Entrepreneurship and regional development in Europe: a comparative, socio-anthropological case study in Germany and Spain

45 Richa d P eils e e : En ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen in Eu ope: A compa a i e, socio-an h opological case s udy in Ge many and Spain ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTEBOOKS 19 (1): 45–57. ISSN 1408-032X © Slo ene An h opological Socie y 2013 En ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen in Eu ope: A compa a i e, socio-an h opological case s udy in Ge many and Spain Richa d P eils e e uni e si y o Se ille, [email protected] Abs ac This pape summa ises he design, da a and esul s o ou esea ch on he eme gence and consolida ion o o ms o ins i u ionalisa ion based on inno a i e en ep eneu ial ac ion in u al Eu opean e i o ial con ex s. The in es iga ion was conduc ed be ween he yea s 2006 and 2010. We p esen da a ob ained in wo e i o ial e e ences, he egions o Los Ped oches in Andalusia, Spain and Mühldo in Ba a ia, Ge many. The pape explo es he con ibu ions o social an h opology o p e ailing economic en ep eneu ship heo y by ocusing on in angible, cul u al a iables ha in luence he implemen a ion o local en ep eneu ial ini ia i es. P esen ing da a om a case s udy o wo Eu opean u al a eas o di e en le els o economic de elopmen , he ex a gues ha en ep eneu ial esea ch needs o inco po a e quali a i e da a on he sociocul u al p econdi ions o eme ging in- no a i e ins i u ions. The esea ch emphasises he need o a b oade concep o en e- p eneu ial beha iou ha is able o o e come he educ ionis idea o i m c ea ion, and p esen s a heo e ical model o ac o -based e i o ial de elopmen s udies ounded on he combined social heo ies o Niklas Luhmann and Pie e Bou dieu. KEYWORDS: en ep eneu ship; an h opology o de elopmen ; egional de elopmen In oduc ion The con ex om which ou esea ch eme ged is he g owing p eoccupa ion o adminis- a ion, academics, and poli ics wi h ega d o he ways o measu ing in angible o non- economic a iables in de elopmen p ocesses. The g owing c i icism o he educ ion o G oss Domes ic P oduc as he only indica o o weal h has p oduced new ways o hink- ing abou de elopmen , which has led o new concep s such as sus ainable de elopmen o social capi al. Meanwhile, nobody doub s he impo ance o inco po a ing sociocul- u al da a o measu ing g ades o de elopmen and design o de elopmen s a egies, bu he e is no consensus o e he impo ance o sociocul u al da a o how o quan i y and inco po a e i . The popula i y o social capi al as a concep , as well as i s wide a ie y o 46 An h opological No ebooks, XIX/1, 2013 de ini ions and applica ions, illus a es his p oblem well (P eils e e 2008). Ou esea ch o e s an example o how o measu e ele an socio-cul u al da a o de elopmen by employing an h opological ieldwo k me hodology. The conside a ion o social and cul u al a iables in de elopmen esea ch gi es inc eased impo ance o a pe spec i e ocused on ac o s. Recen ly, he en ep eneu has become one o he mos popula key playe s esponsible o socio-economic change in small e i o ies. O he disciplines such as economics, sociology and psychology ha e al eady accumula ed expe ience wi h en ep eneu ship as a ield o esea ch (Shane & Venka a aman 2000); howe e , in social an h opology he e m essen ially only appea s in combina ion wi h classical g oups o in e es o ma ginalised collec i es like speci ic e hnic g oups, gende s udies, e c. (P eils e e 2011). In con adis inc ion o his enden- cy, ou esea ch sus ains a gene al concep o en ep eneu ship and en ep eneu ial beha - iou , in e es ed no only in he economic o psychological implica ions o he e m. Ano he jus i ica ion o ou esea ch lies in he eme gence o de elopmen s ud- ies wi hin Eu ope wi h a egional, compa a i e pe spec i e. The Eu opean Union o ga- nises i s u al de elopmen p og ams, he di e en successi e LEADER p og ams, o example, ocused on economically weak and s ong egions wi hin he na ional and con- inen al con ex s. This ela i ely new ins i u ional scena io gi es g ea e impo ance o esea ch pe spec i es om below and beyond he na ion-s a e. In his sense, ou esea ch o e comes he p edominan ocus on quan i iable axes o de elopmen wi hin and be- ween poli ical-adminis a i e