臺灣如何在短短六十年間，從米糖之鄉蛻變為高科技產業製造重鎮，一直是學術研究重要的題材。可惜的是，多數的學者依循新古典學派經濟學之論述，集中在資本與勞動等生產因素之累積與品質提升之貢獻，組織生產因素並使其發生作用之企業家精神的貢獻，則被忽略；探討企業家如何在變遷的不確定環境中學習並運用策略謀取利益的研究，更是付諸闕如。本文旨在強調臺灣是一個企業家精神極為活躍的社會，闡述企業家精神在臺灣經濟發展的角色，企業經營者如何充分適應全球市場的快速變遷、靈活把握獲利機會、運用游擊戰術的策略、採用階段性的模仿、委外加工及區域套利，開發在夾縫中的利潤。臺灣的環境雖然有其獨特性，但是臺灣經濟發展的經驗，尤其是企業家精神的發揮與其策略的運用可以提供給後進國家作為借鏡。

Taiwan's economic success is well documented in mainstream neoclassical economic literatures. Since the end of the Second World War, Taiwan has transformed in around 60 years time from a farmland to a high tech industrial economy. This 'miraculous' performance has intrigued scholars to search for an explanation of Taiwan's success and more importantly, a development model for latecomer economies. It is generally admitted by scholars (including those from the neoclassical school) that Taiwan's economic success is, to a large extent, attributed to its dynamic entrepreneurs. However, economic studies on the role of entrepreneurship in the economic development of Taiwan are few. This paper attempts to throw light on this issue. It will argue that Taiwan is an entrepreneurial society. A unique feature of Taiwan's style of entrepreneurship lies in its ability to adapt to the rapid changing world markets. Alertness to opportunities, and through the use of guerrilla entrepreneurial strategies, imitation, subcontracting and regional arbitrageurship, manufacturing firms in Taiwan are able to exploit profit margins and survive in the global competition. This paper concludes that, though the Taiwan's style of entrepreneurship emerges out of its unique environments, Taiwan's experience can be useful to other developing economies. The critical issue is whether latecomer countries can successfully incubate adaptive entrepreneurship compatible with their backgrounds so as to exploit international market opportunities.