Innovative environment and innovative entrepreneurship: the strength of proximity and networks.

Summary A great deal of work is currently being done on the relationship between the entrepreneur and the territory, the underlying hypothesis being that access to skills, knowledge, sources of financing and infrastructure is more or less easy depending on the territory. The innovative environment, defined as a set of actors (companies, institutions, etc.) located and anchored in a territory in which interactions develop in a multilateral manner, would thus constitute an environment that favors the appearance of various forms of innovation as well as the emergence of new companies. However, the role of the entrepreneur is fundamental in the realization of the opportunities and resources offered by an innovative environment. Indeed, it is the entrepreneur who takes advantage of the resources of the territory and contributes to the creation of new technologies and jobs thanks to the networks and proximity that he is able to deploy. In France, as we shall see, the policy of competitiveness clusters is presented as an incentive policy in favor of collaboration and innovation, and conducive to innovative entrepreneurship.