e i o ies. In con as , i is a compa a i e case s udy o local condi ions and esul s o en ep eneu ship be ween middle Eu opean and pe iphe al sou h Eu opean egions. Mo eo e , he cu en inancial c isis in Eu ope ele a es he im- po ance o no h-sou h compa ison in de elopmen heo y and p ac ice. The heo ies o Bou dieu and Luhmann applied on ac o - based egional de elopmen s udies Ou esea ch deal wi h h ee cen al concep s: he en ep eneu as a p i ileged agen o de elopmen , he egion as a spa ial e e ence capable o quali a i e ield wo k, and he idea o de elopmen i sel as a pa icula ype o social change. Nex is a sho bu neces- sa y educ ionis o e iew on cu en discussions in social sciences ela ed o hese h ee opics. Special emphasis is gi en o how social an h opology and a heo e ical model based simul aneously on Niklas Luhmann’s and Pie e Bou dieu’s social heo y can sup- ply new ways o hinking abou en ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen . The epis e- mological, basic esea ch ha jus i ies he con enience and cong uence o such a heo e i- cal model was he exclusi e objec i e o a p e ious pape (P eils e e 2012). Economically and psychological concep ualisa ions o he en ep eneu En ep eneu ship in specialised li e a u e is mos ly educed o he c ea ion o i ms by in- di iduals embedded in a poli ically libe al capi alis ma ke en i onmen (Aus in, S e en- son &Wei-Skille n 2006). No only had common sense led o his educ ionis no ion bu 47 Richa d P eils e e : En ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen in Eu ope: A compa a i e, socio-an h opological case s udy in Ge many and Spain also he p edominance o economics and business adminis a ion as academic disciplines in en ep eneu ship s udies. Likewise, en ep eneu ial beha iou is mainly desc ibed in specialised li e a u e as being economically mo i a ed, o he esul o a special kind o pe sonali y, explo ed and ei e a ed by psychologically ounded academic esea ch. F om a socio-an h opological poin o iew, human mo i a ion in gene al and en ep eneu ial beha iou in pa icula canno be explained only by a ional economic calcula ion o by psychological a iables. Indi idual ac ion has o be unde s ood by a ending o an analy- sis o he social and cul u al en i onmen , which wo ks as a guideline o social beha - iou . The e o e, he ac o i sel is a p oduc and p oduce o his socio-cul u al s uc u e. Essen ially, his is wha one o he mos in luen sociologis o he las cen u y, Pie e Bou dieu (1972), means wi h his habi us concep . The idea o e i o y as adminis a i e space o communi y In con as , s udies on en ep eneu ship mainly choose a spa ial dimension ha co ela es wi h adminis a i e ca ego ies o hei in es iga ion. Towns and ci ies, coun ies, s a es, and na ions se e as geog aphic e e ences in which en ep eneu ial beha iou is loca ed and egis e ed. The ad an ages o wha may be called he ‘na ion-s a e adminis a i e iew’ on e i o y a e he exis ence o s a is ical da a, consequen ly he possibili y o compa ison be ween egions, and inally he possibili y o a oiding di icul and always ep oachable decisions on e i o ies de ined by dis inc a iables a he han legal na- ional di isions o space (Allen, Masse & Coch ane 1998). The p oblem wi h his kind o space-concep ualisa ion is ha i akes non-scien i ic, poli ical ca ego ies o g an ed and applies hem as objec i e ca ego ies. In con as , we can ind a communi y-based e- gional ocus o en ep eneu ship s udies in specialised li e a u e. Thei concep o space elies on he idea o local socie ies, which cons i u e a mic ocosm o kinship, iendship, pe inence o a cul u al communi y based on co po al and spa ial p oximi y in neighbou - hoods, qua e s, dis ic s, owns, illages, e c. The p oblem wi h his no ion o space, p edominan in many an h opological esea ch se ings, is he ei ica ion o communi y in o de o ob ain a cohe en a ge o academic inqui ies. This symbiosis be ween local socie y and space is impossible o sus ain because empi ical da a always demons a es mul iple, socially cons uc ed bounda ies o e hnic g oups (Ba h 1969). Empi icism and academicism in de elopmen esea ch De elopmen , commonly unde s ood as planned social change, is no only di icul o de- ine bu e en mo e so o measu e. The wo ld’s la ges ins i u