This chapter examines how changes to the institutional environment in a crisis-hit economy impact on entrepreneurial activity. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs in Greece, the findings suggest that changes to institutions have served to limit entrepreneurial activity rather than enhance it, and that this has worsened in the midst of the crisis. We argue that this will detrimentally impact Greece’s ability to navigate out of the crisis and regain competitiveness in the longer term. The chapter provides a number of theoretical and policy implications that are focused on improving institutional environments so that entrepreneurship can play an appropriate role in recovering from economic crises.

This chapter is concerned with exploring the relationship between contemporary work and employment and productivity. It aims to highlight the centrality of the workplace and employment relations for understanding the productivity puzzle. In doing so it explores four aspects of current workplace dynamics, notably: management practice and missing voice; the growth of non-standard work; the performance implications of insecure work; and finally, job quality and the future of work. It concludes by emphasising the importance of engaging with all stakeholders and interests in organisations to secure greater productivity outcomes.

Academic debates on productivity have traditionally been dominated by economists using growth accounting frameworks. The productivity slowdown during the last decade has especially highlighted the limitations of these orthodox approaches to explaining the productivity puzzle. In particular, many of the drivers and inhibitors of productivity growth may be related to complex causal relationships which preclude examination by standard growth accounting frameworks, and many of the other potential explanatory factors cannot be incorporated into these frameworks. While other evidence reviews in this volume reflect on the different thematic aspects of the productivity puzzle in the UK this chapter assumes a broader conceptual approach. We argue that while in-depth academic insights may help unpack individual aspects of the productivity puzzle, simply more research of this type is not the answer. Rather, if insights are to meaningfully help governments and institutions better respond to the current productivity challenges there is a compelling argument for thinking about productivity at a systems level. This chapter posits that while existing research is gradually coming to recognise the importance of the intersections to these debates, more innovative and critical thinking is required if research is to impact policy.