Mobility and Entrepreneurship: Finding Value in Geographic Diversity

Contemporary entrepreneurial research has experienced the shift from examining various characteristics of (nascent) entrepreneurs to investigating career pathways that lead to entrepreneurship. The proposed paper develops the analytical framework which complements this career perspective on entrepreneurship with the economic geography perspective on spatial mobility as a knowledge accumulation mechanism. The particular aim of the paper is to conceptualize the role of career trajectories of individuals in regulating their propensity for entrepreneurship as well as the performance and societal impact of firms that they initiate.
It is claimed that individuals draw on the experience and knowledge established in different firms and places over their entire career; and these condition the organization of activities that individuals initiate with their businesses. Broad spatial biographies expose individuals to learning opportunities across a variety of geographic settings, improves their ability to communicate effectively across various knowledge domains, and reduces limitations associated with bounded rationality. This provides individuals with learning opportunities that are not accessible through other forms of mobility – such as occupational progression or switching jobs across firms within the same location. In that respect, learning through geographical mobility may have a positive impact on individuals’ ability to recognize and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities – that may not be recognized locally – in different regional markets. It is, therefore, hypothesized that a broad history of spatial relocation positively affects individuals’ propensity for entrepreneurship as well as post-entry performance and societal impact of their firms.