Abstract
An important stream of literature in the past 20 years focuses on the impact of new firm formation, i.e., entrepreneurship, for the economic development of regions and nations. Addressing the importance of small business and new firm formation for economic growth (Audretsch 1995), a considerable outpouring of literature presented empirical evidence criticizing (Robson 1996) or confirming the “job generation process” theory and resulted in putting entrepreneurship at the forefront of research in an so-called “entrepreneurial” economy (Audretsch and Thurik 2000). The phenomenon of entrepreneurship is examined at various levels of analysis, such as individuals, firms, regions, or nations (Wennekers and Thurik 1999). Davidson and Wiklund (2001) argue that entrepreneurship research is dominated by micro-level analysis, mainly using the firm or the individual level of analysis. Reviewing nine peer-reviewed entrepreneurship journals, Chandler and Lyon (2001) find that only a small part of research designs focuses on the industry or macro-environment level. Davidson and Wiklund (2001) observe that the micro-level dominance increased over time, while the share of the aggregate level declined. Ucbasaran et al. (2001) call for more research on the existence of different and contrasting environmental conditions for entrepreneurship (see also Thurik 2009). But while the challenge of explaining how and why new firms emerge in regions or socioeconomic contexts raised much debate and resulted in an increasing body of literature, a certain number of gaps prevail.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acs ZJ, Braunerhjelm P, Audretsch DB, Carlsson B (2009) The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ 32:15–30
Aldrich H, Zimmer C (1986) Entrepreneurship through social networks. In: Sexton DL, Smilor RW (eds) The art and science of entrepreneurship. Ballinger, Cambridge, pp 3–23
Almus M, Egeln J, Engel D (1999) Determinanten regionaler unterschiede in der gründungshäufigkeit wissensintensiver dienstleister. Discussion paper no. 99-22. Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Anselin L, Varga A, Acs Z (2000a) Geographical spillovers and university research: a spatial econometric perspective. Growth Change 31:501
Anselin L, Varga A, Acs Z (2000b) Geographic and sectoral characteristics of academic knowledge externalities. Pap Reg Sci 79:435
Armington C, Acs ZJ (2002) The determinants of regional variation in new firm formation. Reg Stud 36(1):33–45
Arrow K (1962) Economic welfare and the allocation of resources for innovation. In: Nelson R (ed) The rate and direction of inventive activity. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 609–626
Audretsch D (1995) Innovation and industry evolution. MIT, Cambridge
Audretsch DB, Feldman MP (1996) R&D spillovers and the geography of innovation and production. Am Econ Rev 86(3):630–640
Audretsch DB, Fritsch M (1994) The geography of firm birth in Germany. Reg Stud 28(4):359–365
Audretsch DB, Keilbach M (2004a) Does entrepreneurship capital matter? Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 28(5):419–429
Audretsch DB, Keilbach M (2004b) Entrepreneurship capital and economic performance. Reg Stud 38(8):949–959
Audretsch DB, Keilbach M (2005) Entrepreneurship capital and regional growth. Ann Reg Sci 39(3):457–469
Audretsch DB, Keilbach M (2007) The localization of entrepreneurship capital: evidence from Germany. Pap Reg Sci 86(3):351–365
Audretsch DB, Thurik AR (2000) Capitalism and democracy in the 21st century: from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy. J Evol Econ 10(1–2):17–34
Audretsch DB, Lehmann EE, Warning S (2004) University spillovers: does the kind of science matter? Ind Innov 11(3):193–205
Audretsch DB, Grilo I, Thurik AR (eds) (2007) The handbook of research on entrepreneurship policy. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Cheltenham
Bade F-J, Nerlinger E (2000) The spatial distribution of new technology-based firms: empirical results for West Germany. Pap Reg Sci 79:155–176
Bellandi M (2001) Local development and embedded large firms. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 13:189–210
Carlsson B, Acs ZJ, Audretsch DB, Braunerhjelm P (2009) Knowledge creation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth: a historical review. Ind Corporate Change 18(6):1193–1229
