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Industrial clusters as hothouses for nascent entrepreneurs? The case of Tianhe Software Park in Guangzhou, China

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  • Wenying Fu

    (South China Normal University)

Abstract

Taking the entrepreneurial activities as a local phenomenon, this paper aims to investigate the way that individual’s active embeddedness in cluster environment influences on the entrepreneurial intentions and locational preference of the nascent entrepreneurs. Drawing on the employee survey data in the Tianhe Software Park in Guangzhou, China, the empirical results have distinguished between impacts of cluster on nurturing and anchoring nascent entrepreneurs. Firstly, it has been shown that the awareness of role model entrepreneurs in the cluster enhances the entrepreneurial intentions of the employees. Secondly, the embeddedness in personal relations with suppliers and customers has proven to exert significant impact in the locational preferences toward the cluster of origin. Overall, the findings of the paper have shed light on how cluster environment poses its impact on nascent entrepreneurs through different mechanisms in the different decision-making processes. The implications of the findings for entrepreneurial policy are discussed in the concluding section.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenying Fu, 2016. "Industrial clusters as hothouses for nascent entrepreneurs? The case of Tianhe Software Park in Guangzhou, China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 253-270, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:57:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s00168-016-0776-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-016-0776-3
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    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics

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