IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v42y2014i2p221-244.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional characteristics, opportunity perception and entrepreneurial activities

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Stuetzer
  • Martin Obschonka
  • Udo Brixy
  • Rolf Sternberg
  • Uwe Cantner

Abstract

This article seeks to better understand the link between regional characteristics and individual entrepreneurship. We combine individual-level Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data for Western Germany with regional-level data, using multilevel analysis to test our hypotheses. We find no direct link between regional knowledge creation, the economic context and an entrepreneurial culture on the one side and individual business start-up intentions and start-up activity on the other side. However, our findings point to the importance of an indirect effect of regional characteristics as knowledge creation, the economic context and an entrepreneurial culture have an effect on the individual perception of founding opportunities, which in turn predicted start-up intentions and activity. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Stuetzer & Martin Obschonka & Udo Brixy & Rolf Sternberg & Uwe Cantner, 2014. "Regional characteristics, opportunity perception and entrepreneurial activities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 221-244, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:42:y:2014:i:2:p:221-244
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-013-9488-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11187-013-9488-6
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-013-9488-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik, 2010. "Entrepreneurship and its Determinants in a Cross-Country Setting," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 157-170, Springer.
    2. Zoltan J. Acs & Catherine Armington, 2008. "Employment Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 25, pages 353-369, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Paul Reynolds & Niels Bosma & Erkko Autio & Steve Hunt & Natalie De Bono & Isabel Servais & Paloma Lopez-Garcia & Nancy Chin, 2005. "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: Data Collection Design and Implementation 1998–2003," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 205-231, February.
    4. Isabel Grilo & Jesus-Maria Irigoyen, 2006. "Entrepreneurship in the EU: To Wish and not to be," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 305-318, May.
    5. Zoltan J. Acs & Lawrence A. Plummer, 2008. "Penetrating the "Knowledge Filter" in Regional Economies," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 26, pages 370-388, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2016. "Long-Term Persistence," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 14(6), pages 1401-1436, December.
    7. Michael Stuetzer & Martin Obschonka & Eva Schmitt-Rodermund, 2013. "Balanced skills among nascent entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 93-114, June.
    8. Sam Youl Lee & Richard Florida & Zoltan J. Acs, 2008. "Creativity and Entrepreneurship: A Regional Analysis of New Firm Formation," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 13, pages 171-182, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Michael Fritsch & Alina Rusakova, 2010. "Personality Traits, Self-Employment, and Professions," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 343, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    10. Fritsch, Michael & Falck, Oliver, . "New firm formation by industry over space and time: a multi-level analysis for Germany," Chapters in Economics,, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    11. Ron A. Boschma & Michael Fritsch, 2009. "Creative Class and Regional Growth: Empirical Evidence from Seven European Countries," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 85(4), pages 391-423, October.
    12. Etzioni, Amitai, 1987. "Entrepreneurship, adaptation and legitimation : A macro-behavioral perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 175-189, June.
    13. Werner Eichhorst & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2007. "And Then There Were Four...How Many (and Which) Measures of Active Labor Market Policy Do We Still Need?," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 53(3), pages 243-272.
    14. Maskell, Peter & Malmberg, Anders, 1999. "Localised Learning and Industrial Competitiveness," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(2), pages 167-185, March.
    15. Michael Fritsch & Oliver Falck, 2007. "New Business Formation by Industry over Space and Time: A Multidimensional Analysis," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 157-172.
    16. David B. Audretsch & Max Keilbach, 2007. "The Theory of Knowledge Spillover Entrepreneurship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(7), pages 1242-1254, November.
    17. Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), 2010. "The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12864.
    18. Norris F. Krueger Jr., 2000. "The Cognitive Infrastructure of Opportunity Emergence," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 24(3), pages 5-24, April.
    19. Peter Johnson & Simon Parker, 1996. "Spatial Variations in the Determinants and Effects of Firm Births and Deaths," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(7), pages 679-688.
    20. Meric S. Gertler, 2003. "Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or The undefinable tacitness of being (there)," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 75-99, January.
    21. Ozgen, Eren & Baron, Robert A., 2007. "Social sources of information in opportunity recognition: Effects of mentors, industry networks, and professional forums," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 174-192, March.
    22. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew & Stutzer, Alois, 2001. "Latent entrepreneurship across nations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 680-691, May.
    23. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2012. "The Long Persistence of Regional Entrepreneurship Culture: Germany 1925–2005," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1214, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2012.
