The Influence of the Motives of Entrepreneurial Activity on Economic Growth of Developing Countries in Southeast Europe

In addition to the assumption that entrepreneurial activity affects economic growth and development in both developed and developing countries, Stefanovic et al. assume that the motives of entrepreneurship affect economic growth. The aim of the chapter is to prove the impact of necessity/opportunity-driven early-stage entrepreneurial activity, within total early-stage entrepreneurial activity, on economic growth in both the developed and developing countries. The authors perceive economic growth over the gross domestic product rate (GDPR), but also through the unemployment rate, which they believe can have a significant impact on the achievement of the objectives of economic growth in developing countries. As for the developing countries of Southeast Europe, survey results provide confirmation of the authors’ argument that the total early entrepreneurial activity affects growth of GDPR. Also, they find that opportunity-driven entrepreneurship has a positive effect, although this impact is not large, on increase of GDPR as well as on reduction of unemployment rate, but not the necessity-driven entrepreneurship. Possible explanation is that entrepreneurship out of necessity does not affect much the general reduction of unemployment because it leads to self-employment, i.e., it contributes to resolution of the problem of layoff in big companies but not to employing new workers to reduce total unemployment in the country.