Business climate in the Netherlands: From quantity to quality

The government has ambitious goals when it comes to overcoming societal challenges and creating a climate that fosters entrepreneurship. Over the years, these policies have proven successful – entrepreneurship is booming and is well -rated among civilians and experts alike. Entrepreneurs are focused on substantial value creation (profitability, job creation and innovation). Previously, chasing these goals was assumed to improve societal outcomes. However, nowadays there is a growing realization that chasing these goals might not help society in the ways the government had foreseen, which creates a missed opportunity for entrepreneurs, who are the engine of the economy, to help addressing societal problems. By properly incentivizing and including entrepreneurs to help alleviating the problems society is facing, the government could simultaneously live up to both of their ambitions. Read more in this article by Niels Bosma, Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Utrecht University.