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The Personal Computer and Entrepreneurship

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  • Robert W. Fairlie

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95060)

Abstract

In contrast to the large and rapidly growing literature on information technology (IT) investments and firm productivity, we know very little about the role of personal computers in business creation. Using matched data from the 1997-2001 Computer and Internet Usage Supplements to subsequent Outgoing Rotation Group files from the Current Population Survey (CPS), I explore the relationship between computer ownership and entrepreneurship. Trends over the past two decades provide some evidence of a positive relationship between home computers and entrepreneurship rates, but the evidence is not clear. In contrast, an analysis of the relationship between computer ownership and entrepreneurship at the individual level provides evidence that individuals who had access to a home computer are substantially more likely to become entrepreneurs over the following 12-15 months. Probit and bivariate probit regressions also provide evidence of a strong positive relationship between computer ownership and entrepreneurship among women, but only limited evidence for men. Further, estimates from the CPS indicate that entrepreneurs who had prior access to home computers create a large variety of types of businesses and not only those in the IT industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert W. Fairlie, 2006. "The Personal Computer and Entrepreneurship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 187-203, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:52:y:2006:i:2:p:187-203
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1050.0479
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    4. Denderski, Piotr & Sniekers, Florian, 2021. "Declining Search Frictions and Type-of-Employment Choice," Discussion Paper 2021-010, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    5. Eckhardt, Jonathan T. & Shane, Scott A., 2011. "Industry changes in technology and complementary assets and the creation of high-growth firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 412-430, July.
    6. Linda Niehm & Keila Tyner & Mack Shelley & Margaret Fitzgerald, 2010. "Technology Adoption in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Accessibility, Perceived Advantage, and Information Technology Literacy," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 498-515, December.
    7. Muhammad Naveed Anwar & Elizabeth Daniel, 2016. "The Role of Entrepreneur-Venture Fit in Online Home-Based Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(04), pages 419-451, December.
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    10. Bauernschuster, Stefan & Falck, Oliver & Woessmann, Ludger, 2014. "Surfing alone? The internet and social capital: Evidence from an unforeseeable technological mistake," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 73-89.
    11. Ratinho, Tiago & Amezcua, Alejandro & Honig, Benson & Zeng, Zhaocheng, 2020. "Supporting entrepreneurs: A systematic review of literature and an agenda for research," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Kai-Lung Hui & I. P. L. Png, 2015. "Research Note—Migration of Service to the Internet: Evidence from a Federal Natural Experiment," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 606-618, September.
    13. Gregory N. Price & Chris W. Surprenant, 2022. "The Treatment Effect of Business Education on the Supply of High School Entrepreneurs in Atlanta and New Orleans," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 67(1), pages 85-98, March.
    14. Parker, Simon C., 2011. "Intrapreneurship or entrepreneurship?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 19-34, January.
    15. Zhao, Jianmei, 2018. "Internet access and rural household income in China," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274178, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Gordon Burtch & Seth Carnahan & Brad N. Greenwood, 2018. "Can You Gig It? An Empirical Examination of the Gig Economy and Entrepreneurial Activity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5497-5520, December.
    17. Stefan Bauernschuster & Oliver Falck & Ludger Wößmann, 2011. "Surfing Alone? The Internet and Social Capital: Evidence from an Unforeseen Technological Mistake," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 392, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    18. Qing Wang & Wenjing Xu & Yanghua Huang & Jidong Yang, 2022. "The Effect of Fast Internet on Employment: Evidence from a Large Broadband Expansion Program in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(3), pages 100-134, May.
    19. Muhammad Naveed Anwar & Elizabeth M. Daniel, 2017. "Ethnic entrepreneurs and online home-based businesses: an exploratory study," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Nina Czernich, 2011. "The emergence of broadband internet and consequences for economic and social development," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 37.
    21. Tessa Conroy & Sarah A. Low, 2022. "Entrepreneurship, Broadband, and Gender: Evidence from Establishment Births in Rural America," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 45(1), pages 3-35, January.
    22. Peng, Y. & Turvey, C. & Kong, R., 2018. "An Analysis of China s Reforms on Mortgaging and Transacting Rural Land Use Rights and Entrepreneurial Activity," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277308, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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