The Entrepreneurial Rise in Southeast Asia

"Over the past twenty years, there is a growing debate about the role of entrepreneurship in regional development and competitiveness. Innovation and entrepreneurship have become core concepts in the strategic planning of organizations as means of achieving long-term growth and competitive advantages. There is growing consensus that entrepreneurship involves the way individuals and organizations create and implement new ideas by responding to their environment, participating in processes of change and complexity. In this context, the present book examines the dynamics of entrepreneurial innovation in the challenging region of Southeast Asia, which requires companies and governments to respond to change with adaptability in order to benefit from these shifts. Southeast Asia includes various religions and border conflicts between neighboring countries are still unresolved. Nevertheless, with the Asian Economic Community on the horizon, Southeast Asia will become the largest free trade zone in the world. The book is organized in five theme sections, which portray the diverse perspectives on innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development in Southeast Asia and beyond. Most of the countries, apart from Singapore and Hong Kong, have often been neglected in the scholarly community. Case studies and empirical research are relatively rare, especially compared to the western hemisphere as well as to India, China, and Japan. The present book provides a unique view on how these differences create opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs, examining the ways by which cross-border collaborations and different government interventions enable or prohibit the growth of the region"--