Entrepreneurial Rise in Southeast Asia

South-East Asia is growing rapidly and is facing major changes due to the creation of the Asian Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The AEC countries are a diverse group, ranging from the fully developed Singapore to Myanmar, which just recently started to open its border to foreign investment. Due to the rapid and continuing economic growth and the availability of 3G, broadband internet, the decrease in smartphone prices, and a continuing increase in R&D spending, a technology start-up community is developing quickly in the major cities of the region. The Entrepreneurial Rise in South-East Asia examines the start-up scene environments in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. The authors explore government strategies to support the start-up communities, the local challenges, and the unique strengths of each country. They answer key questions framing policy and strategic decision-making at the firm, industry, national, and regional levels, such as: How does technological advance occur, and what are the process and institutions involved? How are businesses created? To what extent is intellectual property protected? Which cultural characteristics serve to promote or impede innovation? And, in what ways is wealth distributed or concentrated? Contributions from researchers in a wide variety of fields connect and relate the relationships and inter-dependencies among innovation, political regime, and economic and social development. They consider whether innovation is demonstrated differently across sectors and disciplines, with an emphasis on discovering emerging patterns, factors, triggers, catalysts, and accelerators to innovation, and their impact on future research, practice, and policy.