Entrepreneurship Thrives In U.S., Accenture Study Confirms

ByJohn S. McClenahen Some 80% of American executives regard the U.S. as being more entrepreneurial than any other nation, says a new survey from Accenture, the international management consulting firm formerly known as Andersen Consulting. Apparently the rest of the world looks at the U.S. the same way as American executives do. Nearly two-thirds of the 880 senior executives surveyed in 22 countries see the U.S. as the world's most entrepreneurial nation. However, U.S. executives and the foreign counterparts differ in the premium they put on individualism. More than three-fifths (63%) of the Americans, compared with only 41% of the executives from other countries, characterize individualism as an important quality for both business founders and the leaders of organizations to have. Significantly, at least in comparison with their global counterparts, U.S. executives do not see either government regulation or taxation as constraints on entrepreneurship. In the U.S., under one-third (30%) of executives regard government legislation as an entrepreneurial barrier, compared with the 22-nation average of 55%. Fewer than one-quarter (23%) of the U.S. executives see taxes as a major barrier, compared with 43% of all executives surveyed.