Barriers and incentives to green entrepreneurship in transition economies – case study of SMEs in Romania

Sammanfattning: This master thesis investigates the possible factors that can influence green entrepreneurship in a transition economy. For this purpose, the case of SMEs in Romania was analyzed. This study uses qualitative methods for data collection. These data were collected through questionnaires and interviews in order to discover society's view on the current entrepreneurial environment for green business and to understand the motives, challenges, and obstacles of green entrepreneurs. A policy analysis was also undertaken using the latest data published from Small Business Act for Europe to present Romania's performance between 2008-2016. The main results reveal that in Romania green entrepreneurship is not policy driven and the society needs more information about the concept of green entrepreneurship. In order to identify similarities or differences in green orientated businesses in a transition economy, a comparison between the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania was conducted. It can be concluded that there are resemblances between the countries which have a transition economy but in the same time entrepreneurial culture, the economic and political frame are different in each country and can lead to different performances.