Enhancing Regional Competitiveness Through the Entrepreneurship Development

Although there is no generally accepted theory of regional competitiveness, competitiveness (regional or urban) has become very popular subject of interest among scholars, business and policy authorities, where the latter are especially interesting in formulating regional policy aimed at boosting it (from the both demand and supply side). The main purpose of this paper is to discuss issues associated with the interpretation of regional competitiveness under the framework of achieving regional and national sustained economic growth and of contemporary findings in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship, briefly considered in this paper, may be the driving force that enables the transformation of regional resources into regional and national competitiveness, added value, economic growth and development. The paper also focuses on the City of Osijek. It is the largest city of the Croatia's region named the Central and East Croatia. The region is positioned below the Croatian average and it is lagging behind. Lessons considering the early-stage process of entrepreneurship development in the City of Osijek and the role of policy authorities are discussed as well.