At present, there are high levels of unemployment and social exclusion in Portugal and in the European Union due to the effects of developments in the demographic, economic and social conditions in recent decades. In this context, the promotion of entrepreneurship is considered a priority by many Governments. A possible solution to fight youth and senior highly qualified unemployment, usually recognized in many countries in the European Union, will be the promotion of intergenerational entrepreneurship policies that identify, activate and add skills and experience of youth and seniors, and turn them into productive capital with the creation of sustainable business projects and of self-employment. This paper presents a conceptual framework for such policies. It consists of a literature review concerning the factors which, according to the latest theoretical and empirical studies, influence the entrepreneurial behavior of individuals and organizations. This analysis leads to the understanding of the impact of age in business creation, which should be considered as largely mediated by other factors. The study carried out shows that entrepreneurial behavior improves with age due to personality factors (lower risk aversion), life situation (higher level of knowledge and experience and of wealth, greater lack of job alternatives for unemployed) and interpersonal relationships (more social capital). But age brings also adverse impacts on business creation due to other personality factors (less initiative and innovation capabilities), to a lower personal motivation to improve levels of income and wealth and to institutional and social factors (more restrictive regulatory and socio-cultural environment). In this context, policies and programs for the promotion of intergenerational entrepreneurship should seek the complementarities of knowledge and skills among young people and seniors that are necessary for the creation of new businesses with potential for success. The UAW Project, presently being implemented under the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS 2007-2013), is a good example, having included team building, training and tutoring activities designed to counter the problems associated to intergenerational age and entrepreneurship. Companies already constituted should also take advantage of the generational diversity of their employees, assessing skills and experience of young and old workers, facilitating the transfer and sharing of know-how between generations and anticipating conflicts inherent to different generations, as a factor of company´s adaptability to change and innovation as well as contributing to their corporate social responsibility.

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