Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies

This book is about successful companies from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Russia; about entrepreneurs, like Ivo, who not only defied the odds at home but also managed to build a global presence and reputation for their enterprises. We call them Entrepreneurial Icebreakers. We shed new light on how these entrepreneurs created value in less-friendly environments — for themselves as well as others. Our findings can enrich global and especially transitional entrepreneurship practice and research. We hope that prospective entrepreneurs will be encouraged to pursue and realize their ideas and are not stopped by the perception that it is an “impossible dream” when starting a company in a context that seems to put one on the downside of advantage. We also wish that professors and other players and organizations in the entrepreneurship-related ecosystem will benefit from the insights in this book and the materials we provide in order to improve business and entrepreneurship education.