems in developed economies, very little is known about how they function in South America. This study aims to address this research gap by examining the features of entrepreneurial systems in 22 regions in Colombia, Ecuador,and Uruguay using an adapted Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) methodology. The results of the present study reveal that, put together, the selected South American regions show higher average scores in entrepreneurial attitudes compared to countries at similar stages of economic development. Looking at the pillar level, South American regions are weak in ,process innovation’, ,internationalization’,and ,technology absorption’, which have been identified as the regions’ most critical bottlenecks. Moreover, relevant differences in individual entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities, and aspirations among urban and rural populations within the studied regions are also identified. The contribution from the empirical work presented here is two fold. First, this study validates the suitability of the GEI methodology for the analysis of regional entrepreneurial systems ina developing-country context. Second, it provides one of the first empirical investigations into regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in South America. This study’s findings could be utilised as the basis for more context-sensitive regional entrepreneurship policy approaches in the studied regions.

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