IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v51y2018i3d10.1007_s11187-018-0076-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social networks and the geography of entrepreneurship

Author

Listed:
  • Olav Sorenson

    (Yale School of Management)

Abstract

Social relationships play at least three important roles in entrepreneurship. They help to determine who sees entrepreneurship as an available and desirable career path. Entrepreneurs use their contacts to raise funds for and to recruit employees and partners to their ventures. Social relationships also influence where and when entrepreneurs want to spend their leisure time. Because of these factors, entrepreneurs tend to found their firms in the places that they live (and in the industries in which they have been employed). That, in turn, implies that industries will tend to become and remain concentrated in a small number of places, even when firms do not benefit from this clustering.

Suggested Citation

  • Olav Sorenson, 2018. "Social networks and the geography of entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 527-537, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:51:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-018-0076-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-018-0076-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-018-0076-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-018-0076-7?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Bosma, Niels & Hessels, Jolanda & Schutjens, Veronique & Praag, Mirjam Van & Verheul, Ingrid, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and role models," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 410-424.
    3. Gompers, Paul A. & Mukharlyamov, Vladimir & Xuan, Yuhai, 2016. "The cost of friendship," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(3), pages 626-644.
    4. Guido Buenstorf & Steven Klepper, 2009. "Heritage and Agglomeration: The Akron Tyre Cluster Revisited," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(537), pages 705-733, April.
    5. George J. Borjas, 2021. "The Economic Benefits from Immigration," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 13, pages 411-430, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. Claudio Michelacci & Olmo Silva, 2007. "Why So Many Local Entrepreneurs?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-633, November.
    7. David Marmaros & Bruce Sacerdote, 2006. "How Do Friendships Form?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 79-119.
    8. Stuart S. Rosenthal & William C. Strange, 2003. "Geography, Industrial Organization, and Agglomeration," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(2), pages 377-393, May.
    9. Michael Greenstone & Richard Hornbeck & Enrico Moretti, 2010. "Identifying Agglomeration Spillovers: Evidence from Winners and Losers of Large Plant Openings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(3), pages 536-598, June.
    10. William Bygrave & Michael Hay & Emily Ng & Paul Reynolds, 2003. "Executive forum: A study of informal investing in 29 nations composing the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 101-116, April.
    11. Ajay Agrawal & Christian Catalini & Avi Goldfarb, 2015. "Crowdfunding: Geography, Social Networks, and the Timing of Investment Decisions," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 253-274, June.
    12. Shai Bernstein & Xavier Giroud & Richard R. Townsend, 2016. "The Impact of Venture Capital Monitoring," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(4), pages 1591-1622, August.
    13. Glaeser, Edward L & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1992. "Growth in Cities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(6), pages 1126-1152, December.
      • Edward L. Glaeser & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1991. "Growth in Cities," NBER Working Papers 3787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
      • Glaeser, Edward Ludwig & Kallal, Hedi D. & Scheinkman, Jose A. & Shleifer, Andrei, 1992. "Growth in Cities," Scholarly Articles 3451309, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    14. Olav Sorenson, 2017. "Regional ecologies of entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(5), pages 959-974.
    15. Mollick, Ethan, 2014. "The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16.
    16. Figueiredo, Octavio & Guimaraes, Paulo & Woodward, Douglas, 2002. "Home-field advantage: location decisions of Portuguese entrepreneurs," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 341-361, September.
    17. Mercedes Delgado & Michael E. Porter & Scott Stern, 2010. "Clusters and entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 495-518, July.
    18. Christine M. Beckman & M. Diane Burton, 2008. "Founding the Future: Path Dependence in the Evolution of Top Management Teams from Founding to IPO," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 3-24, February.
    19. Etzioni, Amitai, 1987. "Entrepreneurship, adaptation and legitimation : A macro-behavioral perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 175-189, June.
    20. Michael S. Dahl & Olav Sorenson, 2012. "Home Sweet Home: Entrepreneurs' Location Choices and the Performance of Their Ventures," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(6), pages 1059-1071, June.
    21. Michael E. Porter, 2000. "Location, Competition, and Economic Development: Local Clusters in a Global Economy," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 14(1), pages 15-34, February.
    22. Aleksandra J. Kacperczyk, 2013. "Social Influence and Entrepreneurship: The Effect of University Peers on Entrepreneurial Entry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 664-683, June.
    23. repec:use:tkiwps:332 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Scott Shane & Toby Stuart, 2002. "Organizational Endowments and the Performance of University Start-ups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(1), pages 154-170, January.
    25. Walter Isard, 1949. "The General Theory of Location and Space-Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 63(4), pages 476-506.
    26. Larsson, Johan P. & Wennberg, Karl & Wiklund, Johan & Wright, Mike, 2017. "Location choices of graduate entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1490-1504.
