IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/jrp/jrpwrp/2018-001.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Regional Knowledge, Entrepreneurial Culture and Innovative Start-ups over Time and Space - An Empirical Investigation

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Fritsch

    (FSU Jena)

  • Michael Wyrwich

    (FSU Jena)

Abstract

We investigate the role of entrepreneurship culture and the historical knowledge base of a region on current levels of new business formation in innovative industries. The analysis is for German regions and covers the time period 1907-2014. We find a pronounced positive relationship between high levels of historical self-employment in science-based industries and new business formation in innovative industries today. This long-term legacy effect of entrepreneurial tradition indicates the prevalence of a regional culture of entrepreneurship. Moreover, local presence and geographic proximity to a technical university founded before the year 1900 is positively related to the level of innovative start-ups more than a century later. The results show that a considerable part of the knowledge that constitutes an important source of entrepreneurial opportunities is deeply rooted in history. We draw conclusions for policy and for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2018. "Regional Knowledge, Entrepreneurial Culture and Innovative Start-ups over Time and Space - An Empirical Investigation," Jena Economics Research Papers 2018-001, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    • Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2018-001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://oweb.b67.uni-jena.de/Papers/jerp2018/wp_2018_001.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2017. "The effect of entrepreneurship on economic development—an empirical analysis using regional entrepreneurship culture," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 157-189.
    2. Bo Carlsson & Zoltán J. Ács & David B. Audretsch & Pontus Braunerhjelm, 2015. "Knowledge creation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth: a historical review," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 5, pages 71-107, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    4. Ron Boschma, 2017. "Relatedness as driver of regional diversification: a research agenda," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3), pages 351-364, March.
    5. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2010. "Entrepreneurial Culture, Regional Innovativeness and Economic Growth," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 129-154, Springer.
    6. Luc Anselin & Attila Varga & Zoltan Acs, 2008. "Local Geographic Spillovers Between University Research and High Technology Innovations," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 9, pages 95-121, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik, 2010. "Entrepreneurship and its Determinants in a Cross-Country Setting," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 157-170, Springer.
    8. Olav Sorenson, 2017. "Regional ecologies of entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(5), pages 959-974.
    9. Bersch, Johannes & Gottschalk, Sandra & Müller, Bettina & Niefert, Michaela, 2014. "The Mannheim Enterprise Panel (MUP) and firm statistics for Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-104, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Audretsch, David B. & Lehmann, Erik E. & Warning, Susanne, 2005. "University spillovers and new firm location," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1113-1122, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Etzioni, Amitai, 1987. "Entrepreneurship, adaptation and legitimation : A macro-behavioral perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 175-189, June.
    13. Ewald Kibler & Teemu Kautonen & Matthias Fink, 2014. "Regional Social Legitimacy of Entrepreneurship: Implications for Entrepreneurial Intention and Start-up Behaviour," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 995-1015, June.
    14. Zoltán J. Ács & Pontus Braunerhjelm & David B. Audretsch & Bo Carlsson, 2015. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 7, pages 129-144, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Martina Kauffeld-Monz & Michael Fritsch, 2013. "Who Are the Knowledge Brokers in Regional Systems of Innovation? A Multi-Actor Network Analysis," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 669-685, May.
    16. 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.
    17. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2014. "The Long Persistence of Regional Levels of Entrepreneurship: Germany, 1925-2005," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 955-973, June.
    18. Michael Fritsch & Ronney Aamoucke, 2017. "Fields of knowledge in higher education institutions, and innovative start-ups: An empirical investigation," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96, pages 1-27, March.
    19. Michael Fritsch & Ronney Aamoucke, 2013. "Regional public research, higher education, and innovative start-ups: an empirical investigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 865-885, December.
    20. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2017. "Persistence of Regional Entrepreneurship: Causes, Effects, and Directions for Future Research," Jena Economics Research Papers 2017-003, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    21. Holger Graf, 2011. "Gatekeepers in regional networks of innovators," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 35(1), pages 173-198.
    22. North, Douglass C, 1994. "Economic Performance through Time," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 359-368, June.
    23. Niklas Elert & Magnus Henrekson & Mikael Stenkula, 2017. "Institutional Reform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-319-55092-3, October.
    24. Daniel W. Elfenbein & Barton H. Hamilton & Todd R. Zenger, 2010. "The Small Firm Effect and the Entrepreneurial Spawning of Scientists and Engineers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(4), pages 659-681, April.
    25. Sternberg, Rolf, 2009. "Regional Dimensions of Entrepreneurship," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 5(4), pages 211-340, May.
    26. Martin Andersson & Sierdjan Koster, 2011. "Sources of persistence in regional start-up rates--evidence from Sweden," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 179-201, January.
    27. Elert, Niklas & Henrekson, Magnus & Stenkula, Mikael, 2017. "Institutional Reform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Agenda for Europe," Working Paper Series 1150, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 16 Feb 2017.
