Growth aspirations of early-stage entrepreneurs: Empirical investigation of South-Eastern and Western European countries

We aimed to 1) estimate the associations between innovation and international orientation of early-stage entrepreneurs and their growth aspirations and 2) determine whether these associations differ across south-eastern European countries (SeECs) and western European countries (WECs). We used the data from the 2002-2008 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Adult Population Survey for 2,098 SeEC and 2,626 WEG entrepreneurs. The results show that 1) a firm 's high level of competition inhibits its growth aspirations in both regions, albeit more so in SeECs; 2) innovative products/services stimulate firm growth aspirations in WECs only; and 2) international orientation stimulates firm growth aspirations in both regions, albeit more so in WECs.