Rural entrepreneurship: the tale of a rare event

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2018

Authors

Pato, L (Author) Other; Aurora Teixeira (Author) FEP

Journal

Title: Journal of Place Management and Development

Vol. 11

Pages: 46-59

ISSN: 1753-8335

Publisher: Emerald

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 28 Citations

Scopus - 38 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00N-QGG

DOI: 10.1108/jpmd-08-2017-0085

Abstract (EN): Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine whether new rural ventures represent effective rural entrepreneurship or are just entrepreneurial ventures located in rural settings. Design\methodology\approach Data were collected from a direct questionnaire involving 408 new ventures headquartered in Portuguese business incubators and science parks, of which 142 are located in rural areas. To analyse data, the authors performed a preliminary and exploratory statistical analysis. Findings The authors demonstrate that only a small percentage of ventures operating in rural areas constitute examples of effective rural entrepreneurship, with the bulk of them being just enterprises located in rural settings. Rural new ventures tend to be small (in terms of employees and turnover), rely mainly on the internal market and lag behind other new ventures (located in both rural and urban municipalities) in terms of performance. Research limitations/implications The study only includes new knowledge-intensive ventures, that is, those headquartered in business incubators and science parks. Therefore, it cannot be generalised to other new ventures located in rural settings. Originality/value The extant literature on entrepreneurship has neglected the empirical implications of mixing, confounding and/or merging the concepts of rural entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship activities in rural areas. In this study, the authors discuss and analyse the empirical boundaries of such concepts and uncover the magnitude of pure rural entrepreneurship.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14