China’s increasing role in many African economies has given rise to discussions about the drivers... more China’s increasing role in many African economies has given rise to discussions about the drivers of these economic relations and the benefits that Africa can reap. This article, based on field work carried out in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), aims to contribute to this discussion by shedding light on a group that is often overlooked: the Chinese small entrepreneurs. Our investigation of five specific economic linkages shows how Chinese entrepreneurs mainly operate in secluded market segments, but also are impactful players in the local economy of Bole Rwanda (Addis Ababa). Their presence has both direct and indirect economic effects: even though focusing mainly on serving the Chinese community, these entrepreneurs play important roles in employment generation, and the transfer of knowledge of particular markets, while simultaneously offering new opportunities for Ethiopian entrepreneurs and transforming the existing vegetable market. The dragon helped the lion to breathe fire—the challen...
A lack of collective efficacy in neighborhoods is associated with social and physical disorder an... more A lack of collective efficacy in neighborhoods is associated with social and physical disorder and related anti-social actions. It is less clear, however, whether collective efficacy in neighborhoods also enhances prosocial, other-regarding behavior. We studied this association by employing the Lost Letter Technique in a large-scale field experiment. Our data stem from 1,240 letters dropped in a representative sample of 110 Dutch neighborhoods, combined with neighborhood data based on a survey of residents (SSND2, n = 996) and information provided by Statistics Netherlands. We distinguish between two conditions: (1) location of the lost letter, that is, behind a car’s windshield wiper or on the sidewalk; and (2) type of addressee, that is, a Dutch name or a Turkish/Moroccan name. When we decompose collective efficacy into social cohesion and shared expectations of social control, we find that shared control expectations clearly matter for the rate of posted letters. Social cohesion has no effect. Furthermore, a high percentage of non-Western residents, high residential mobility, and a relatively low local income level are negatively related to the rate of posted letters.
This article addresses transnational migrant entrepreneurship, which refers to migrants involved ... more This article addresses transnational migrant entrepreneurship, which refers to migrants involved in cross-border entrepreneurial activities. Previous models and concepts in migrant entrepreneurship studies have not fully succeeded in recognising the role played by differential groups and places in the pursuit of opportunities by transnational migrant entrepreneurs. This is due to a tendency to focus on the country of residence as well as on the inclination to view migrant entrepreneurs as members of a coherent ethnic or national group. To help fill this gap, we propose a new model combining the concept of multifocality, covering the simultaneous involvement of migrant entrepreneurs in both multiple places and multiple groups, with group modes of behaviour as an additional dimension influencing the opportunity structure. The case of Moroccan transnational entrepreneurs in Amsterdam shows that the role of multifocality in place, in combination with group modes of behaviour, is critica...
In deze studie zijn de overlevingskansen geanalyseerd van Amsterdamse bedrijven, gestart in en ge... more In deze studie zijn de overlevingskansen geanalyseerd van Amsterdamse bedrijven, gestart in en gevolgd over de periode 2005-2008. De analyses zijn uitgevoerd op basis van koppeling van een dataset met informatie over bedrijven in Amsterdam met door het CBS beschikbaar gestelde microdatabestanden. In het eerste, beschrijvende gedeelte, zijn deze nieuwe bedrijven in beeld gebracht: in welke sector zitten ze, en welke kenmerken hebben deze ondernemers en hun bedrijven? Voor de verklaring, in het tweede deel, is een multidisciplinaire insteek gekozen, waarbij ondernemers-, bedrijfs(pand)en wijkkenmerken in samenhang bekeken zijn. De combinatie van deze drie typen verklaringsfactoren stelt ons beter in staat om het effect van herkomst van de ondernemer op de overlevingskans van nieuw gestarte bedrijven te bepalen. De uitkomsten uit de multivariate analyses wijzen op een compositie-effect waarbij niet-westerse allochtone starters in de eerste 1,5 tot 2,5 jaar eerder stoppen omdat ze vaker...
