COMMENTARY The Entrepreneurial Development System: Transforming Business Talent and Community Economies

In this conceptual and practical article, the authors suggest an alternative to the cur-rent paradigm for developing enterprises in local communities and regions through-out the United States. They also propose implementing a new approach, called the entrepreneurial development system, for transforming community economies. They first lay out the specifications for the new paradigm, drawing distinctions between cur-rent practice and their proposal. They then describe the major components of their proposed enterprise development system; detail its benefits to entrepreneurs, service providers, and the community; and discuss challenges to its full-scale implementation. Throughout, implications for further research suggested by the new paradigm are noted. The ultimate goal of economic development is to build assets and create wealth.1 Economic wealth is produced by entrepreneurs who identify market opportunities and build businesses that capture them. Entrepreneurs and their enterprises are the engines of individual and community wealth cre-ation. Therefore, an effective process of developing new enterprises is essential to successful eco-nomic development