企业政策创新与绩效评估

EntrepreneurshipPolicyInnovationandPerformanceMeasurementintheStatesByErikR.PagesPresident,EntreWorksConsultingPaperPresentedat:ExploringRuralEntrepreneurship:ImperativesandOpportunitiesforResearchOctober26,2006WashingtonDC(WorkingDraft:DoNotDuplicateorCitewithoutAuthor’sPermission)1Whenlookingbackoverthepastfiveyearsofstateandlocalruraldevelopmentpolicy,oneisstruckbythegrowinginterestinsupportingruralentrepreneurship.Afterlongbeingviewedas“somethingtheChamberofCommercedoes,”entrepreneurialdevelopmentisenteringthemainstreamoflocaleconomicdevelopmentpolicies.In2000,fewstateshadformallyarticulatedstrategiestopromoteentrepreneurship.Today,amajorityofstateshaveannouncedprogramsofthistype.Asoneindicator,researchersattheRUPRICenterforRuralEntrepreneurshipnotethattherearenow600,000placesyoucangoontheInternettoexploreruralentrepreneurship.1Asstatesandlocalitiesembraceentrepreneurialdevelopmentstrategies,theyfaceanumberofchallengesoftenfacedinnewandemergingpolicyarenas.Theseincludethecreationofsystemsforsharingeffectivepractices,craftingnewprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities,anddevelopingprocessesformeasuringandassessingpolicyimpacts.Thesemyriadchallengesalllinktoanevengreaterchallenge---movingentrepreneurialdevelopmentintothemainstreamdiscussionsofruraldevelopmentstrategies.Thisessayreviewsthestateofartinstateandlocalentrepreneurshippolicy.Itreviewscurrenttrendsinthefield,andassessesthestrengthsandshortcomingsofongoinginitiatives.Inparticular,wefocusonissuesofmeasurementandassessment.Howarewedoingintermsofassessingtheeffectsofentrepreneurshipdevelopmentprograms,andwherecanweimprove?Finally,weconcludewithaseriesofrecommendationsforstrengtheningthefieldviaimproveddatacollection,performancemeasurement,andinformationsharing.Thispaperarguesthatentrepreneurshipmustbeviewedthroughamoreexpansivepolicylens.Entrepreneurshipisnotjustaboutnurturingsmallbusiness.Itshouldinsteadbeviewedasanintegralpartofacomprehensiveregionalinnovationstrategy.TheBoominEntrepreneurialDevelopmentWhilelotsofpolicyinitiativesaredeemed“entrepreneurial,”entrepreneurialdevelopmentstrategiesshareafewcharacteristics.Atthebroadestlevel,theyshareacommitmenttoa“growfromwithin”strategy.Insteadofseekingtorecruitorimportbusinessesintoacommunity,leadersseektonurturehome-grownbusinessesbasedonexistingassetsandresources.Avarietyofpolicyinterventionscanbeemployed,buttheyalltendtoclusteraroundthepromotionofthreepolicyoutcomes:1DeborahMarkley,DonMacke,andVickiB.Luther,EnergizingEntrepreneurs:ChartingaCourseforRuralCommunities,(Lincoln,NE:RUPRICenterforRuralEntrepreneurship,2005),p.1.2•Increasingthenumberofnewbusinesses,•Increasingthegrowthrateofnewandexistingbusinesses,•Improvingtheoverallclimatefornewandemergingfirms.Effortstopromotesuchgoalshaveexistedforsometime,butoftenasisolatedprograms.Forexample,theSmallBusinessAdministration’svariousprogramshavelongfocusedontheseobjectives,buttheseeffortswererarelyconsideredpartofamainstreamcommunityeconomicdevelopmentstrategy.Thisperceptionstillpersists,butadvocateshopethatentrepreneurshipwillcometobeviewedaspartofawidersetofeconomicdevelopmentstrategiesdesignedtobuildregionalprosperity.2Anumberofindicatorsreflectthegrowinginterestinentrepreneurialdevelopment.Firstandforemostisthenumberofstateannouncingnewentrepreneurshippolicies.Inthe1990s,ahandfulofstatehadsuchinitiatives.Today,morethan40statesdoso.Theriseofentrepreneurshipeducationofferingsisalsoimpressive.In1986,586fewcollegesanduniversitiesofferedsmallbusinessandentrepreneurshiptraining.Today,morethan1600schoolsofferentrepreneurship-relatedcourses.3Thispolicyshifthasmultiplecauses4,butthreesetsofinter-relatedfactorspredominate.First,macroeconomicshiftscreatedconditionsthatwerelessconducivetosuccessforlarge,capital-intensivecorporations,thusopeningupnewmarketnichesfornewer,smaller,andmorenimblemarketentrants.ResearcherssoonrecognizedthatnewentrepreneurialventuresweretheprimarycreatorsofnewjobsandnewinnovationsintheAmericaneconomy.Infact,smallfirmsnowaccountforanywherebetweensixtyandeightypercentofnetnewjobsintheAmericaneconomy.5Second,theforcesofglobalizationandtechnologicaldevelopmenthelpedcreatetheso-called“neweconomy”withitsrelianceonmorerapidinnovation,andcompetitioninlessstablemarketenvironments.Asinternationalcompetitionintensified,developedeconomiesbegantospecializeinmoreknowledge-intensiveandinnovativeactivities.Moretraditionalindustriesbegantoshiftoperationsoverseas.Theseshiftsopenednewopportunitiesfornew2MarkDrabenstott,AReviewoftheFederalRoleinRegionalEconomicDevelopment,WhitePaper,CenterfortheStudyofRuralAmerica,FederalReserveBankofKansasCity,May2005.Availableat“TheStateofEntrepreneurshipEducationintheUnitedStates:ANationwideSurveyandAnalysis,”InternationalJournalofEntrepreneurshipEducation,Vol.1(1),2002,pp.65-86.4Seealso,BrettAnitraGilbert,DavidB.Audretsch,andPatriciaP.McDougall,“TheEmergenceofEntrepreneurshipPolicy,”SmallBusinessEconomics,22(