The decision to become an entrepreneur is in essence an individual decision. But even when the en... more The decision to become an entrepreneur is in essence an individual decision. But even when the endowments of inhabitants are taken into account, some regions have persistently higher entrepreneurship rates than others. Proposed explanations for this regional variation are numerous: market potential, unemployment rates, knowledge spillovers and agglomeration effects. Regional differences in entrepreneurship have also been linked to the availability of role models (Fornahl 2003; Sternberg 2009; Malecki 2009). It can be argued that in regions with high rates of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial role models are abundant. These role models may serve as good examples of entrepreneurial activity and inspire individuals in the region to become entrepreneurs or attract other entrepreneurs to the region, thereby reinforcing the entrepreneurial process. We take a new approach by combining existing approaches, i.e., the geographical and individual-level studies of entrepreneurship in empiricall...
submitted to the 51st European Congress Regional Science Association Aug-Sept 2011, Special Sessi... more submitted to the 51st European Congress Regional Science Association Aug-Sept 2011, Special Session ZZM SS “Spin-offs and the diffusion of innovation and routines: a micro perspective” Abstract In economic geography literature the attention for spin‐off entrepreneurship has been steadily growing. Its main driver is that spin-off firms are said to have intrinsic advantages over other start-ups because of their embedded link to a parent company. Through this embedded link spin-off firms have a relatively ‘easy’ access to resources for production which has several interesting implications on both the firm and the regional level. At the firm level, spin-off firms seem to outperform other entrants on at least some aspects of success including employment growth and survival chances. At the regional level, they may play a key role in the development of clusters.In economic geography literature the attention for spin‐off entrepreneurship has been steadily growing. Its main driver is that sp...
There has been a remarkable rise in both the number of new firms and in the economic significance... more There has been a remarkable rise in both the number of new firms and in the economic significance of new firms in virtually all advanced economies during the past two decades. These new firms are said to be more locally embedded and thus less inclined to leave their home region. New firms are therefore seen as more secure providers of durable development of regional economies than branch plants. This paper examines the locational behaviour of young firms, that is the start-up location and subsequent relocation(s) of young firms. A life course perspective will be used to explain the locational behaviour of young firms. The focus will be on the role of personal (noneconomic) and business economic factors that induce or constrain the locational behaviour of young firms.
China’s increasing role in many African economies has given rise to discussions about the drivers... more China’s increasing role in many African economies has given rise to discussions about the drivers of these economic relations and the benefits that Africa can reap. This article, based on field work carried out in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), aims to contribute to this discussion by shedding light on a group that is often overlooked: the Chinese small entrepreneurs. Our investigation of five specific economic linkages shows how Chinese entrepreneurs mainly operate in secluded market segments, but also are impactful players in the local economy of Bole Rwanda (Addis Ababa). Their presence has both direct and indirect economic effects: even though focusing mainly on serving the Chinese community, these entrepreneurs play important roles in employment generation, and the transfer of knowledge of particular markets, while simultaneously offering new opportunities for Ethiopian entrepreneurs and transforming the existing vegetable market. The dragon helped the lion to breathe fire—the challen...
A lack of collective efficacy in neighborhoods is associated with social and physical disorder an... more A lack of collective efficacy in neighborhoods is associated with social and physical disorder and related anti-social actions. It is less clear, however, whether collective efficacy in neighborhoods also enhances prosocial, other-regarding behavior. We studied this association by employing the Lost Letter Technique in a large-scale field experiment. Our data stem from 1,240 letters dropped in a representative sample of 110 Dutch neighborhoods, combined with neighborhood data based on a survey of residents (SSND2, n = 996) and information provided by Statistics Netherlands. We distinguish between two conditions: (1) location of the lost letter, that is, behind a car’s windshield wiper or on the sidewalk; and (2) type of addressee, that is, a Dutch name or a Turkish/Moroccan name. When we decompose collective efficacy into social cohesion and shared expectations of social control, we find that shared control expectations clearly matter for the rate of posted letters. Social cohesion has no effect. Furthermore, a high percentage of non-Western residents, high residential mobility, and a relatively low local income level are negatively related to the rate of posted letters.
