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A new perspective on entrepreneurial regions: linking cultural identity with latent and manifest entrepreneurship

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Abstract

What are the entrepreneurial places in the USA? Although seminal theorizing on the determinants of entrepreneurship gives culture a unique and important role, systematic empirical evidence linking the distinct cultural identity of regions to their local entrepreneurial spirit and vitality is still scarce. This study offers a first, systematic overview on the nexus between regional cultural identity and latent and manifest entrepreneurship across the USA. To directly assess regional cultural identity, we apply the American Nations and Patchwork Community Types approaches and explore in which way these distinct spatially based cultural regions are reflected by significant differences in entrepreneurial activity and underlying biologically based propensities. We combine annual entrepreneurship rates at the county level with personality data collected in a large-scale, Internet-based study of 3,457,270 US residents. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship culture reflects the dynamic interplay between the region’s cultural identity and its latent and manifest entrepreneurship.

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Fig. 1

Source: Woodard (2011)

Fig. 2

Source: Chinni and Gimpel (2011), Note taken form http://www.patchworknation.org/regions-page

Fig. 3
Fig. 4

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Notes

  1. “The 11 Rival Regional Cultures of North American,” The Chronicle of Higher Education,” June 25, 2012.

  2. See foot note 1.

  3. See foot note 1.

  4. See foot note 1.

  5. See foot note 1.

  6. See foot note 1.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support by the Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung (Az. 20.14.0.051) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are grateful to Michael Stuetzer and Peter J. Rentfrow for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Developmental Strategies, Indiana University, 1315 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, USA

    David B. Audretsch

  2. Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Campus Building A1 3, 66123, Saarbrücken, Germany

    Martin Obschonka

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Samuel D. Gosling

  4. School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Samuel D. Gosling

  5. Atof Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jeff Potter

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  1. David B. Audretsch
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Correspondence to Martin Obschonka.

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Audretsch, D.B., Obschonka, M., Gosling, S.D. et al. A new perspective on entrepreneurial regions: linking cultural identity with latent and manifest entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ 48, 681–697 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9787-9

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