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Bourdieu, culture, and the economic geography of practice: entrepreneurial mentorship in Ottawa and Waterloo, Canada

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  • Ben Spigel

Abstract

Economic geographers have struggled over how to address the role of culture in economic processes without resorting to either structural determinism or agent-centric rationality. While culture is commonly seen as an institution affecting economic processes, there has been little consideration regarding the mechanisms connecting cultural outlooks within individual practices and actions. This article links the sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu with relational economic geography and practice perspectives to examine how cultural outlooks influence the practices of entrepreneurial actors. Through a qualitative analysis of 73 interviews, this framework is used to examine the patterns of entrepreneurial mentorship in Waterloo and Ottawa, Canada. The article finds that the significant differences in both the rates and the dynamics of mentorship between the two cities are the result of different cultural outlooks toward mentorship that have developed within each region, which in turn have fostered distinct beliefs about the value of mentoring and entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Spigel, 2017. "Bourdieu, culture, and the economic geography of practice: entrepreneurial mentorship in Ottawa and Waterloo, Canada," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 287-310.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:17:y:2017:i:2:p:287-310.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeg/lbw019
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    2. Yasuyuki Motoyama & Susan Clark Muntean & Karren Knowlton & Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, 2021. "Causes of the gender divide within entrepreneurship ecosystems," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 36(3), pages 187-204, May.
    3. Paige Clayton & Maryann Feldman & Benjamin Montmartin, 2024. "Entrepreneurial finance and regional ecosystem emergence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1493-1521, April.
    4. Michael Fritsch & Maria Greve & Michael Wyrwich, 2022. "The Deep Historical Roots of Industrial Culture and Regional Entrepreneurship - A case study of two regions," Jena Economics Research Papers 2022-012, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    5. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2023. "Entrepreneurship in the Long-Run: Empirical Evidence and Historical Mechanisms," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 19(1), pages 1-125, January.
    6. Daniel Oto-Peralías, 2018. "What do street names tell us? The ‘city-text’ as socio-cultural data," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 187-211.
    7. Todd Schifeling & Daphne Demetry, 2021. "The New Food Truck in Town: Geographic Communities and Authenticity-Based Entrepreneurship," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 133-155, January.
    8. Anthony M Levenda & Eliot Tretter, 2020. "The environmentalization of urban entrepreneurialism: From technopolis to start-up city," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(3), pages 490-509, May.
    9. Tijs Creutzberg & Darius Ornston & David A Wolfe, 2024. "Sector connectors, specialists and scrappers: How cities use civic capital to compete in high-technology markets," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(3), pages 549-566, February.
    10. Robert Huggins & Michael Stuetzer & Martin Obschonka & Piers Thompson, 2021. "Historical industrialisation, path dependence and contemporary culture: the lasting imprint of economic heritage on local communities [Technology and the labour market]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 21(6), pages 841-867.
    11. Christian Fisch & Michael Wyrwich & Thi Lanh Nguyen & Joern H. Block, 2020. "Historical institutional differences and entrepreneurship: the case of socialist legacy in Vietnam," Jena Economics Research Papers 2020-002, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; culture; Bourdieu; practice; relational economic geography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • L8 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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