Piers Thompson

Network Capital, Social Capital and Knowledge Flow: How the Nature of Inter-organizational Networks Impacts on Innovation

This paper focuses on the role of inter-organizational networks as facilitators of knowledge flow and innovation. It introduces the concepts of network capital and network space to complement existing notions of social capital and geographic space as explanatory factors underpinning the impact of networks. Empirically, the paper analyses the inter-organizational networks of firms across three different regional settings. As well as finding significant differences across regions, the analysis also finds cross-regional commonalities in terms of the association between the innovation prowess of firms and the nature of their networks. In particular, it is found that the innovation performance of firms is significantly related to network capital investment in dynamically configured inter-organizational knowledge alliances. It is concluded that such findings may provide clues in terms of policy making in areas such as cluster and innovation system development, especially in supporting and orchestrating networks which have a clear strategic and calculative rationale.

Differences in perceptions of access to finance between potential male and female entrepreneurs: Evidence from the UK

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine whether being female increases the probability that an individual feels difficulty in obtaining finance is a barrier to starting a business. The study aims to extend this to examine if a pure gender effect exists or whether it is the interaction of gender with demographic, economic and perceptual characteristics that plays the most important role in the perception of financial constraint.Design/methodology/approach – The data within this study are drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey between 2005 and 2007. The first stage of the study splits male and female respondents into separate sub‐samples and runs individual regressions on each portion of the sample. The second stage of the study combines the male and female portions of the sample to directly examine the differences in perceived financial constraint between genders.Findings – The findings suggest that a greater proportion of women are solely constrained by fina...

Education and entrepreneurial activity: a comparison of White and South Asian men

Although a large body of literature exists on ethnic entrepreneurship and the relationship between education and entrepreneurial activity, comparatively little work has been undertaken to study the impact that university-level education has upon entrepreneurship within different ethnic minority groups. This article examines the entrepreneurial activity rates for graduates and non-graduates of three differing ethnic groups in the UK and shows that university education has differing influences across ethnic groups. While Pakistani graduate respondents were more likely to be involved in entrepreneurial activities as compared to non-graduates, education appeared to have less impact on increasing the interest in entrepreneurship of Indian adults. This is likely to be a reflection of the differing forces that have traditionally driven individuals from these communities into entrepreneurship, as indicated by a large Pakistani move from necessity-driven entrepreneurship to opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. Therefore, the relationship between entrepreneurship and education varies by ethnic minority group, and policy initiatives to increase entrepreneurship within these groups needs to be adjusted accordingly to be effective.

Nascent entrepreneurial activity within female ethnic minority groups

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the entrepreneurial activity, attitudes and social connections of four groups of ethnic minority females in the UK, with the aim of examining the extent of gender and ethnic background effects on nascent start‐up activities and the attitudes of women belonging to these ethnic minority groups.Design/methodology/approach – A two‐stage approach is adopted to examine the situations of four main female ethnic minority groups using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey for the UK. The first stage adopts a binary logistic approach to determine the importance of social networks, opportunity perception and risk aversion to the probability of being involved in nascent entrepreneurial activities. The second stage of analysis examines the differences in these perceptual variables to determine the extent to which different female ethnic minority groups are embedded in different social environments when attempting to start a busines...

Culture and Place-Based Development: A Socio-Economic Analysis

Huggins R. and Thompson P. Culture and place-based development: a socio-economic analysis, Regional Studies. Cultural factors are often absent from analyses of economic change and development, divorcing the nature of social places from the economic spaces within which they are situated. In response to this, the paper seeks both to conceptualize and to operationalize a framework of place-based culture. It develops a framework capturing the economic culture and community culture of places, and examines the relationship between the two, as a means of developing a broader understanding of the notion of culture than is usually considered by the extant literature. Empirically, the paper utilizes Wales as a reference region, with its culture compared with other regions of the UK, along with an analysis of cultural differences found across its localities. Overall, considerable variability is found in the cultural characteristics across both regions and localities, with the type of community culture embedded in places often found to be associated with the prevailing economic culture in these places, suggesting a strong symbiotic association.

Culture, entrepreneurship and uneven development: a spatial analysis

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 the 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.

The global competitiveness of regions

The aim of this book is to consider theoretically the notion of the global competitiveness of regions, as well as giving attention as to how such competitiveness may be empirically measured. With this in mind, the book has three specific objectives: first, to place the concept of regional competitiveness within the context of regional economic development theory; second, to present a rationale and method for quantifying the global competitiveness of regions; and, third, to undertake the most geographically widespread analysis of regional competitiveness differences across the globe. With regard to the third goal, the analysis incorporates more than 500 regions across Europe, North and South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The importance of the concept of competitiveness has increased rapidly in recent years, with the issues surrounding it becoming, at the same time, more empirically refined and theoretically complex. The focus on regions reflects the growing consensus that they are the primary spatial units that compete to attract investment, and it is at the regional level that knowledge is circulated and transferred, resulting in agglomerations, or clusters, of industrial and service sector enterprises. This growing acknowledgement of the region’s role as a key spatial unit of organisation has led to attention turning to competitiveness at a more regional level. The book explores the results of the World Competitiveness Index of Regions (WCIR), covering the rankings and results of the 2014 edition. The WCIR provides a tool for analysing the development of a range of regional economies across the globe. It enables an illustration of the changing patterns of regional competitiveness on the international stage to be generated. In fundamental terms, the WCIR aims to produce an integrated and overall benchmark of the knowledge capacity, capability, and sustainability of each region, and the extent to which this knowledge is translated into economic value and transferred into the wealth of the citizens of each region.

The When and Why: Student Entrepreneurial Aspirations

Although connections between university enterprise courses and entrepreneurial activity have been examined, less work has investigated the intended timing of future entrepreneurial activities. Using data from a survey of .. business students, it is found that those intending to enter entrepreneurship right away place less emphasis on avoiding stress and responsibility, seeing themselves as natural leaders. They were also more confident of succeeding, but not because of superior knowledge. A greater emphasis on entrepreneurial activities in all institutional environments, including the corporate, may help balance the need to harness enthusiasm while it lasts with the need to acquire relevant experience.

The Spatial Dispersion of Informal Investment at a Regional Level: Evidence from the UK

Although there have been various studies on the geographical specialization of venture capital in the UK, there remains a gap in the research on regional differences in the behaviour of those informal investors who make a significant contribution to the funding of entrepreneurial ventures. Utilizing a unique data set from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project, this study will estimate the level of informal investment activity across the different regions of the UK. The relationship between informal investment and early stage formal venture capital availability is also examined to determine which areas display the greatest funding gaps in the provision of equity finance. It shows that while formal and informal investments are heavily concentrated in highly prosperous areas such as London and the South East of England, informal investments make a larger relative contribution to early stage and expansion equity capital within poorer regions.

Social capital and innovation: A comparative analysis of regional policies

This paper analyses how different forms of social capital are associated with different types of innovation across regional policy interventions. Taking the case of a continuum of three policy interventions incorporating both ‘hard’/traditional and ‘soft’/non-traditional innovation measures, the analysis finds that differing regional innovation programmes are connected with different forms of social capital generation. Significant associations are found between the types of innovation generated and differing forms of social capital. In particular, the elements of social capital associated with the benefits of social networks are positively related to softer forms of innovation. However, there is also evidence that the positive influence of social networks varies in strength across policy interventions, suggesting a strong contextual and environmental influence on this relationship. It is concluded that social capital should not be considered a panacea for increasing levels of innovative activity within regional policy programmes.