The distinctiveness of entrepreneurship in transition economies

This paper is concerned with the distinctiveness of entrepreneurship and sm all business development in countries that are at different stages of trans formation to market based economies. Following a discussion of the potentia l relevance of selected conceptualisations of entrepreneurship to transitio n conditions, the authors present original empirical data referring to the characteristics of entrepreneurs and their businesses from countries at dif ferent stages of market reform. Distinctive features of entrepreneurial beh aviour identified reflect the unstable and hostile nature of the external e nvironment and the scarcity of key resources, particularly capital. In an u nstable and weakly structured environment, informal networks often play a k ey role in helping entrepreneurs to mobilise resources, win orders and cope with the constraints imposed by highly bureaucratic structures and often u nfriendly officials. Moreover, the social context inherited from the former socialist period appears to affect both the attitudes and behaviour of ent repreneurs and the attitudes of society at large towards entrepreneurship.