Building Entrepreneurial Communities: The Appropriate Role of Enterprise Development Activities

Abstract

This article examines the concept of building entrepreneurial communities as a strategy for community economic development. It begins by attempting to define what is meant by the term "entrepreneurial community" and to clarify how economic developers go about trying to create such places - using activities known as the "enterprise development" to help entrepreneurs grow new business. The article then analyzes the current approach to enterprise development and explains why it is incapable of producing entrepreneurial communities. The authors conclude by calling for a systemic and transformational approach to enterprise development that can truly yield communitywide economic development.