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Regional ecologies of entrepreneurship

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  • Olav Sorenson

Abstract

Why do some regions produce more entrepreneurs than others? An ecological lens provides insight into this question: The demography of organizations in a region—particularly the proportion of small and young employers—shapes many aspects of the environment for would-be entrepreneurs: (i) beliefs about the desirability of founding a firm, (ii) opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship and to build the abilities needed to succeed and (iii) the ease of acquiring critical resources. Births of new industries and the demise of mature ones can therefore catalyze rapid changes in the rates of entrepreneurship that become self-reinforcing.

Suggested Citation

  • Olav Sorenson, 2017. "Regional ecologies of entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(5), pages 959-974.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:17:y:2017:i:5:p:959-974.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic geography; entrepreneurship; organizational ecology; culture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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