Proximate (Co-)Working: Knowledge Spillovers and Social Interactions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Roche, Maria P.; Oettl, Alexander; Catalini, Christian
• 署名单位: Harvard University; University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology; National Bureau of Economic Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.03555
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: start-ups; knowledge integration; technology adoption; coworking hub; microgeography

摘要

We examine the influence of physical proximity on between -start-up knowledge spillovers at one of the largest technology coworking hubs in the United States. Relying on the exogenous assignment of office space to the hub's 251 start-ups, we find that proximity positively influences knowledge spillovers as proxied by the likelihood of adopting an upstream web technology already used by a peer start-up. This effect is largest for startups within close proximity of each other and quickly decays; start-ups more than 20 meters apart on the same floor are indistinguishable from start-ups on different floors. The main driver of the effect appears to be social interactions. Although start-ups in close proximity are most likely to participate in social coworking space events together, knowledge spillovers are greatest between start-ups that socialize but are dissimilar. Ultimately, start-ups that are embedded in environments that have neither too much nor too little diversity perform better but only if they socialize.