Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in founding patterns

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cattani, G; Pennings, JM; Wezel, FC
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania; Tilburg University; Tilburg University
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.14.6.640.24874
• 发表日期: 2003
• 页码: 670-685
• 关键词: density-dependence; spatial and temporal heterogeneity; social contagion; industry evolution

摘要

A growing body of literature suggests that populations of organizations are not homogeneous, but instead comprise distinct subentities. Firms are highly dependent on their immediate institutional and competitive environments. The present paper further explores this issue by focusing on the spatial and temporal sources of industry heterogeneity. Our goal is threefold. First, we explore founding rates as a function of spatial density, arguing that density-dependent processes occur along a geographic gradient ranging from proximate, to neighboring, to more distant contexts. Second, we show how multiple, local evolutionary clocks shape such entrepreneurial activity. Third, we provide evidence on how diffusion processes are directly affected by social contagion, with new organizational forms spreading through movements of individuals. Results from data on the Dutch accounting industry corroborate these patterns of heterogeneity.