The resilience of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the depths of a recessionary crisis

This chapter examines how changes to the institutional environment in a crisis-hit economy impact on entrepreneurial activity. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs in Greece, the findings suggest that changes to institutions have served to limit entrepreneurial activity rather than enhance it, and that this has worsened in the midst of the crisis. We argue that this will detrimentally impact Greece’s ability to navigate out of the crisis and regain competitiveness in the longer term. The chapter provides a number of theoretical and policy implications that are focused on improving institutional environments so that entrepreneurship can play an appropriate role in recovering from economic crises.