RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP VISION DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS

72 RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Discussion and conclusions
Bridging social and rural dimension of business helps the successful design and implementation
of new entrepreneurial ventures. European rural development policies seem to drive
farmers and entrepreneurs in agriculture to reconsider their own social and economic role
and contribution for society and communities in order to bridge social and economic perspective
in doing business and affairs in rural economy and context. Rural development policies
help sustain and enhance rural entrepreneurship coherently with a mono-functional and
conventional development of agricultural sector. With the advent of a multi-functionality in
agriculture traditional public policies that support agricultural sector seem to be no more adequate
to offer new opportunities for entrepreneurial venture proceeding in transition toward
a political and regulatory context more favorable to reconsider the rural areas as asset and
source of social and economic gains beyond the traditional activities. Rural development and
multi-functionality in agriculture as new emerging paradigms tend to reconcile and combine
profit orientation, doing business, territorial identity, creation of social value and benefits for
communities driving strategic, productive and organizational choices of entrepreneurs living
in rural areas. European rural development policies seem to lead to new entrepreneurial ventures
and hybrid organizations able to manage multiple and different logics combining commercial,
profit and social dimension coherently with an evolving path following different
trajectories of development concerning alternative policy paradigms for agriculture, rural areas
and countryside in relation to different strategic and productive orientations about the role
of agriculture. The study is descriptive. The scope is only explorative. Future research perspectives
should imply to better understand how rural development policies are influencing
behaviors and strategic choices of entrepreneurs within Italian Regions designing rural development
plans in relation to European and National rural development policy for 2014-2020.
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