Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creations in Italy: Key Issues and Policy Directions

This exploratory study examines the perceptions of Italian entrepreneurs about their experiences with their own new venture creations in Italy. The study utilizes the Ecosystem framework to examine the drivers of entrepreneurship. Our Ecosystem framework stresses the fact that Entrepreneurship is pre-conditioned within the context of favourable policies, financial and institutional support along with individual and personality traits of the entrepreneurs. We used surveys across ICT and non-ICT entrepreneurs, followed by survey with the Control Group. The findings suggest entrepreneurial spirit in Italy is high, and the socio-cultural environment is perceived as encouraging entrepreneurship. The business environment challenges confronting ICT and non-ICT entrepreneurs are related to government policies and programs, access to finance, perceived need for support towards knowledge and skill building and, finally, to exploring International markets. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with directions for future research.