Barriers and Opportunities for Entrepreneurship in Older Industrial Regions

Austrian, Ziona; Piazza, Merissa

doi:10.17848/9780880994774.ch9

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(30 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this way, competing regional narratives represent alternative interpretations of reality. For example, there are increasing attempts to stimulate entrepreneurial activity in regions dominated by so-called "Rust Belt" narratives (Austrian and Piazza, 2014). The "Rust Belt" is a label MRR 42,1 originally applied to the formerly manufacturing-centric region of the USA comprised of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and neighboring states (High, 2003).…”

Section: Competing Regional Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rust belt or revitalization: competing narratives in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Roundy

2019

MRR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Entrepreneurial ecosystems, the inter-connected set of organizing forces that produce and sustain regional entrepreneurial activity, are receiving heightened attention. This research finds that narratives about ecosystem participants discursively construct entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, the studies do not emphasize ecosystem and region-level narratives, focus on ecosystems in which narratives are uncontested and, thus, do not examine how ecosystem narratives compete with other regional narratives. The purpose of this paper is to develop a theory that explains how narratives and entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge and change in response to existing regional narratives. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal process model is proposed to explain how entrepreneurial ecosystem narratives emerge and compete with other regional narratives. To illustrate the phases of the model, archival data were collected from three entrepreneurial ecosystems where new narratives have had to overcome entrenched economic and cultural narratives. Findings It is theorized that entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge, in part, through discourse. For an entrepreneurial ecosystem to develop, a narrative must take hold that allows participants to make sense of the new entrepreneurial activities and the changes to the region. A four-phase process model is presented to explain how entrepreneurial ecosystem narratives compete with other regional narratives and, particularly, negative economic narratives. Originality/value The theory developed in this paper contributes to the research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and organizational narratives and generates practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs seeking to promote entrepreneurship as a tool for economic development.

show abstract

Section: Competing Regional Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rust belt or revitalization: competing narratives in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Roundy

2019

MRR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Adopting a resource-based approach, Ronning et al, (2010) put forward four critical elements in mobilizing the entrepreneurial process as depicted in Figure 3. This model is not widely used but has informed empirical studies of: social intentions of entrepreneurs (Sundin, 2011), barriers and opportunities for entrepreneurship in older industrial regions (Austrian & Piazza, 2014), resource mobilization in rural communities (Vestrum, 2014), and entrepreneurs and resources in the Nordic countries (Arethun, Nesse, & Oklevik, 2017;Ljunggren, et al, 2010). The four key elements of the model are entrepreneurial human capital, entrepreneurial social capital, specific business resources and an individual working alone, group working collaboratively, or individual within an organization who drives the entrepreneurial process of opportunity discovery, evaluation and exploitation resulting in a profitable new business venture.…”

Section: The Entrepreneurial Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

It is what you know : changes in the structure and role of entrepreneur networks in an industry over time

Kendall¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research investigating the relationship between social capital and entrepreneurship has generally focused on the entrepreneur's own capacity to work their way into existing networks. There still remains a gap in terms of understanding how networks are created in the first place. This study aims to gain insight into how industry pioneers create and utilize entrepreneurial-supportive social networks. Building on existing work on network theory and industry evolution I explore three questions. First, are there structural differences in the networks of industry pioneers compared to later entrants? Second what role do diverse social networks play for industry entrants and does this role change over time? Third, does the way in which industry pioneers construct and utilize social networks influence the establishment of legitimacy for a new product category? In this mixed-methods study, I find that in the early stages of the U.S. artisan cheese industry, entrepreneurs created and utilized networks mainly for the development of human capital. Diverse networks provided a greater volume of information than tight-knit networks, and were instrumental in the creation of legitimacy for a new product category. As knowledge has become codified later entrants are more likely to create networks that enable growing market share. Gender differences were identified in that women are more likely to influence others through maintaining a high number of quality connections in which information is transferred one-to-one, and men are more likely to monitor and control the flow of information by acting as a connector between groups. Further research is needed to explore the role of gender differences in mentorship relationships in terms of network structure and role as an industry evolves.

show abstract