IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v64y2025i3d10.1007_s11187-024-00936-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional embeddedness is the key: Quantity and quality of regional business opportunity perception

Author

Listed:
  • Jessica Birkholz

    (University of Bremen)

Abstract

The perception of regional opportunities is the crucial starting point of the entrepreneurial process. To explain regional opportunity perception in general and innovative regional opportunity perception specifically is of key interest for steering regional entrepreneurial activities. It is known that entrepreneurship is a regional phenomenon; thus, the interrelation between individual inhabitants of a region and their regional context is of crucial relevance. A primary data collection in Germany assessed the regional embeddedness of inhabitants on four levels—actor, network, environment, and culture. The relation between these levels and the likelihood of opportunity perception is analysed by applying binary logistic regression analyses. The results suggest that regional embeddedness matters, although innovative regional opportunity perception is less dependent on regional embeddedness than regional opportunity perception in general. Derived from the results, entrepreneurship policies aiming at regional economic development, potentially profit most when policies focus on innovative entrepreneurial endeavours.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica Birkholz, 2025. "Regional embeddedness is the key: Quantity and quality of regional business opportunity perception," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 1083-1109, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:64:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00936-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-024-00936-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-024-00936-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-024-00936-w?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. Maria Claudia Angel Ferrero & Véronique Bessière, 2016. "From Lab to Venture: Cognitive Factors Influencing Researchers' Decision to Start a Venture," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(02), pages 101-131, June.
    2. José González-Pernía & Iñaki Peña-Legazkue & Ferran Vendrell-Herrero, 2012. "Innovation, entrepreneurial activity and competitiveness at a sub-national level," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 561-574, October.
    3. Aldrich, Howard E. & Cliff, Jennifer E., 2003. "The pervasive effects of family on entrepreneurship: toward a family embeddedness perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 573-596, September.
    4. Rangamohan V. Eunni & Tatiana S. Manolova, 2012. "Are The Bric Economies Entrepreneur-Friendly? An Institutional Perspective," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(02), pages 171-202.
    5. Harry P Bowen & Dirk De Clercq, 2008. "Institutional context and the allocation of entrepreneurial effort," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(4), pages 768-768, June.
    6. Obschonka, Martin & Stuetzer, Michael & Gosling, Samuel D. & Rentfrow, Peter J. & Lamb, Michael E. & Potter, Jeff & Audretsch, David B., 2015. "Entrepreneurial Regions: Do Macro-psychological Cultural Characteristics of Regions help solve the “Knowledge Paradox” of Economics?," MPRA Paper 65323, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Michael Lainé, 2016. "Can Culture Account for Investment Expectations?," Post-Print hal-04265074, HAL.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Rhiannon Pugh & Danny Soetanto & Sarah L. Jack & Eleanor Hamilton, 2021. "Developing local entrepreneurial ecosystems through integrated learning initiatives: the Lancaster case," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 833-847, February.
    11. Markus Grillitsch, 2019. "Following or breaking regional development paths: on the role and capability of the innovative entrepreneur," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 681-691, May.
    12. Sander Wennekers & Roy Thurik & André Stel & Niels Noorderhaven, 2010. "Uncertainty Avoidance and the Rate of Business Ownership Across 21 OECD Countries, 1976–2004," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 271-299, Springer.
    13. 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.
    14. KruegerJR, Norris F. & Reilly, Michael D. & Carsrud, Alan L., 2000. "Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(5-6), pages 411-432.
    15. 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.
    16. Dylan Jones-Evans & Piers Thompson & Caleb Kwong, 2011. "Entrepreneurship amongst Minority Language Speakers: The Case of Wales," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 219-238.
    17. Dave Valliere, 2013. "Entrepreneurial Alertness And Paying Attention," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(01), pages 1-17.
    18. David J. Hansen & Rodney Shrader & Javier Monllor, 2011. "Defragmenting Definitions of Entrepreneurial Opportunity," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(2), pages 283-304, April.
    19. Ozgen, Eren & Baron, Robert A., 2007. "Social sources of information in opportunity recognition: Effects of mentors, industry networks, and professional forums," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 174-192, March.
    20. Michael Fritsch & Martin Obschonka & Michael Wyrwich, 2019. "Historical roots of entrepreneurship-facilitating culture and innovation activity: an analysis for German regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 1296-1307, September.
