ABSTRACT
Introduction Entrepreneurship is now seen by most politicians as well as by academics as an important ingredient in rural development. Rural areas are, however, often characterized by low densities in demographic, institutional, relational and economic terms. Entrepreneurship is particularly difficult in such circumstances. Nevertheless, examples can be found of innovative entrepreneurship in such areas all over the world, including in rural areas of Portugal. This chapter intends to highlight the characteristics of the new global and information economy and the opportunity that this represents for rural areas and their small firms using two conceptually related instruments, namely innovation and marketing. It argues that, at the organizational level, niche marketing strategies are the most appropriate for rural firms as they allow them to innovate and take advantage of the opportunities opened up by the new economy. This is illustrated by reference to some Portuguese examples. Finally, some policy conclusions are drawn. The Rural Context and the Role of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship can be understood as the process of creation of new firms and/or the development of small firms. The term ‘development’ in this context is usually connected with the development of new products and new processes of production (Nijkamp, 2003; Wortman 1990) as well as new markets (Wortman, 1990). Thus, entrepreneurship is by definition an innovation related concept.
