Rethinking the Enterprise ─ Competitiveness, Technology and Society

If there is a key trend in our time, it is that of the progress of science and technology. This trend has become a steamroller, whatever the vagaries of history and economic conditions. It is enterprise that transforms scientific knowledge and technologies, often as soon as they emerge, into products and services. By mastering the methods and tools of techno-science, it has the power of knowledge behind its economic strategies. Techno-science constantly provides new opportunities and more powerful competitive weapons. Enterprise is therefore the main mediator between science and society. Yet is it an agent of progress?

This essay explores the key role enterprise could play in the transformation of the economic system. By changing its culture, it can be a powerful tool to better meet the global challenges of our century. De Woot proposes that a spirit of enterprise, creativity and innovation are necessary responses to societal challenges. Although the current economic model is the source of major deviations, enterprise in the broadest sense can help correct many of them. From problem it can become solution.