Europe’s Hidden Entrepreneurs

The report argues that Europe's entrepreneurial capacity is underestimated because traditional metrics focus on business starts (Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity - TEA) while ignoring intrapreneurship (Entrepreneurial Employee Activity - EEA). Using data from the Global Competitiveness Index and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the study finds that EEA is most prevalent in highly competitive North and West European economies, such as Sweden and Denmark, whereas East and South European economies rely more on TEA or struggle with both. The report concludes that EEA is a high-quality driver of innovation and job creation that is positively correlated with national competitiveness, particularly in areas of institutional quality, labour market efficiency, and technological readiness.

• European economies often appear less entrepreneurial than other global regions when measured solely by business starts (TEA), but this view is incomplete as many Europeans choose to innovate within existing organizations through entrepreneurial employee activity (EEA).
• EEA is more prevalent in Europe than in any other region of the world, with 40% of entrepreneurial individuals in Europe being EEA entrepreneurs, compared to 29% in the United States.
• There is a positive association between national competitiveness and EEA rates; specifically, each point increase in a competitiveness score is linked to a 2.5 percentage point increase in the EEA rate.
• EEA correlates significantly with 11 of the 12 pillars of the Global Competitiveness Index, most strongly with institutions, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, technological readiness, and innovation.
• European economies fall into four distinct competitiveness clusters: North and West Europe (high EEA, low TEA), East Europe (high TEA, low EEA), Baltics and Slovenia (highest overall entrepreneurship, high TEA), and South Europe (low TEA and EEA).
• Sweden and Denmark lead European EEA rankings with rates of approximately 9%, significantly outperforming other sampled economies.
• Germany exhibits a paradox of high competitiveness but low overall entrepreneurship rankings due to a low TEA rate (5.5%) and moderate EEA rate (3.5%), driven partly by a risk-averse culture and a reliance on the 'Mittelstand' to keep innovation in-house.
• Poland's entrepreneurial activity is dominated by TEA, with nearly half of its entrepreneurs driven by necessity rather than opportunity, reflecting its transition toward an innovation-driven economy.
• Italy has the lowest overall entrepreneurship in the sample, with an EEA rate of less than 1%, attributed to weak institutions, high corruption, and a strong fear of failure (57%).
• Estonia ranks first for overall entrepreneurship due to very high TEA, supported by a culture of self-reliance and government digitalization, though its EEA remains only moderate.

APA

World Economic Forum (2016). Europe’s Hidden Entrepreneurs. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Entrepreneurship_in_Europe.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Europe’s Hidden Entrepreneurs. 2016. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Entrepreneurship_in_Europe.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Europe’s Hidden Entrepreneurs |date=December 2016 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Entrepreneurship_in_Europe.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2016europes, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Europe’s Hidden Entrepreneurs}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Entrepreneurship_in_Europe.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }