Introduction

There is growing empirical evidence supporting the proposition that rural enterprises, by virtue of their location, are becoming more pro-active in the pursuit of distant and often overseas markets. The key research question emerging in the context of the changing rural landscape is the extent to which economic agents in the countryside have the ability to rise to challenges at hand. Economic growth in rural peripheral areas is closely associated with the entrepreneurial capacity of the local population. Increasing awareness of the specificities, as well as the problems associated with the rural, and the ensuing adoption of a pro-active approach at all levels of decision-making means that the role of policy agencies becomes increasingly important. Their influence upon the historical trajectories of the European countryside constitutes both a factor of unity as well as a factor of diversity. The chapter also presents an overview of this book.