The Formation of Local Culture and its Implications for Entrepreneurship

This paper examines how industrial legacy leads to the formation of a distinct local culture and how the culture’s survival influences subsequent entrepreneurial activities in new local industries. The discussion about culture as a key driver of entrepreneurship and regional economic growth is well established in the academic debate. However, we know little about how an entrepreneurial culture is formed. Through a qualitative case study of two polar Swedish cities, the study highlights four key factors which are instrumental in the formation of local culture: initial conditions, characteristics of key players, network activities and composition of newcomers. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and other local actors, we show how the local entrepreneurs responded to the underlying assumptions of the two different cultures. The study also highlights how two distinct culture did emerge in neighbouring cities within the same region and suggests that further insights might be gained through an additional new level of analysis when studying entrepreneurial culture.