The Role of the Entrepreneur in Society is an initiative of LFMI which is aimed to convey public perceptions about business and businesspeople, eradicate negative stereotypes and enhance public understanding of the contribution that entrepreneurs make to the creation of progress and economic growth.

Why do we need to talk about this?

Just like many other Eastern European countries, Lithuania was under communist rule for almost 50 years. The word ‘’business’’ was non-existent in the communist system, and people who pursued what we today know as “business” were both persecuted and prosecuted. The collapse of the Soviet Union proved that a state-run economy is ineffective, and that only free enterprise and free initiative can ensure economic well-being. The goal of this project is to investigate public perceptions of the entrepreneur and the role of the entrepreneur in society and to work on breaking the association between businesspeople and greed or exploitation. The project also aims to champion the role of entrepreurs in society and to build their positive image.

The first stage of this project is to carry out a  survey of public perceptions and to analyse the results from psychological, historical, anthropological and economic perspectives. We aim to reveal which myths have been formed about business people and what can be done to dispel them. We are seeking to advance the understanding that entrepreneurs create wealth and that their efforts allow a person who earns an average salary to now live a better, longer and more comfortable life than even the royals from past centuries. We continue to comment, publish articles and books, organize meetings and lectures on this important issue.

Study The Profile of the Entrepreneur: What and Why (2013m.) http://files.lrinka.lt/entrepreneur/image_entrepreneur.pdf

The study revealed that the majority (74%) of Lithuanians agree with the statement that economic well-being is created by business people and enterprises.

However, the understanding of entrepreneurs and their role in society can still be broadened. Research experts have concluded that Lithuanians seem to hold on to historically embedded associations between business people and hard work, while such essential elements of business activity as ingenuity, creativity and innovativeness seem to be quite far-fetched in the minds of Lithuanians.

Similar research has been conducted by partner think tanks in Georgia, Bulgaria and Kyrgyzstan. In evaluating public perceptions of the entrepreneur the think tanks have teamed up with sociologists, historians and psychologists .