    24. Michael Fritsch, 2004. "Entrepreneurship, entry and performance of new business compared in two growth regimes: East and West Germany," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 525-542, December.
    25. Davidsson, Per, 2006. "Nascent Entrepreneurship: Empirical Studies and Developments," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 2(1), pages 1-76, June.
    26. Michael Fritsch & Pamela Mueller, 2007. "The persistence of regional new business formation-activity over time – assessing the potential of policy promotion programs," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 299-315, June.
    27. Pia Arenius & Dirk Clercq, 2005. "A Network-based Approach on Opportunity Recognition," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 249-265, February.
    28. Joachim Wagner & Rolf Sternberg, 2004. "Start-up activities, individual characteristics, and the regional milieu: Lessons for entrepreneurship support policies from German micro data," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 38(2), pages 219-240, June.
    29. Davidsson, Per & Wiklund, Johan, 1997. "Values, beliefs and regional variations in new firm formation rates," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 18(2-3), pages 179-199, April.
    30. David Mcgranahan & Timothy Wojan, 2007. "Recasting the Creative Class to Examine Growth Processes in Rural and Urban Counties," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 197-216.
    31. Werner Eichhorst & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2007. "And Then There Were Four ...: How Many (and Which) Measures of Active Labor Market Policy Do We Still Need? ; Finding a Balance after the Evaluation of the Hartz Reforms in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 685, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    32. Jolanda Hessels & Marco Gelderen & Roy Thurik, 2008. "Entrepreneurial aspirations, motivations, and their drivers," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 323-339, October.
    33. Høgni Kalsø Hansen & Thomas Niedomysl, 2009. "Migration of the creative class: evidence from Sweden," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 191-206, March.
    34. Scott Shane, 2000. "Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 448-469, August.
    35. Niels Bosma & Veronique Schutjens, 2011. "Understanding regional variation in entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude in Europe," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 47(3), pages 711-742, December.
    36. Jonathan Levie, 2007. "Immigration, In-Migration, Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 143-169, March.
    37. Sternberg, Rolf, 2009. "Regional Dimensions of Entrepreneurship," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 5(4), pages 211-340, May.
    38. Davidsson, Per & Honig, Benson, 2003. "The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 301-331, May.
    39. Bergmann Heiko, 2005. "Entrepreneurial attitudes: Wodurch werden sie determiniert und welche Rolle spielt die Region?," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 49(3-4), pages 185-199, November.
    40. Martin Andersson & Sierdjan Koster, 2011. "Sources of persistence in regional start-up rates--evidence from Sweden," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 179-201, January.
    41. David B. Audretsch & Max Keilbach, 2004. "Does Entrepreneurship Capital Matter?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(5), pages 419-430, September.
    42. Catherine Armington & Zoltan J. Acs, 2008. "The Determinants of Regional Variation in New Firm Formation," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 18, pages 224-243, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    43. Heiko Bergmann & Rolf Sternberg, 2007. "The Changing Face of Entrepreneurship in Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 205-221, March.
    44. Pia Arenius & Maria Minniti, 2005. "Perceptual Variables and Nascent Entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 233-247, February.
    45. Guiso, Luigi & Schivardi, Fabiano, 2005. "Learning to be an Entrepreneur," CEPR Discussion Papers 5290, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    46. Minniti, Maria, 2005. "Entrepreneurship and network externalities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 1-27, May.
    47. Feldman, Maryann P, 2001. "The Entrepreneurial Event Revisited: Firm Formation in a Regional Context," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 861-891, December.
    48. Gerard George & Shaker A. Zahra, 2002. "Culture and Its Consequences for Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(4), pages 5-8, July.
    49. Sternberg, Robert J., 2004. "Successful intelligence as a basis for entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 189-201, March.
    50. P. Mueller, 2006. "Entrepreneurship in the Region: Breeding Ground for Nascent Entrepreneurs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 41-58, August.
    51. Simon C. Parker, 2005. "Explaining Regional Variations in Entrepreneurship as Multiple Occupational Equilibria," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(4), pages 829-850, November.
    52. Fritsch, Michael & Stuetzer, Michael, 2008. "The Geography of Creative People in Germany," MPRA Paper 21965, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    53. Jha, Saumitra, 2008. "Trade, Institutions and Religious Tolerance: Evidence from India," Research Papers 2004, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christian Hundt & Rolf Sternberg, 2016. "Explaining new firm creation in Europe from a spatial and time perspective: A multilevel analysis based upon data of individuals, regions and countries," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 223-257, June.