    21. Zoltan J. Acs & Erik Stam & David B. Audretsch & Allan O’Connor, 2017. "The lineages of the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 1-10, June.
    22. Ana Isabel Silva Almeida & Aurora A. C. Teixeira, 2017. "On The Work Values Of Entrepreneurs And Non-Entrepreneurs: A European Longitudinal Study," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(02), pages 1-29, June.
    23. repec:use:tkiwps:332 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Israel M. Kirzner, 1997. "Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 60-85, March.
    25. Ben Spigel, 2017. "The Relational Organization of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(1), pages 49-72, January.
    26. 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.
    27. Nathan Nunn, 2012. "Culture and the Historical Process," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(S1), pages 108-126.
    28. Hernan E. Riquelme, 2013. "In Search Of Entrepreneurial Opportunities — An Integrated Model," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(03), pages 249-274.
    29. László Szerb & Esteban Lafuente & Krisztina Horváth & Balázs Páger, 2019. "The relevance of quantity and quality entrepreneurship for regional performance: the moderating role of the entrepreneurial ecosystem," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 1308-1320, September.
    30. Haifeng Qian & Zoltán J. Ács & Roger R. Stough, 2015. "Regional systems of entrepreneurship: the nexus of human capital, knowledge and new firm formation," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 14, pages 257-285, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    31. Fei Zhu & Shea Xuejiao Fan & Li Zhao, 2019. "Having Entrepreneurial Friends and Following Them? The Role of Friends’ Displayed Emotions in Students’ Career Choice Intentions," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 27(04), pages 445-470, December.
    32. Thilde Langevang & Katherine V. Gough & Paul W. K. Yankson & George Owusu & Robert Osei, 2015. "Bounded Entrepreneurial Vitality: The Mixed Embeddedness of Female Entrepreneurship," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(4), pages 449-473, October.
    33. Esteban Lafuente & Yancy Vaillant & Josep Rialp, 2007. "Regional Differences in the Influence of Role Models: Comparing the Entrepreneurial Process of Rural Catalonia," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(6), pages 779-796.
    34. Cooke, Philip & Gomez Uranga, Mikel & Etxebarria, Goio, 1997. "Regional innovation systems: Institutional and organisational dimensions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4-5), pages 475-491, December.
    35. Shane, Scott, 1993. "Cultural influences on national rates of innovation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 59-73, January.
    36. Martin Obschonka & Eva Schmitt-Rodermund & Rainer K. Silbereisen & Samuel D. Gosling & Jeff Potter, 2013. "The Regional Distribution and Correlates of an Entrepreneurship-Prone Personality Profile in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom: A Socioecological Perspective," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 550, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    37. 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.
    38. Richard Florida & Patrick Adler & Charlotta Mellander, 2017. "The city as innovation machine," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 86-96, January.
    39. Uwe Cantner & Maximilian Goethner & Rainer K. Silbereisen, 2017. "Schumpeter’s entrepreneur – A rare case," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 187-214, January.
    40. Mariarosaria Agostino & Annamaria Nifo & Francesco Trivieri & Gaetano Vecchione, 2020. "Rule of law and regulatory quality as drivers of entrepreneurship," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(6), pages 814-826, June.
    41. Michael Lainé, 2016. "Can Culture Account for Investment Expectations?," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 72-94, January.
    42. 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.
    43. Michael Fritsch & Michael Wyrwich, 2018. "Regional knowledge, entrepreneurial culture, and innovative start-ups over time and space―an empirical investigation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 337-353, August.
    44. Maryann Feldman, 2014. "The character of innovative places: entrepreneurial strategy, economic development, and prosperity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 9-20, June.
    45. Catherine Armington & Zoltan J. Acs, 2008. "The Determinants of Regional Variation in New Firm Formation," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 18, pages 224-243, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    46. Ricardo Zozimo & Sarah Jack & Eleanor Hamilton, 2017. "Entrepreneurial learning from observing role models," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(9-10), pages 889-911, October.
    47. Pia Arenius & Maria Minniti, 2005. "Perceptual Variables and Nascent Entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 233-247, February.
    48. Martin Obschonka & Michael Stuetzer & Samuel D Gosling & Peter J Rentfrow & Michael E Lamb & Jeff Potter & David B Audretsch, 2015. "Entrepreneurial Regions: Do Macro-Psychological Cultural Characteristics of Regions Help Solve the “Knowledge Paradox” of Economics?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
    49. Michaël Lainé, 2016. "Can Culture Account for Investment Expectations?," Post-Print hal-01335596, HAL.
    50. Minniti, Maria, 2005. "Entrepreneurship and network externalities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 1-27, May.
