From latent to emergent entrepreneurship: The importance of context

Whereas the contributions of entrepreneurial activities to regional development and economic growth are undisputed, the underlying mechanisms to promote innovative entrepreneurship and implement effective entrepreneurship policy instruments are still not well understood. Typically, local and national governments stimulate total entrepreneurial activity, almost neglecting latent and emergent entrepreneurship. However, both types of entrepreneurship constitute the starting point for later-stage entrepreneurial activities, as they delineate the transition from intended towards realized entrepreneurship, i.e. market commercialization. This special issue tries to broaden the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence of emergent and latent entrepreneurship by considering the driving and hindering factors for latent and emergent entrepreneurs as well as the impact of regional entrepreneurship and innovation systems. We thereby focus on the essential role of contexts (institutional, cognitive, technological, and social) that decisively affect and shape entrepreneurial activities and outcomes. We conclude with fruitful future avenues of research that appraise the context and the heterogeneity of latent and emergent entrepreneurship, supporting the design of more effective policies devoted to various types of entrepreneurs.