Toward the Entrepreneurial Society

Not only growth but better growth is required to address the tremendous challenges that European economies are facing. More entrepreneurs and more entrepreneurial firms -new and innovative firms- can contribute. A variety of factors may be considered to promote entrepreneurship among young people, and innovative activities among firms. Education is certainly one of the most relevant. The need to create a more favourable social climate for new businesses requires not only changing the state of mind but also improving globally the skills of entrepreneurs. It is also important to identify the most favourable context for the creation and development of sustainable, innovative companies, especially during economic crisis. This paper has been prepared to introduce and present original contributions from scholars in economics, management and sociology, that are collected in a book entitled The Shift to the Entrepreneurial Society: A Built Economy in Education, Sustainability and Regulation, to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing in July 2012.