ions ela ed o de elopmen poli ics, such as he Wo ld Bank o he Uni ed Na ions, ha e plu alised hei indica o s, which had his o ically only aken in o GDP accoun . The UN Human De elopmen Index and he UN Agenda 21 a e examples o his pa adigma ic change: Commonly used indica o s such as he g oss na ional p oduc (GNP) and me- asu emen s o indi idual esou ce o pollu ion lows do no p o ide adequa e indica ions o sus ainabili y. Me hods o assessing in e ac ions be ween di e en sec o al en i onmen al, demog aphic, social and de elopmen al 48 An h opological No ebooks, XIX/1, 2013 pa ame e s a e no su icien ly de eloped o applied. Indica o s o sus ainable de elopmen need o be de eloped o p o ide solid bases o decision making a all le els and o con ibu e o a sel - egula ing sus ainabili y o in eg a ed en i onmen and de elopmen sys ems (Agenda 21, pa ag aph 40.4). Howe e , he new consensuses on he equi emen o social, cul u al and psy- chological a iables o comple e he ma e ial indica o s o weal h ha e ye o es ablish any ag eemen on how o calcula e g ades o de elopmen oday. Adminis a ions and ins i u ions ela ed o de elopmen ha e es ablished indica o s and indexes on, o ex- ample, social capi al o en i onmen al issues and in oduced hem in o hei empi ical, mac o-s uc u al, ma hema ical models on global o coun y based g ades o de elop- men . The epo by he Uni ed Na ions Economic Commission o Eu ope on ‘Measu - ing sus ainable de elopmen ’ (2009) is a good example o such an app oach. Academic expe s on his, we may call hem so indica o s o de elopmen , and gene ally c i icise hese holis ic models in allusion o he complexi y o social, cul u al and en i onmen al a iables. While ins i u ionalised de elopmen poli ics is in need o expe ise and da a o enable making decisions, e en i he e a e s ill doub s abou hei alidi y, social scien is s in he academic wo ld can main ain a comple e dis ance o de elopmen p og ams by me ely c i icising and e alua ing he in e en ion done by o he s. Bo h ac o s, as we can see, ha e hei speci ic way o concep ualising de elopmen in ways ha ha e a g ea deal o do wi h hei p o essional posi ion. A heo e ical model based on Luhmann and Bou dieu Facing his concep ual landscape, we decided o choose a mac o- heo e ical amewo k able o inco po a e all o he h ee main heo e ical issues unde lying ou esea ch. The e- o e, we decided o de elop a heo e ical model based on he social heo ies o Pie e Bou dieu and Niklas Luhmann. The i s a icula ions o such a model had al eady been conduc ed in p e ious wo k (Nassehi & Nollmann 2004). Fu he de eloped and applied o ou esea ch opics, his la ge heo e ical amewo k p omised o o e come se e al p oblems in ac o -cen ed egional de elopmen s udies. We concep ualised he idea o space o e i o y acco ding o Bou dieu and Luh- mann’s heo ies o social ields and sys ems. Unde his pe spec i e, e i o iali y is no longe solely a ques ion o adminis a i e, ju idical limi s no a synonym o a communi y. Social ields and sys ems unde s and and hink o space as a social cons uc cons i u ed by sel - e e en ial communica ion and social posi ions wi hin his space compe ing o speci ic o ms o capi al, e.g. money, powe , ame, e c. Mo eo e , he agency in he o m o he en ep eneu is concep ualised in a mo e abs ac e m: Habi us as a pe sonali y o med by and o ien ed owa ds social s uc u e. This is, pu o he wise, socialisa ion as a con inual p ocess o in e ac ion be ween agency, and s uc u e. This is a heo e ical oun- da ion o a dis inc app oach on en ep eneu ship. Ul ima ely, we hink o de elopmen no as a cumulus o da a on ma e ial and non-ma e ial indica o s a a mac o-s uc u al le el. Ra he , we concep ualise de elopmen acco ding o he idea o con lic a icula ed by Bou dieu: social change is a con lic (as a sociological ca ego y) be ween cen al and 49 Richa d P eils e e : En ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen in Eu ope: A compa a i e, socio-an h opological case s udy in Ge many and Spain pe iphe al posi ions wi hin a social ield. The e o e, inno a i e en ep eneu ial beha iou leads o he de elopmen o a egion as a esul o ac o s (indi iduals and g oups wi h ce ain socialised habi us) ha c ea e dissen among local social and cul u al se led ways o hinking, speaking