Entrepreneurs and Institutions in Europe and Asia 1500-2000

This study uses a comparative perspective on entrepreneurship and institutions. The comparative perspective includes a geographical and a chronological aspect: the articles cover the history of Asian and European entrepreneurship in its institutional context in the last five hundred years. This comparative perspective is merged with newly developed paradigms from social and economic history, business history, and other social sciences. The topics range from discussions on 18th century Russian trade policy, the Exchange Office in Sweden, innovations in 18th century French silk industry, Greek shipping companies and family networks, 20th century Italian industrial districts, Hong Kong businessmen in the IT sector, entrepreneurs in late colonial Indonesia, business elites in Singapore, to the Taiwanese state and small and medium sized businesses. The volume focuses on the complex relationship between entrepreneurs and institutions. How do entrepreneurs create and use institutions and to what extent do institutions mould entrepreneurial behaviour?