Country's entrepreneurial environment predictors for starting a new venture-Evidence for Romania

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has been recognized as a key contributor to the economic development of countries and societal wellbeing. Building and sustaining an adequate entrepreneurial climate challenges-to a high extent-transitional economies world-wide, pushing these countries to develop policies and strategies aimed to sustain high-quality national entrepreneurship. The paper seeks to understand the key determinants of a country's entrepreneurial environment that drive potential entrepreneurs to assume an entrepreneurial status. It attempts to examine the countries' entrepreneurial environment factors that influence the development of entrepreneurial spirit and affect the potential entrepreneurs' decision to start a new venture as a desirable career opportunity. Entrepreneurial spirit is measured by entrepreneurial desirability, feasibility and social stability, taken from the Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report (AGER) 2018 data on national entrepreneurship. The results of the linear regression employed in the paper suggest that, in transitional economies like Romania, clear and stable rules and regulations, manageable taxes, an overall beneficial economic situation, as well as availability and accessibility of technology, may lead to greater entrepreneurial drive and ambition, which is fundamental to sustaining economic growth. The article ends with a discussion about the results and implications of the research.