and ac ing. We can say ha communica ion in Luhmann’s sense is undamen al o socie y and subsequen ly he ool o social change. Figu e 1: Combined heo e ical model om Bou dieu and Luhmann applied on agency based egional de elopmen s udies In Figu e 1, we isualised he heo e ical model unde lying ou esea ch. We ecognise h ee cons i u i e, ela ed dimensions o ou esea ch and di e en g ades o heo e ical abs ac ion wi hin hese dimensions. Ou esea ch design decided o op o he mos gene al ca ego ies in o de o o e come some o he heo e ical di icul ies wi h classi ica ions used o dina ily in ac o -based egional de elopmen s udies. Quali a i e and compa a i e esea ch design in wo u al Eu opean egions Using his model, ou esea ch de ines h ee main esea ch objec i es: 1) social and cul u al p ac ices unde lying eme gence and ins i u ionalisa ion o local inno a i e ini ia i es; 2) he socio-cul u al condi ions unde which hese p ocesses ake place; 3) g ades o impac on he local social and cul u al s uc u e accompanying he consolida ion o new o ganisa ions. Fo an empi ical e e ence, we decided o analyse u al egions in Eu ope ha had been a ge ed by Eu opean de elopmen p og ams. These egions a e pa icula ly salien o de elopmen esea ch because o hei unde de elopmen in ela ion o hei immedia e na ional and egional en i onmen . A he same ime, a di ec compa ison be ween hese egions enables us o compa e an economically s ong, de eloped u al e- gion wi h a weak u al egion, bo h o which a e loca ed wi hin a common socio-poli ical- ju idical and economical con ex , in his case he Eu opean Union and he eu o a ea. We ha e op ed o ocus on sou he n Ba a ia, he s onges a ea wi hin Ge many, he s onges 50 An h opological No ebooks, XIX/1, 2013 Eu opean economy and a cen al Eu opean egion, and compa e i wi h one o he weak- es de eloped egions in Eu ope, i.e. sou he n Spain, pa icula ly no he n Andalucía. The egions o Los Ped oches and Mühldo we e selec ed as he scena ios o ou esea ch because hey ul illed all o hese c i e ia. A he same ime, he e was he p ac ical pos- sibili y o p olonged esidence, indispensable o an h opological ieldwo k, in bo h e- gions (see map one and wo). Figu e 2: Poli ical maps o Spain (le ) and Ge many ( igh ). In da k he espec i e egions o Los Ped oches and Mühldo Ou empi ical esea ch was conduc ed in ou in e als be ween May 2007 and Decembe 2010 bo h in Ge many and Spain. We applied h ee p inciple esea ch me h- odologies: as a i s s ep, we conduc ed quan i a i e esea ch o seconda y da a in bo h e i o ies o ob ain an app oxima e knowledge o he speci ic e i o ialised condi ions o social s uc u e, local cul u e, economy, poli ics, popula ion, geog aphy, his o y e c. Gene al non-di ec i e in e iews whe e o ganised wi h key ac o s o bo h egions in he ields o eligion, economy, poli ics, and ci il socie y, o name a ew. Nex , in o de o unde s and he mo i a ions o en ep eneu ial ac ion ha lead o he consolida ion o inno a i e ins i u ions, we pe o med an in ensi e case s udy o wen y- ou ini ia i es, wel e om each egion. As hi d and ou h s eps, we analysed he consolida ion o he ini ia i es in ela ion o hei own e i o ial con ex and hen compa ed o he e i o ial coun e pa ha we ha e pai ed. Bo h s eps d ew upon he heo e ical com- pa a i e analysis om da a ob ained in he p e ious s ages o ou esea ch. In Figu e 3, we isually summa ise ou esea ch design. I illus a es he ela ion be ween me hodology, empi ical e e ences and he di e en ypes o da a we p oduced. In conjunc ion wi h Figu e 1, we can conside he heo e ical ounda ion o ou esea ch design. 51 Richa d P eils e e : En ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen in Eu ope: A compa a i e, socio-an h opological case s udy in Ge many and Spain Figu e 3: Resea ch design and me hodological model Empi ical da a on en ep eneu ship and de elopmen in Spain and Ge many By analysing seconda y da a on gene al s uc u al condi ions in bo h e i o ies, we iden- i ied ields o di e ences and simila i ies be ween he wo egions. Consequen ly, we could hen compa e he en ep eneu ial beha iou s o ob ain gene alisable knowledge abou u al de elopmen in Eu ope h oughou eme ging inno a i e o ganisa ions. Ru al egions in Eu ope can be unde s ood as a socio-geog