Entrepreneurship in a cultural perspective

Abstract

This paper gives attention to the field of culture and entrepreneurship. Traditionally, the concept of entrepreneurship has been applied to the phenomenon of individuals establishing and developing new firms. In this paper, the concept of cultural entrepreneurship is introduced. The concept is defined in terms of taking some kind of action, for instance by launching some kind of cultural project, that contributes to 1) changing people's understanding of what is possible (changing frame of reference), and 2) changing people's motivation for taking part in economic development, for instance through some kind of entrepreneurial activity. Culture is often closely related to specific economic and industrial structures, thus it may play an important role in the process of economic restructuring. Traditionally, restructuring has been regarded as a pure economic or technical task. However, in the paper it is claimed that industrial restructuring also involves restructuring of social and cultural systems. The concept of cultural entrepreneurship is complementary to other forms of entrepreneurship.