    2. Michael Wyrwich, 2014. "Ready, set, go! Why are some regions entrepreneurial jump starters?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(2), pages 487-513, September.
    3. Niels Bosma & Veronique Schutjens, 2011. "Understanding regional variation in entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude in Europe," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 47(3), pages 711-742, December.
    4. Stuetzer, Michael & Obschonka, Martin & Audretsch, David B. & Wyrwich, Michael & Rentfrow, Peter J. & Coombes, Mike & Shaw-Taylor, Leigh & Satchell, Max, 2016. "Industry structure, entrepreneurship, and culture: An empirical analysis using historical coalfields," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 52-72.
    5. Niklas Elert, 2014. "What determines entry? Evidence from Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(1), pages 55-92, August.
    6. Michael Wyrwich & Michael Stuetzer & Rolf Sternberg, 2016. "Entrepreneurial role models, fear of failure, and institutional approval of entrepreneurship: a tale of two regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 467-492, March.
    7. Dirk Dohse & Sascha Walter, 2012. "Knowledge context and entrepreneurial intentions among students," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 877-895, November.
    8. David Urbano & Sebastian Aparicio & Victor Querol, 2016. "Social progress orientation and innovative entrepreneurship: an international analysis," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 1033-1066, December.
    9. Peter van der Zwan & Ingrid Verheul & Roy Thurik & Isabel Grilo, 2009. "Entrepreneurial Progress: Climbing the Entrepreneurial Ladder in Europe and the US," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 09-070/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 17 Mar 2010.
    10. Niels Bosma & R. Sternberg & Zoltan Acs, 2008. "The Entrepreneurial Advantage of World Cities," Scales Research Reports H200810, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    11. Obschonka, Martin & Stuetzer, Michael & Gosling, Samuel D. & Rentfrow, Peter J. & Lamb, Michael E. & Potter, Jeff & Audretsch, David B., 2015. "Entrepreneurial Regions: Do Macro-psychological Cultural Characteristics of Regions help solve the “Knowledge Paradox” of Economics?," MPRA Paper 65323, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Brahim Gaies & Massimiliano Vesci & Chiara Crudele & Andrea Calabrò & Adnane Maalaoui, 2025. "Panta Rhei! Disentangling the temporal dynamics of nascent and future entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-46, December.
    13. Michael Fritsch & Elisabeth Bublitz & Alina Sorgner & Michael Wyrwich, 2014. "How much of a socialist legacy? The re-emergence of entrepreneurship in the East German transformation to a market economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 427-446, August.
    14. Martínez Mateo, Jesús & Mira Solves, Ignacio & Gómez Gras, José M.ª, 2013. "Influence of the economic cycle on the determinants of nascent entrepreneurial activity. An empirical analysis of the Spanish case," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 26, pages 19-45.
    15. Martin Obschonka & Michael Stuetzer & Samuel D Gosling & Peter J Rentfrow & Michael E Lamb & Jeff Potter & David B Audretsch, 2015. "Entrepreneurial Regions: Do Macro-Psychological Cultural Characteristics of Regions Help Solve the “Knowledge Paradox” of Economics?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
    16. Brixy, Udo & Sternberg, Rolf & Stüber, Heiko, 2008. "From potential to real entrepreneurship," IAB-Discussion Paper 200832, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    17. Hans Westlund & Johan P. Larsson & Amy Rader Olsson, 2014. "Start-ups and Local Entrepreneurial Social Capital in the Municipalities of Sweden," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 974-994, June.
    18. Pekka Stenholm & Zoltán J. Ács & Robert Wuebker, 2015. "Exploring country-level institutional arrangements on the rate and type of entrepreneurial activity," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 20, pages 387-404, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Martin Obschonka & Eva Schmitt-Rodermund & Rainer K. Silbereisen & Samuel D. Gosling & Jeff Potter, 2013. "The Regional Distribution and Correlates of an Entrepreneurship-Prone Personality Profile in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom: A Socioecological Perspective," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 550, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    20. Rolf Sternberg, 2022. "Entrepreneurship and geography—some thoughts about a complex relationship," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(3), pages 559-584, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regional entrepreneurship; Nascent entrepreneurship; Opportunity perception; Creative class; Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:42:y:2014:i:2:p:221-244. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.