aphic a iable be- ween he communi y and he s a e. The Spanish-Ge man example shows ha he admin- is a i e s uc u e o he membe s a es is no always compa able due o di e en geo- g aphic scales and di e en compe encies assigned o hese egions. The Nomencla u e o Te i o ial Uni s o S a is ics (NUTS) u ilised by he Eu opean Union makes no e o his inabili y: Fo p ac ical easons o do wi h da a a ailabili y and he implemen a ion o egional policies, he NUTS nomencla u e is based p ima ily on he ins i u ional di isions cu en ly in o ce in he Membe S a es (no ma i e c i e ia)…. NUTS excludes speci ic e i o ial uni s and local uni s in a ou o egional uni s o a gene al na u e (Eu opean Commission 2010) The Spanish mancomunidad is ha dly a icula ed as an adminis a i e s uc u e; ye , in he speci ic case o Los Ped oches i has bo h s ong socio-cul u al as well as ecologi- cal signi icance. The Ge man Landk eis is a his o ically consolida ed poli ical and adminis- a i e le el. Howe e , in he case o Mühldo , we belie e Uppe Ba a ia ep esen s a mo e ele an socio-cul u al sphe e o he popula ion. This is mainly because Mühldo does no ep esen a alid c i e ion o ecological o his o ical classi ica ion o space. This incong uence be ween he wo cases leads o dis inc possibili ies and e- s ic ions o en ep eneu ship wi hin hese socio-geog aphical en i onmen s. Gene ally, we could say ha s ong, low-scale adminis a i e a icula ion on a egional le el, as in he 52 An h opological No ebooks, XIX/1, 2013 Ge man case, as well as cul u al and ecologically g own egional iden i ica ion, as in Los Ped oches, is an essen ial esou ce o he eme ging ins i u ionalisa ion o new ideas o he en ep eneu . When we compa e he poli ical condi ions be ween bo h e i o ies, i is necessa y o no e ha en ep eneu ial ac i i y in Mühldo as in Los Ped oches mus deal wi h local and egional go e nmen s ha ha e been in a ian o decades. Poli ical powe is ep oduced wi hin he same pa ies and people o e long pe iods o ime, which explains he need o good ne wo king among en ep eneu s, who need ins i u ional suppo o he c ea ion o new ins i u ions. Ideological o ien a ions o “le ” and “ igh ”, p og essi e o conse a i e in local go e nmen s, in ac , ha e li le impo ance on local poli ics. Taking in o accoun he mac o-socio-geog aphical condi ions o u al en ep e- neu ship in Eu ope, ou compa a i e case s udy shows he di e ence be ween co e and pe iphe al posi ions. These spa ial posi ions la gely de e mine he demog aphic and eco- nomic de elopmen in u al a eas. Meanwhile, he local sel -pe cep ion o he popula- ions in bo h egions is ha o he “coun yside”, sugges ing ha hey a e less de eloped in ela ion o he di e en u ban scales o e e ence. Mühldo , si ua ed in he cen e o Eu ope and wi hin he economically s ong, de eloped sou h o Ge many elies on posi- i e demog aphic de elopmen , plain employmen ax policies, and mainly dis ibu es i s wo k o ce in indus y and se ices. In con as , Los Ped oches is pa o he pe iphe al sou h o Eu ope, is loca ed in his o ically unde de eloped Andalusia, and has had o sup- po a u al exodus in i s ecen his o y. A qua e o he ac i e popula ion is unemployed, and ag icul u e and li es ock a e he p inciple economic esou ces o he egion. Bo h a e Eu opean u al scena ios, ye hey p oduce di e en expec a ions, possibili ies, and ways o unde s anding inno a ion. By analysing he sel -pe cep ion o bo h egions ha is p omo ed by he admin- is a ion, ep esen ed by majo ins i u ions and cul i a ed by he popula ion, we ound ha in he Ge man case he iden i ica ion as “ u al” comes in di ec opposi ion o he u ban su ounding. Mühldo ecognises he ad an ages o i s coun yside li es yle and i s geog aphic p oximi y o u ban su oundings. Thus, Mühldo unde s ands i s capaci y o de elopmen la gely in he ela ion be ween u ban and u al s uc u e. In he Spanish case, p oximi y o u ban cen es does no exis , and u ali y in his way is a ac , no a de- elopmen s a egy. In Los Ped oches, local ecological and cul u al elemen s a e used as a esou ce o ou ism and comme cialising ood p oduc s and cons i u e he main d i ing o ce o local iden i ica ion and ins i u ionalised p omo ion o he egion. Taking a look a he ins i u ions dedica ed o he p omo ion o en ep eneu ship in