    27. Audretsch, David B & Stephan, Paula E, 1996. "Company-Scientist Locational Links: The Case of Biotechnology," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 641-652, June.
    28. Eesley, Charles & Wang, Yanbo, 2017. "Social influence in career choice: Evidence from a randomized field experiment on entrepreneurial mentorship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 636-650.
    29. Oliver Falck & Stephan Heblich & Elke Lüdemann, 2009. "Identity and Entrepreneurship," CESifo Working Paper Series 2661, CESifo.
    30. Dahl, Michael S. & Sorenson, Olav, 2010. "The migration of technical workers," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 33-45, January.
    31. Bengtsson, Ola & Hsu, David H., 2015. "Ethnic matching in the U.S. venture capital market," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 338-354.
    32. Oliver Falck & Stephan Heblich & Elke Luedemann, 2012. "Identity and entrepreneurship: do school peers shape entrepreneurial intentions?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 39-59, July.
    33. Paul S. Davies & Michael J. Greenwood & Haizheng Li, 2001. "A Conditional Logit Approach to U.S. State‐to‐State Migration," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 337-360, May.
    34. Olav Sorenson, 2005. "Social networks and industrial geography," Springer Books, in: Uwe Cantner & Elias Dinopoulos & Robert F. Lanzillotti (ed.), Entrepreneurships, the New Economy and Public Policy, pages 55-69, Springer.
    35. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-640, June.
    36. Martin Andersson & Johan P Larsson, 2016. "Local entrepreneurship clusters in cities," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 39-66.
    37. Adam M. Kleinbaum & Toby E. Stuart & Michael L. Tushman, 2013. "Discretion Within Constraint: Homophily and Structure in a Formal Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1316-1336, October.
    38. Michael S. Dahl & Olav Sorenson, 2014. "The who, why, and how of spinoffs," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 23(3), pages 661-688.
    39. George Katona & James N. Morgan, 1952. "The Quantitative Study of Factors Determining Business Decisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 66(1), pages 67-90.
    40. Michael S. Dahl & Steven Klepper, 2015. "Whom do new firms hire?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 24(4), pages 819-836.
    41. Ramana Nanda & Jesper B. Sørensen, 2010. "Workplace Peers and Entrepreneurship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(7), pages 1116-1126, July.
    42. Stuart, Toby & Sorenson, Olav, 2003. "The geography of opportunity: spatial heterogeneity in founding rates and the performance of biotechnology firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 229-253, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Doehne, Malte & Rost, Katja, 2021. "Long waves in the geography of innovation: The rise and decline of regional clusters of creativity over time," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    2. Bernd Wurth & Erik Stam & Ben Spigel, 2022. "Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 729-778, May.
    3. Jens Prüfer & Patricia Prüfer, 2020. "Data science for entrepreneurship research: studying demand dynamics for entrepreneurial skills in the Netherlands," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 651-672, October.
    4. Francesca Di Pietro & Francesca Masciarelli, 2022. "The Effect of Local Religiosity on Financing Cross-Regional Entrepreneurial Projects Via Crowdfunding (Local Religiosity and Crowdfinancing)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 429-443, June.
    5. Power Jane & Power Bernadette & Ryan Geraldine, 2022. "Determinants of equity financing: a demand-side analysis of Irish indigenous technology-based firms," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 41(1), pages 52-68, July.
    6. Douglas S. Noonan & Shiri M. Breznitz & Sana Maqbool, 2021. "Looking for a change in scene: analyzing the mobility of crowdfunding entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 685-703, August.
    7. Iñiguez, David & Ortega, Raquel & Rivero, Alejandro & Velilla, Jorge, 2018. "Entrepreneurship and social networks in Spain," MPRA Paper 89652, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. João Ricardo Faria & Laudo Ogura & Mauricio Prado & Christopher J. Boudreaux, 2023. "Government investments and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1657-1670, December.
    9. Carayannis, Elias G. & Grigoroudis, Evangelos & Wurth, Bernd, 2022. "OR for entrepreneurial ecosystems: A problem-oriented review and agenda," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(3), pages 791-808.
    10. Sven Wolff & Christina Guenther & Petra Moog & David B. Audretsch, 2023. "The geography of the continuum of entrepreneurship activities—a first glance based on German data," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1243-1273, August.
    11. Sachiko Kazekami, 2022. "Regional differences in the epidemic shock on the local labor market and its spread," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 36(1), pages 115-144, March.
    12. Jacqueline Kirtley & Siobhan O'Mahony, 2023. "What is a pivot? Explaining when and how entrepreneurial firms decide to make strategic change and pivot," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 197-230, January.
    13. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong & Laure Pasquier-Doumer, 2018. "The role of Social Networks on Household Business Performance in Vietnam: A qualitative assessment," Working Papers DT/2018/13, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    14. Daniel Prokop & Piers Thompson, 2023. "Defining networks in entrepreneurial ecosystems: the openness of ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 517-538, August.
    15. 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.
    16. Lars Speckemeier & Dimitrios Tsivrikos, 2022. "Green Entrepreneurship: Should Legislators Invest in the Formation of Sustainable Hubs?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-26, June.
    17. Brixy, Udo & Brunow, Stephan & D'Ambrosio, Anna, 2020. "The unlikely encounter: Is ethnic diversity in start-ups associated with innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).

