Entrepreneurial quality and regional development: Characterizing SME sectors in low income areas*

This paper analyses the characteristics of SMEs in less‐developed areas in comparison with more advanced economies. The conceptual framework includes different factors making up the so‐called ‘entrepreneurial quality’ of the SME sector: the personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs (motivations and previous experience), different dimensions of the SMEs’ entrepreneurial orientation, and the patterns of the SMEs’ insertion in national and global value chains. The empirical analysis uses data of SMEs in four different Spanish provinces representing examples of low income economies and comparatively high income ones, respectively. Results show the SMEs in the low income economies to be characterized by a lower entrepreneurial quality.