    51. Robert Huggins & Piers Thompson, 2019. "The behavioural foundations of urban and regional development: culture, psychology and agency," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 121-146.
    52. Autio, Erkko & Kenney, Martin & Mustar, Philippe & Siegel, Don & Wright, Mike, 2014. "Entrepreneurial innovation: The importance of context," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1097-1108.
    53. Aparicio, Sebastian & Urbano, David & Audretsch, David, 2016. "Institutional factors, opportunity entrepreneurship and economic growth: Panel data evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 45-61.
    54. Gallardo, Roberto & Scammahorn, Roseanne, 2011. "Determinants of Innovative Versus Non-Innovative Entrepreneurs in Three Southern States," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 41(2,3), pages 103-117, Fall, Win.
    55. David B. Audretsch & Maksim Belitski, 2017. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems in cities: establishing the framework conditions," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(5), pages 1030-1051, October.
    56. Greg Clydesdale, 2012. "Thresholds, Niches And Inertia: Entrepreneurial Opportunities In The Steamship Industry," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(04), pages 379-404.
    57. Harry Garretsen & Janka I Stoker & Dimitrios Soudis & Ron Martin & Jason Rentfrow, 2019. "The relevance of personality traits for urban economic growth: making space for psychological factors," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 541-565.
    58. Leslie Williams & Stephen McGuire, 2010. "Economic creativity and innovation implementation: the entrepreneurial drivers of growth? Evidence from 63 countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 391-412, May.
    59. Scott Shane, 2009. "Why encouraging more people to become entrepreneurs is bad public policy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 141-149, August.
    60. Olav R. Spilling, 2011. "Mobilising the entrepreneurial potential in local community development," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1-2), pages 23-35, January.
    61. David Urbano & Claudia Alvarez, 2014. "Institutional dimensions and entrepreneurial activity: an international study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 703-716, April.
    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    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. Bijedić, Teita & Butkowski, Olivier K. & Kay, Rosemarie & Suprinovič, Olga, 2020. "Bestimmungsfaktoren des regionalen Gründungsgeschehens - eine Machbarkeitsstudie," IfM-Materialien 280, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    6. David Urbano & Sebastian Aparicio & Victor Querol, 2016. "Social progress orientation and innovative entrepreneurship: an international analysis," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 1033-1066, December.
    7. Bernd Wurth & Erik Stam & Ben Spigel, 2022. "Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 729-778, May.
    8. Fritsch, Michael & Obschonka, Martin & Wahl, Fabian & Wyrwich, Michael, 2020. "The deep imprint of Roman sandals: Evidence of long-lasting effects of Roman rule on personality, economic performance, and well-being in Germany," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 05-2020, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    9. 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.
    10. Chaudhary, Sanjay & Kaur, Puneet & Ferraris, Alberto & Bresciani, Stefano & Dhir, Amandeep, 2024. "Connecting entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovation. Grasping at straws or hitting a home run?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    11. Erik Stam & Andrew Ven, 2021. "Entrepreneurial ecosystem elements," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 809-832, February.
    12. 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.
    13. Guo-Hua Cao & Jing Zhang, 2021. "Is a sustainable loop of economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem possible? a structural perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 7002-7040, May.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. David Urbano & David Audretsch & Sebastian Aparicio & Maria Noguera, 2020. "Does entrepreneurial activity matter for economic growth in developing countries? The role of the institutional environment," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 1065-1099, September.
    17. Alfredo Monte & Sara Moccia & Luca Pennacchio, 2022. "Regional entrepreneurship and innovation: historical roots and the impact on the growth of regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 451-473, January.
    18. Niels Bosma & Jeroen Content & Mark Sanders & Erik Stam, 2018. "Institutions, entrepreneurship, and economic growth in Europe," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 483-499, August.
    19. Dionisio, Eduardo Avancci & Inácio Júnior, Edmundo & Fischer, Bruno Brandão, 2021. "Country-level efficiency and the index of dynamic entrepreneurship: Contributions from an efficiency approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    20. Maksim Belitski & Ana-Maria Grigore & Anca Bratu, 2021. "Political entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship ecosystem perspective," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1973-2004, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Opportunity perception; Regional embeddedness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

    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:64:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00936-w. 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.