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Democracy and Entrepreneurship

Author

Listed:
  • David B. Audretsch
  • Petra Moog

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has been claimed to matter and deserve priority because it has been linked to some of the most compelling economic and social issues of our time. This paper suggests that entrepreneurship is also inextricably linked to a fundamental value common among the western developed economies, democracy. Three distinct contexts are examined to link democracy to entrepreneurship, two historical and one contemporary. The first is National Socialism in Germany, which emerged by suppressing both entrepreneurship and democracy. The second is the rise of the Trusts, or dominant large corporations and concomitant decline of small business in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Finally, both measurement and perception suggest a decline in democracy as well as entrepreneurship in the contemporary era. These concerns are only exacerbated in the current Covid-19 crisis. The paper concludes that an important policy mandate for entrepreneurship may be to ensure the independent, decentralized and autonomous decision-making serving as a cornerstone of democracy.

Suggested Citation

  • David B. Audretsch & Petra Moog, 2022. "Democracy and Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(2), pages 368-392, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:46:y:2022:i:2:p:368-392
    DOI: 10.1177/1042258720943307
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. David B. Audretsch & Antje Fiedler, 2023. "Power and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1573-1592, April.
    2. Yoon, Hyungseok (David) & Boudreaux, Christopher & Kim, Namil, 2024. "Connecting the dots between democracy and innovation: The role of pro-market institutions and information processing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(8).
    3. Posso, Alberto & Zhang, Quanda, 2023. "Social R&D: Does academic freedom contribute to improved societal outcomes?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Tang, Jintong & Ye, Wenping & Hu, Mingzhi & Zhang, Stephen X. & Khan, Shaji A., 2024. "The gendered effect of populism on innovation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4).
    5. Julián Andrés Díaz Tautiva & Antonio Lecuna, 2026. "Globalization in gender inequality and female entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-34, March.
    6. Lucas, David S., 2024. "The effect of regime change on entrepreneurship: A real options approach with evidence from US gubernatorial elections," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4).
    7. Sebastian Aparicio & Diego Martinez-Moya & Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mora & David Urbano, 2026. "Managing destructive entrepreneurship in place: formal and informal institutions for the achievement of regional economic growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 565-588, February.
    8. Zhuoyue Zhu & Hongming Xie, 2022. "What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know about COVID-19’s Implications on Business Economics? From Bibliometric Analysis to a Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, May.
    9. Ozkan, Kubilay S.L. & Khan, Huda & Khan, Zaheer & Shenkar, Oded, 2025. "The impact of host and home country democratization on multinational enterprises’ performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    10. Yáñez-Valdés, Claudia & Guerrero, Maribel & Barros-Celume, Sebastián & Ibáñez, María J., 2023. "Winds of change due to global lockdowns: Refreshing digital social entrepreneurship research paradigm," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).

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