March 2025
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One field of research to which David Storey made important contributions is the alleged impact of enterprise policy on regional economic development. In this field, his legacy to entrepreneurship research is perhaps his constant questioning of whether assumptions underpinning enterprise policy are correct. Possibly the most striking example in this regard relates to the assumption that new firms create new jobs. When questions as fundamental as the contribution of new businesses and SMEs to the creation of value and employment are still not clearly resolved; when they lead to questions about what would a priori be identifiable as the “right” type of entrepreneurship and how to promote it, then also comes a questioning about the “right” type of enterprise policy to pursue. David Storey has nourished this field of research with a significant and sometimes radical scope in his questioning. In this chapter, we outline this specific field of research, highlight David’s contributions, and sketch enterprise policy options in the context of global sustainability issues.