Chandler GN, Lyon DW (2001) Issues of research design and construct measurement in entrepreneurship research: The past decade. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 25(4):101–113
Cooper AC (1985) The role of incubator organizations in the founding of growth-oriented firms. J Bus Venturing 1:75–86
Davidson P, Wiklund J (2001) Levels of analysis in entrepreneurship research: Current research practice and suggestions for the future. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 25(4):81–99
De Propris L (2002) Types of innovation and inter-firm co-operation. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 14:337–353
Engel D, Fier A (2000) Does R&D-infrastructure attract high-tech start-ups? Discussion paper no. 00-30. Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Evans DS, Leighton LS (1990) Small business formation by unemployed and employed workers. Small Bus Econ 2(4):319–330
Feldman MP (2001) The entrepreneurial event revisited: firm formation in a regional context. Ind Corporate Change 10(4):861–891
Fischer MM, Varga A (2003) Spatial knowledge spillovers and university research. Ann Reg Sci 37:303–322
Florida R, Gates G (2001) Technology and tolerance: the importance of diversity to high-technology growth. Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Folta TB, Cooper AC, Baik Y (2006) Geographic cluster size and firm performance. J Bus Venturing 21:217–242
Foti A, Vivarelli M (1994) An econometric test of the self-employment model: the case of Italy. Small Bus Econ 6(2):81–93
Freytag A, Thurik AR (2007) Entrepreneurship and its determinants in a cross-country setting. J Evol Econ 17:117–131
Fritsch M, Slavtchev V (2007) Universities and innovation in space. Ind Innov 14(2):201–218
Garnsey E, Heffernan P (2005) High-technology clustering through spin-out and attraction: the Cambridge case. Reg Stud 39(8):1127–1144
Gertler MS (2003) Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or the undefinable tacitness of being (there). J Econ Geogr 3:75–99
Greenan N (1994) L’organisation du travail dans les PMI se distingue-t-elle de celle des grandes entreprises? Econ Stat 271/272:87–103
Guesnier B (1994) Regional variation in new firm formation in France. Reg Stud 28:347–358
Hansen EL (1995) Entrepreneurial networks and organizational growth. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 19(4):7–19
Huffmann D, Quigley JM (2002) The role of universities in attracting high tech entrepreneurship: a Silicon Valley tale. Ann Reg Sci 36:403–419
INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques) (2000) L’économie française. Edition 2000–2001, Livre de Poche - Références. Hachette, Paris
Jacobs J (1969) The economy of cities. Random House, New York
Johanisson B (1998) Personal networks in emerging knowledge-based firms: spatial and functional patterns. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 10:297–312
Johnson P (2004) Differences in regional firm formation rates: A decomposition analysis. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 28(4):431–445
Jones-Evans D, Thompson P (2009) The spatial dispersion of informal investment at a regional level: evidence from the UK. Eur Plan Stud 17(5):660–675
Kangasharju A (2000) Regional variations in firm formation: panel and cross-section data evidence from Finland. Pap Reg Sci 79:355–373
Keeble D, Walker S (1994) New firms, small firms and dead firms: spatial patterns and determinants in the United Kingdom. Reg Stud 28:411–427
Knoben J, Oerlemans LAG (2006) Proximity and inter-organizational collaboration: a literature review. Int J Manag Rev 8(2):71–89
Krugman P (1991) Increasing returns and economic geography. J Polit Econ 99(3):483–499
Krugman P (1998) Space: the final frontier. J Econ Perspect 12(2):161–174
Lasch F, Gundolf K, Kraus S (2007) The impact of unemployment on entrepreneurship: empirical evidence from France. Int J Bus Res VII(2):1–8
Lasch F, Robert F, Le Roy F (2013) Regional determinants of ICT entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ 40(3):671–686
Lee SY, Florida R, Acs Z (2004) Creativity and entrepreneurship: a regional analysis of new firm formation. Reg Stud 38(8):879–891
