Entrepreneurial Networks in International Business

Entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a key factor in economic growth [Leibenstein, 1968]. Historical studies of commercialization a d industrialization suggest that the speed of "take off' is higher when entrepreneurs in related lines of activity work well together [Grassby, 1995]. In the aggregate, ntrepreneurs may work better as a cooperative network than as a collection of competitive individualists. Unfortunately, attempts to develop the idea of an "entrepreneurial network" encounter the difficulty that both "entrepreneur" and "network" are somewhat nebulous concepts. Using economic theory, however, it is possible to define them in a rigorous manner. This paper elucidates the concept of an entrepreneurial network, distinguishes different levels of entrepreneurial network, and shows how these different levels interact with each other to promote growth in the international economy.