This article addresses transnational migrant entrepreneurship, which refers to migrants involved ... more This article addresses transnational migrant entrepreneurship, which refers to migrants involved in cross-border entrepreneurial activities. Previous models and concepts in migrant entrepreneurship studies have not fully succeeded in recognising the role played by differential groups and places in the pursuit of opportunities by transnational migrant entrepreneurs. This is due to a tendency to focus on the country of residence as well as on the inclination to view migrant entrepreneurs as members of a coherent ethnic or national group. To help fill this gap, we propose a new model combining the concept of multifocality, covering the simultaneous involvement of migrant entrepreneurs in both multiple places and multiple groups, with group modes of behaviour as an additional dimension influencing the opportunity structure. The case of Moroccan transnational entrepreneurs in Amsterdam shows that the role of multifocality in place, in combination with group modes of behaviour, is critica...
In deze studie zijn de overlevingskansen geanalyseerd van Amsterdamse bedrijven, gestart in en ge... more In deze studie zijn de overlevingskansen geanalyseerd van Amsterdamse bedrijven, gestart in en gevolgd over de periode 2005-2008. De analyses zijn uitgevoerd op basis van koppeling van een dataset met informatie over bedrijven in Amsterdam met door het CBS beschikbaar gestelde microdatabestanden. In het eerste, beschrijvende gedeelte, zijn deze nieuwe bedrijven in beeld gebracht: in welke sector zitten ze, en welke kenmerken hebben deze ondernemers en hun bedrijven? Voor de verklaring, in het tweede deel, is een multidisciplinaire insteek gekozen, waarbij ondernemers-, bedrijfs(pand)en wijkkenmerken in samenhang bekeken zijn. De combinatie van deze drie typen verklaringsfactoren stelt ons beter in staat om het effect van herkomst van de ondernemer op de overlevingskans van nieuw gestarte bedrijven te bepalen. De uitkomsten uit de multivariate analyses wijzen op een compositie-effect waarbij niet-westerse allochtone starters in de eerste 1,5 tot 2,5 jaar eerder stoppen omdat ze vaker...
The decision to become an entrepreneur is in essence an individual decision. But even when the en... more The decision to become an entrepreneur is in essence an individual decision. But even when the endowments of inhabitants are taken into account, some regions have persistently higher entrepreneurship rates than others. Proposed explanations for this regional variation are numerous: market potential, unemployment rates, knowledge spillovers and agglomeration effects. Regional differences in entrepreneurship have also been linked to the availability of role models (Fornahl 2003; Sternberg 2009; Malecki 2009). It can be argued that in regions with high rates of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial role models are abundant. These role models may serve as good examples of entrepreneurial activity and inspire individuals in the region to become entrepreneurs or attract other entrepreneurs to the region, thereby reinforcing the entrepreneurial process. We take a new approach by combining existing approaches, i.e., the geographical and individual-level studies of entrepreneurship in empiricall...
submitted to the 51st European Congress Regional Science Association Aug-Sept 2011, Special Sessi... more submitted to the 51st European Congress Regional Science Association Aug-Sept 2011, Special Session ZZM SS “Spin-offs and the diffusion of innovation and routines: a micro perspective” Abstract In economic geography literature the attention for spin‐off entrepreneurship has been steadily growing. Its main driver is that spin-off firms are said to have intrinsic advantages over other start-ups because of their embedded link to a parent company. Through this embedded link spin-off firms have a relatively ‘easy’ access to resources for production which has several interesting implications on both the firm and the regional level. At the firm level, spin-off firms seem to outperform other entrants on at least some aspects of success including employment growth and survival chances. At the regional level, they may play a key role in the development of clusters.In economic geography literature the attention for spin‐off entrepreneurship has been steadily growing. Its main driver is that sp...
There has been a remarkable rise in both the number of new firms and in the economic significance... more There has been a remarkable rise in both the number of new firms and in the economic significance of new firms in virtually all advanced economies during the past two decades. These new firms are said to be more locally embedded and thus less inclined to leave their home region. New firms are therefore seen as more secure providers of durable development of regional economies than branch plants. This paper examines the locational behaviour of young firms, that is the start-up location and subsequent relocation(s) of young firms. A life course perspective will be used to explain the locational behaviour of young firms. The focus will be on the role of personal (noneconomic) and business economic factors that induce or constrain the locational behaviour of young firms.
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