Development perspectives of youth entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia

U radu se polazi od teorijske analize jednog aspekta fenomena poduzetništva i njegove uloge u generiranju ekonomskog razvoja. Mladi su društvena skupina koja se zbog svojih obilježja često nalazi u nepovoljnom položaju na tržištu rada, a taj bi položaj djelomično mogao biti popravljen njihovim poduzetničkim aktiviranjem. Kako bi se procijenio poduzetnički potencijal mladih i njegove odrednice, provedeno je empirijsko istraživanje putem online anketnog upitnika na uzorku 200 mladih osoba. Time se dobio uvid u njihovu percepciju o privlačnosti samozapošljavanja. Primarno istraživanje dodatno uključuje i strukturirani intervju koji je proveden među šest ispitanika, postojećih mladih poduzetnika, kako bi se detektirale ključne odrednice namjere bavljenja poduzetništvom. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju visoke poduzetničke aspiracije mladih, ali i negativan učinak nedostatka financijskih sredstava i sociokulturnih okolnosti. Svrha ovog rada je prikazati perspektive razvoja poduzetništva mladih u Hrvatskoj, odnosno prikazati kako mladi poduzetnici gledaju na svoju budućnost, ali i čimbenike koji će na tu istu budućnost utjecati.This paper is based on the theoretical analysis of one aspect of the entrepreneurial phenomena and its role in generating economic development. Young people are social groups that are often in disadvantaged positions on the labor market due to their characteristics, and this position could be partially corrected by motivating their entrepreneurial activity. In order to assess the entrepreneurial potential of young people and their determinants, empirical research has been conducted through an online questionnaire survey on a sample of 200 young people. This gave an insight into their perception of the attractiveness of self-employment. The primary research also includes a structured interview conducted among six respondents, existing young entrepreneurs, to detect key determinants of entrepreneurship intent. Research results show high entrepreneurial aspirations of young people, but also the negative effect of lack of financial resources and sociocultural circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to outline the perspective of youth entrepreneurship development in Croatia and to show how young entrepreneurs look to their future, as well as the factors that will impact the future