Regional cooperation in a thriving entrepreneurial economy : a holistic view on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development

Abstract

In this research, we investigate the role of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as entrepreneurial communities in the process of economic growth and development. Current research on development issues strongly focusses either on the micro-level or on the macro-level of national economies disregarding the holistic nature of economic development. Entrepreneurial communities represent a conceptual link between the macro-perspective on economic development and the micro-perspective on entrepreneurial initiatives as a tipping point for economic development. In this paper, we present a theoretical construct of entrepreneurial communities. Additionally, we introduce a qualitative model of thriving entrepreneurial economies following a holistic perspective on development issues. The theoretical analysis is based on systems thinking and systems approaches to management. Structures of entrepreneurial communities and networking between regional communities will be explored and reflected in a theoretical exploration. The introduced theoretical construct of an entrepreneurial community is based on living systems theory. The qualitative systems model of the thriving entrepreneurial economy is deduced from a descriptive model (word model).