| Entrepreneurship is a concept that has gained widespread interest in recent years. This interest arises from the recognition that this concept relates to activities that create economic growth and development in a Region. This thesis first deals with the analysis of different approaches proposed in the literature that aim to explain, through individual and environmental factors, the sectorial diversity of newly created firms in a given area and the main characteristics of the entrepreneurs profile.; Afterwards, in the first part of the empirical study, the sectorial diversity of newly created firms in the Autonomous Community of the Murcia Region was studied at this work, by means of the joint analysis of individual and environmental factors such as: the nature of the firm where the creator has gained his professional expertise, the effect of the enterprise dynamics, and the network of social relations that was involved in the process of creation. It was found through the analysis of the sectorial diversity of industrial firms recently created in the Murcia Region, that these factors interact strongly in explaining the nature of the newly created firms. It appears therefore fundamental that the study of the complex processes that drive firm creation must be carried out through the joint analysis that includes their mutual interactions.; By the other hand, one important unit of observation for analysing the determinants of entrepreneurship has been at the level of the entrepreneur. These studies have crossed a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, ranging from psychology to sociology and economics, in order to establish the characteristics of the entrepreneur profile, the motivations to create a new firm, and the main obstacles in the process of firm creation. In the second part of the empirical study of this thesis, we have made two surveys in order to determine the main characteristics of the entrepreneurs profile, the motivations of the entrepreneurs, and the main obstacles at the service and industrial sectors in the Murcia Region. We also have established the differences on motivations and obstacles among different groups of entrepreneurs created in base of some characteristics of the entrepreneur profile. |
