Culture, entrepreneurship and uneven development: a spatial analysis

Abstract

Interest in the proposed connection between culture and entrepreneurship has grown significantly in recent years. However, less attention has been given to the nature of the overall impact of this proposed association on development outcomes, particularly at a local level. In response, this paper analyses the relationship between the nature of the culture, entrepreneurship and development experienced across localities, proposing that the link between culture and development is mediated by entrepreneurship. It focuses upon the concept of community culture, as well as embracing a notion of development incorporating both economic and social well-being outcomes. Drawing upon a multivariate spatial analysis of data from localities in Great Britain, the findings indicate that differences in rates of entrepreneurship are strongly influenced by the community culture present in these localities. Furthermore, a bidirectional relationship is found to exist between entrepreneurship and economic and social development outcomes. It is concluded that the embeddedness of local community culture presents a significant challenge for those places seeking to promote entrepreneurially-driven development.

Family embeddedness and entrepreneurship experience: a study of Indian migrant women entrepreneurs in Australia

“…A significant body of research on immigrant entrepreneurs has identified culture as one of the main forms of capital for entrepreneurs (Watts et al 2007;Sabah, Carsrud, and Kocak 2014). the cultural resources have been identified by past research as both enablers and obstacles for MWEs (Dhaliwal and Kangis 2006;pécoud 2010;Azmat 2013;Huggins and thompson 2014). For example, some authors have indicated that ethnic minority businesses capitalize on cultural characteristics such as their social capital, linguistic skills, cultural knowledge and ethnic contacts to gain a competitive advantage (Kupferberg 2003;Dhaliwal and Kangis 2006;verduijn and Essers 2013).…”

Entrepreneurship as a community phenomenon; reconnecting meanings and place

“…But entrepreneurship carries the power to change things. Higgins and Thompson (2014) show how entrepreneurship mediates the relationship between what they term community culture and local, social and economic development. Vestrum's (2014) work on community entrepreneurship shows how a community entrepreneur brought fresh ideas and energy to the local community and stimulated social change.…”

Psychology and the Geography of Innovation

“…Amin & Thrift, 1995;Kemeny, 2012;Huggins & Thompson, 2014a;2014b;. Theory in this area has considered many potential topics, but amongst the most important has been social capital.…”

“…Firm level studies have begun to investigate the relationship between personality and innovation (Fitjar & Rodríguez-Pose 2011), the related field of culture is an important area of research (Huggins & Thompson, 2014a;2014b;, and psychologists have considered how the geographical distribution of entrepreneurial personalities influences entrepreneurship (Obschonka et al, 2015). But the key question -how the geography of personality influences the geography of innovationhas gone unanswered.…”