The contribution of this book is to join in the same volume a set of theoretical visions and empirical assessments by leading scholars about public policies towards entrepreneurship in Europe and how to rethink them. The book is divided in two parts: Part I - Entrepreneurship Policies - A European Framework; and Part II - Entrepreneurship Policy in Countries and Regions. In Part I various theoretical approaches are presented by prominent scholars from around the world. They point to the need for the European economy to be the subject of regional reorganization, based on concentrations of production activities with a strong component of knowledge and technology. This book appears at a particularly challenging time, in economic and social terms, when entrepreneurship and innovation assume particular strategic importance, inasmuch as endogenous growth should be considered by policy-makers and also by business-people and citizens as one of the driving forces that can catalyze regional economies. The Entrepreneurship Policy examples contained in Part II from European countries in Scandinavia, Iberia, Germany, Turkey and the UK explore the implications for research, practice and policy-making in those regions.

Zusammenfassung
39 One of the main challenges facing the member states of the European Union (EU) is 40 the fundamental need to accept the strategic importance of entrepreneurship as a force 41 for regional development and economic growth. Definition of this urgent objective 42 is set in the context of the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000, where there 43 was focus on other operational goals directed to improving performance in European 44 regions in terms of different variables indicating the level of economic activity, 45 particularly employment, real convergence, economic reform, and social cohesion. 46 In 2003, the European Commission (EC) initiated the public debate around the 47 need to strengthen entrepreneurship in the European Union, through publication of 48 the Green Paper on Entrepreneurship in Europe which raised two fundamental 49 questions for reflection by policymakers, entrepreneurs, and individuals: (a) why 50 do so few Europeans set up their own business? and (b) why are so few European 51 businesses growing? 52 Later, in the context of the 2004 Spring European Council, the European 53 Commission launched the Entrepreneurship Action Plan which aimed fundamen- 54 tally to: (1) change the way society views entrepreneurs, (2) create conditions to 55 encourage more individuals to become entrepreneurs, (3) allow SMEs and entre- 56 preneurs to be more competitive and assume a more important role in determining 57 growth, (4) improve conditions for access to finance by SMEs and entrepreneurs, 58

Inhalt
Entrepreneurship Policies A European Framework.- Knowledge-Based Start-ups and Entrepreneurship Policy.- Policies Fostering New Firm Formation and Self-Employment in Italy.- Institutional Contexts, the Management of Patent Portfolios, and the Role of Public Policies Supporting New Entrepreneurial Ventures.- Entrepreneurship in European Regions.- High-Growth Entrepreneurs, Public Policies, and Economic Growth.- Entrepreneurship Policies.- Support Policies to Entrepreneurship.- Entrepreneurship Policy in Countries and Regions.- Reinforcing the Entrepreneurial Innovation Capacity of Industrial SMEs with Networks.- KIBS Growth.- On the Road to a Culture of Entrepreneurship?.- Entrepreneurship Policy in Finland.- Promoting Equity Flows into Smaller Businesses.- Support Programs for Entrepreneurship in Spain.- Rural Technology-Based Entrepreneurs.