Entrepreneurship and regional development

A genealogy approach to understanding the evolution of high-tech regions

In recent years, studies of regional agglomeration economies have benefited from the application of theories and concepts developed in the field of evolutionary economics. The research highlights the role of firms as incubators for new startup companies and links entrepreneurial agency to the emergence of regional clusters. In other words, the emergence of a cluster is rooted in the formation of a critical mass of startup companies. It is generally recognized that other existing firms are the incubators or “parents” of startup firms. It is also recognized that firms in industrial districts are heterogeneous and diverse, which in turn influences the extent and degree of regional entrepreneurship. The relationship between firm diversity and entrepreneurial development, however, has received little attention. Rather, studies in evolutionary regional economic development gloss over differences stemming from organizational ecology. In contrast, entrepreneurship theories provide a rich understanding of the ways in which so-called “parent firms” shape entrepreneurial endeavors. In this presentation, I link firm diversity to entrepreneurial variation and regional economic development and examine the evolution of two emerging high-technology regions in the Unites States (Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho). The regions are unique because they have not followed the Silicon Valley model. Instead, several prominent parent firms influenced entrepreneurship, but they did so in various ways. Using a genealogy and visualization methodology, I will present a theory of the firm as entrepreneurial incubator and catalyst for regional development.

Biography: Heike Mayer

Dr. Heike (pronounced Hi-ka) Mayer is Co-Director of the Metropolitan Institute and associate professor in the Urban Affairs and Planning program at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria Center in the United States. She studied the University of Konstanz (Germany) and received a masters degree and Ph.D. in Urban Studies from Portland State University. Her research interests focus on the factors shaping the economic competitiveness of cities and regions. In particular, she examines the internal strengths a city or a region has to develop its economy, leading to so-called endogenous development. Heike focuses on three themes, each addressing certain aspects of the endogenous potential: 1) knowledge regions, 2) entrepreneurship and 3) place-making and competitiveness in small towns (with Dr. Paul L. Knox). Heike’s research has been funded by a variety of institutions such as the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, The Brookings Institution, the Small Business Administration, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and Arlington County, Virginia. Her work has been published in the Journal of the American Planning Association, Journal of Urban Affairs, Economic Development Quarterly, Economic Development Journal, and by the Brookings Institution.

All Welcome