Entrepreneurship in Germany

Abstract

As in virtually every developed country, research on entrepreneurship in Germany has exploded since the late 1980s. This research reflects a growing awareness about the importance of entrepreneurship as a source of employment, innovation, growth and global competitiveness. Scholars from disciplines spanning management, finance, strat-egy, sociology, geography and economics have responded with a wave of new studies that shed new light on the role of entrepreneurship in Germany. The purpose of this chapter is to report on this literature. The second section addresses two broad issues: How entrepreneurial is Germany, and is it entrepreneurial enough? Considerable concern is expressed by the popular press over the current policy debate, and a growing body of research shows that Germany's economic crisis of the 1990s called the Standortkrise (competitiveness crisis), which resulted in the highest unemployment rates since the 1930s, is linked to a deficiency of entrepreneurship. In asking the question whether the individual matters, the third section focuses on the links between characteristics specific to individuals and entrepreneurial activity. The fourth section addresses an analogous question for the external environment, both in terms of the industry and region. Finally, the last section examines the impact that the government has on entrepreneurial activity, in terms of finance, start-up programs and regional programs.

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