    28. Ron Boschma, 2017. "Relatedness as driver behind regional diversification: a research agenda," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1702, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2017.
    29. Selin Dilli & Gerarda Westerhuis, 2018. "How institutions and gender differences in education shape entrepreneurial activity: a cross-national perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 371-392, August.
    30. Torben Schubert & Henning Kroll, 2016. "Universities’ effects on regional GDP and unemployment: The case of Germany," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(3), pages 467-489, August.
    31. Pourya Darnihamedani & Joern Hendrich Block & Jolanda Hessels & Aram Simonyan, 2018. "Taxes, start-up costs, and innovative entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 355-369, August.
    32. Brambor, Thomas & Clark, William Roberts & Golder, Matt, 2006. "Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 63-82, January.
    33. Henrekson, Magnus & Rosenberg, Nathan, 2001. "Designing Efficient Institutions for Science-Based Entrepreneurship: Lessons from the US and Sweden," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 207-231, June.
    34. Audretsch, David B. & Link, Albert N. & Walshok, Mary Lindenstein (ed.), 2015. "The Oxford Handbook of Local Competitiveness," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199993307.
    35. Parker, Simon C, 2009. "Why do small firms produce the entrepreneurs?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 484-494, June.
    36. Georgios Fotopoulos & David J Storey, 2017. "Persistence and change in interregional differences in entrepreneurship: England and Wales, 1921–2011," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(3), pages 670-702, March.
    37. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich & Martin Obschonka, 2018. "Historical Roots of Entrepreneurial Culture and Innovation Activity - An Analysis for German Regions," Jena Economics Research Papers 2018-007, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    2. Michael Fritsch & Sandra Kublina, 2019. "Persistence and change of regional new business formation in the national league table," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 891-917, July.
    3. Alexander Chepurenko & Maria Kristalova & Michael Wyrwich, 2019. "Historical and Institutional Determinants of Universities’ Role in Fostering Entrepreneurship," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(4), pages 48-59.
    4. 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.
    5. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2016. "Does persistence in start-up activity reflect persistence in social capital?," Chapters, in: Hans Westlund & Johan P. Larsson (ed.), Handbook of Social Capital and Regional Development, chapter 4, pages 82-107, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Christian Fisch & Michael Wyrwich & Thi Lanh Nguyen & Joern H. Block, 2020. "Historical institutional differences and entrepreneurship: the case of socialist legacy in Vietnam," Jena Economics Research Papers 2020-002, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    7. Michael Fritsch & Sandra Kublina, 2015. "Entrepreneurship,Growth, Regional Growth Regimes," Jena Economics Research Papers 2015-002, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    8. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2015. "The Persistence of Regional Entrepreneurship - Are all types of Self-Employment Equally Important?," Jena Economics Research Papers 2015-008, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    9. Michael Fritsch & Ronney Aamoucke, 2013. "Regional public research, higher education, and innovative start-ups: an empirical investigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 865-885, December.
    10. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2017. "Persistence of Regional Entrepreneurship: Causes, Effects, and Directions for Future Research," Jena Economics Research Papers 2017-003, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    11. Fossen, Frank M. & Martin, Thorsten, 2018. "Entrepreneurial dynamics over space and time," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 204-214.
    12. Michael Stuetzer & David B. Audretsch & Martin Obschonka & Samuel D. Gosling & Peter J. Rentfrow & Jeff Potter, 2018. "Entrepreneurship culture, knowledge spillovers and the growth of regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 608-618, May.
    13. Jessica Birkholz, 2022. "Persistence of Regional Entrepreneurship Patterns: Quantity and Quality of Regional Business Opportunity Perception," Bremen Papers on Economics & Innovation 2204, University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics.
    14. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2014. "The Effect of Regional Entrepreneurship Culture on Economic Development - Evidence for Germany," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1411, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Apr 2014.
    15. Konon, Alexander & Fritsch, Michael & Kritikos, Alexander S., 2018. "Business cycles and start-ups across industries: An empirical analysis of German regions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 742-761.
    16. Claire Economidou & Luca Grilli & Magnus Henrekson & Mark Sanders, 2018. "Financial and Institutional Reforms for an Entrepreneurial Society," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 279-291, August.
    17. Alfredo Monte & Luca Pennacchio, 2020. "Historical roots of regional entrepreneurship: the role of knowledge and creativity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Michael Wyrwich & Michael Stuetzer & Rolf Sternberg, 2016. "Entrepreneurial role models, fear of failure, and institutional approval of entrepreneurship: a tale of two regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 467-492, March.
    19. Fritsch, Michael & Sorgner, Alina & Wyrwich, Michael, 2019. "Self-employment and well-being across institutional contexts," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(6).
    20. Tobias Schlegel & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2023. "The role of fields of study for the effects of higher education institutions on regional firm location," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1587-1656, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovative start-ups; universities; regional knowledge; regional cultures of entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
    • L80 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - General
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:jrp:jrpwrp:2018-001. 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: Markus Pasche (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.jenecon.de .

    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.