We have the pleasure to present the fourth edition of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report – Poland 2014 . It is based on the results of research carried out under the largest international research project in the area of entrepreneurship i.e. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which originated in 1999 as a joint initiative of Babson College (USA) and London Business School (United Kingdom). In 2014, the number of countries covered by surveys increased to 73, which translates into over three-fourths of the global population and 90% of the global GDP. Poland participated in the GEM survey in 2004 and joined the group of countries participating in the project again in 2011 as the team established by the Polish Agency of Enterprise Development (PARP) and the University of Economics in Katowice.

The annual GEM survey includes an analysis of the adult population in terms of entrepreneurial attitudes, perception of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial aspiration. The project developed original indicators to distinguish individual stages of business activity, with the key measure being TEA (Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity). It is a forward indicator since it enables to forecast intensity of business activity in the society. A great advantage of this international project is its continuity, which allows to analyse the trends, as well as the large population covered by the survey which enables regional comparisons in the global perspective and comparisons between individual countries.