Lucas RE (1988) On the mechanics of economic development. J Monetary Econ 22(1):3–42
Marshall A (1890) Principles of economics. Prometheus Books, Amherst (Reprint)
Meusburger P (2000) The spatial concentration of knowledge. Some theoretical considerations. Erdkunde 54:352–364
Nijkamp P (2003) Entrepreneurship in a modern network economy. Reg Stud 37(4):395–405
Nijkamp P, Poot J (1998) Spatial perspectives on new theories of economic growth. Ann Reg Sci 32:7–37
O’Gorman C, Bourke S, Murray JA (2005) The nature of managerial work in small growth-orientated businesses. Small Bus Econ 25(1):1–16
Okamuro H, Kobayashi N (2006) The impact of regional factors on the start-up ratio in Japan. J Small Bus Manag 44(2):310–322
Porter M (1990) The comparative advantage of nations. The Free Press, New York
Porter ME (1998) Clusters and the new economics of competition. Harvard Bus Rev 76(6):77–90
Porter ME, Stern S (2001) Innovation: location matters. MIT Sloan Manag Rev 42:28–36
Reynolds P, Storey DJ, Westhead P (1994) Cross-national comparisons of the variation in new firm formation rates. Reg Stud 28:443–456
Robson GB (1996) Unravelling the facts about job generation. Small Bus Econ 8(5):409–417
Romer P (1986) Increasing returns and long-run growth. J Polit Econ 94(5):1002–1037
Romer P (1990) Endogenous technological change. J Polit Econ 98(5):71–102
Schmude J (1994) Geförderte unternehmensgründungen in Baden-Württemberg. Eine analyse der regionalen unterschiede des existenzgründungsgeschehens am beispiel des eigenkapitalhilfe-programms (1979–1989), Erdkundliches Wissen, no. 114. Steiner, Stuttgart
Simmie J (2002) Knowledge spillovers and reasons for the concentration of innovative SMEs. Urban Stud 39(5–6):885–902
Smallbone D, Kitching J, Athayade R (2010) Ethnic diversity, entrepreneurship and competitiveness in a global city. Int Small Bus J 28(2):174–190
Storper M, Venables AJ (2004) Buzz: face to face contact and the urban economy. J Econ Geogr 4:351–370
Thurik AR (2009) Entreprenomics: entrepreneurship, economic growth and policy. In: Acs ZJ, Audretsch DB, Strom R (eds) Entrepreneurship, growth and public policy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 219–249
Thurik AR, Carree MA, van Stel A, Audretsch DB (2008) Does self-employment reduce unemployment? J Bus Venturing 23(6):673–686
Tödling F, Wanzenböck H (2003) Regional differences in structural characteristics of start-ups. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 15:351–370
Torre A, Rallet A (2005) Proximity and localization. Reg Stud 39(1):47–59
Ucbasaran D, Westhead P, Wright M (2001) The focus of entrepreneurial research: Contextual and process issues. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 25(4):57–80
Varamäki E, Veslainen J (2003) Modelling different types of multi-lateral co-operation between SMEs. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 15:27–47
Wennekers S, Thurik AR (1999) Linking entrepreneurship and economic growth. Small Bus Econ 13(1):27–55
Zwan P van der, Verheul I, Thurik AR, Grilo I (2011) Entrepreneurial progress: climbing the entrepreneurial ladder in Europe and the US. Reg Stud. doi:10.1080/00343404.2011.598504
Acknowledgments
Earlier versions of this paper have been read at Regensburg, Covilhã, Valencia. Frank Lasch, Frank Robert, and Frédéric Le Roy are members of the Labex Entrepreneurship, Montpellier, France. This “laboratory of excellence” is part of a French government fund recognizing and promoting performing research initiatives in human and natural sciences. Frank Lasch and Frank Robert are also involved in the chair Entrepreneurship & Innovation of the Labex initiative. The work on the present version benefited from Roy Thurik’s research visits to Montpellier.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lasch, F., Robert, F., Roy, F.L., Thurik, R. (2013). The Start-Up Location Decision and Regional Determinants. In: Ferreira, J., Raposo, M., Rutten, R., Varga, A. (eds) Cooperation, Clusters, and Knowledge Transfer. Advances in Spatial Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33194-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33194-7_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33193-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33194-7
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)