i s communi ies, he Ge man case shows us he exis ence o a sys em o poli ical, adminis a i e and associa i e sel -o ganisa ion. Th ee p incipal ac o s exis o o e lo- gis ical suppo o en ep eneu s: elec ed egional go e nmen , na ional adminis a ion a he egional le el, and p o essional o ganisa ions. In he Spanish case by con as , we see a less s eng hened p o essional ne wo k, he absence o a egional go e nmen , and a s ong municipal a icula ion o local poli ics. Nex , we will conside hese dis inc en ep eneu ial en i onmen s in o de o p esen he da a ela ed o ou case s udy o conc e e ini ia i es and hei p ocesses o consolida ion. The esul s show di e ing inno a i e impac s on he social and economic 53 Richa d P eils e e : En ep eneu ship and egional de elopmen in Eu ope: A compa a i e, socio-an h opological case s udy in Ge many and Spain s uc u es o each loca ion. Howe e , we would i s like o p esen some gene al obse - a ions on he ac o s o ins i u ionalised inno a ion in bo h e i o ies. Ou case s udy showed ha mos o he en ep eneu s had accumula ed wo k expe ience be o e hey ook he decision o c ea e a new ins i u ion. This con as s wi h he common assump ion ha he ypical en ep eneu is a young indi idual. Mos o he eme ging ins i u ions ha we analysed we e managed by indi iduals wi h a amily and ei he li ing o wo king ex- pe ience in mo e han jus one place. The e o e, hey commonly e u ned o hei places o o igin o a e new esiden s o he egion, which can be a ibu ed o a ious, mainly pe sonal bu some imes also economic, easons. En ep eneu s in ou case s udy ha e a high le el o o mal educa ion, a e ac i ely in ol ed in local and egional public li e (in cul u e, spo s, poli ics, e c.), and ep esen a li es yle mo e common o mode n u ban li e han o he idea o local se led adi ional u al a i ude. The en ep eneu s we go o know bo h in Andalusia and Ba a ia had high communica i e and empa hic capaci ies. Fo his eason, hey a e able o in e ac wi h di e en social sys ems, whe he academic, poli ic, adminis a i e o economic. In he end, we could dis inguish wo main ypes o li ing ci cums ances ha a e a ou able o en ep eneu ship. Fi s , we encoun e ed he new ins i u ion in he o m o amily p ojec ha is o med and sus ained by a g oup o people who a e ela ed h ough economic ies and o en associa ed wi h one o wo households, o example a amily business. This includes new businesses ini ia ed by child en o amilies wi h an al eady se led business. The second se ing ha we es ablished is he emale en ep eneu who, once inished wi h ma e ni y lea e and i s subsequen in e up ion o he p o essional ca ee , sea ches o a sel -sa is ying occupa ion ha is compa ible wi h amily li e o o e s a means o sel - ealisa ion. In each o ou cases in bo h Ge many and Spain, en- ep eneu ship wi hin he amilia con ex ep esen s a gene al s a egy o con on ing subsis ence. Indi iduals and amilies adi ionally ela ed o i m c ea ion do no end o pe cei e hemsel es as en ep eneu s. Thus, he c ea ion o a new ins i u ion is no an explici decision, a he mo e o a “no mal” way o li e. This da a con i med he idea o en ep eneu ship is a speci ic socialised and non- e lexi e habi us. Ou heo e ical model o examining he a ious o ms o en ep eneu ship is upheld when we conside he economic and sociocul u al s imula ion o en ep eneu - ship ha exis s in each egion. En ep eneu ship c ea es new p oduc s and se ices o he egion. Likewise, i is an indispensable ool o con ol and imp o emen o public poli ics. Addi ionally, en ep eneu ship s imula es public li e by a icula ing and chan- nelling di e en p eoccupa ions o local ci il socie y. Some o he ini ia i es o g ea e cul u al, social and economic impac om a de elopmen poin o iew a e unique and non-luc a i e ini ia i es, howe e . Fo ins ance, he cases o he blogge -en ep eneu and he ci ic pla o m o imp o ing public anspo a ion in as uc u e in Los Ped oches shows ha a imes hese o ms o en ep eneu ial ac i i y do no con o m o adi ional heo ies and de ini ions o en ep eneu ship. The impac ha en ep eneu ship has on he local socio-economic s uc u e de- pends on he gene al complexi y o he e i o y. In he Spanish case, we could see ha a less complex s uc u e o i ms and associa ions, as well as low popula ion densi y, leads