    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. Kim, Jungho & Kollmann, Trevor & Palangkaraya, Alfons & Webster, Elizabeth, 2022. "Does local technological specialisation, diversity and dynamic competition enhance firm creation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    2. Aaron Chatterji & Edward Glaeser & William Kerr, 2014. "Clusters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 129-166.
    3. Edward L. Glaeser & William R. Kerr, 2009. "Local Industrial Conditions and Entrepreneurship: How Much of the Spatial Distribution Can We Explain?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 623-663, September.
    4. Larsson, Johan P. & Wennberg, Karl & Wiklund, Johan & Wright, Mike, 2017. "Location choices of graduate entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1490-1504.
    5. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    6. John Sibley Butler & Rajiv Garg & Bryan Stephens, 2020. "Social Networks, Funding, and Regional Advantages in Technology Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Analysis," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 198-216, March.
    7. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Lleo, María & Cervello, Roberto, 2017. "The dynamics of cluster entrepreneurship: Knowledge legacy from parents or agglomeration effects? The case of the Castellon ceramic tile district," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 73-92.
    8. Haifeng Qian, 2018. "Knowledge-Based Regional Economic Development: A Synthetic Review of Knowledge Spillovers, Entrepreneurship, and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 32(2), pages 163-176, May.
    9. Pe'er, Aviad & Vertinsky, Ilan, 2008. "Firm exits as a determinant of new entry: Is there evidence of local creative destruction?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 280-306, May.
    10. 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.
    11. Thomas Doring & Jan Schnellenbach, 2006. "What do we know about geographical knowledge spillovers and regional growth?: A survey of the literature," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 375-395.
    12. Ismaëlh Cissé & Jean Dubé & Cédric Brunelle, 2020. "New business location: how local characteristics influence individual location decision?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 64(1), pages 185-214, February.
    13. Vera Rocha & Mirjam van Praag, 2020. "Mind the gap: The role of gender in entrepreneurial career choice and social influence by founders," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 841-866, May.
    14. Cristina Carias & Steven Klepper & Rui Baptista, 2023. "Entrepreneurship, the initial labor force, and the location of new firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 865-890, March.
    15. Henry Renski, 2015. "Externalities or Experience? Localization Economies and Start-up Business Survival," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 458-480, September.
    16. Agarwal, Rajshree & Shah, Sonali K., 2014. "Knowledge sources of entrepreneurship: Firm formation by academic, user and employee innovators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1109-1133.
    17. Vladasel, Theodor & Lindquist, Matthew J. & Sol, Joeri & van Praag, Mirjam, 2021. "On the origins of entrepreneurship: Evidence from sibling correlations," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    18. Edward L. Glaeser & Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2015. "Entrepreneurship and Urban Growth: An Empirical Assessment with Historical Mines," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 498-520, May.
    19. Baltzopoulos, Apostolos & Braunerhjelm, Pontus & Tikoudis, Ioannis, 2012. "Spin-off: Individual, Firm, Industry and Regional Determinants," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 265, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    20. repec:rri:wpaper:200605 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Benjamin Montmartin & Ludovic Dibiaggio & Lionel Nesta, 2018. "Regional Alignment and Productivity Growth," SciencePo Working papers Main halshs-01948337, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agglomeration; Clusters; Economic geography; Entrepreneurship; Social networks;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

    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:51:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-018-0076-7. 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.