Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Ratio Working Papers,
The Ratio Institute

No 266: Mobility and Entrepreneurship: Evaluating the scope of knowledge-based theories of entrepreneurship

Lars Fredriksen (), Karl Wennberg () and Chanchal Balachandran ()
Additional contact information
Lars Fredriksen: Aarhus university, Postal: Department of Business Administration, Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences, Haslegaardsvej 10, 8210 Aarhus, Denmark
Karl Wennberg: Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) & Department of Management and Engineering Linköping University, Sweden and Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden
Chanchal Balachandran: Linköping unievrsity, Postal: Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS), Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden,

Abstract: Knowledge-based theories of entrepreneurship infer transfer of knowledge from the effect of labor mobility on entrepreneurial entry. Yet, simple selection or situational mechanisms that do not imply knowledge transfer may influence entrepreneurial entry in similar ways. We argue that the extent to which such alternative mechanisms operate, labor mobility predicts entry but not subsequent performance for entrepreneurs. Analyses of matched employee-employer data from Sweden suggest that high rates of geographical and industry mobility increase individuals’ likelihood of entrepreneurial entry but have no effects on their entrepreneurial performance, indicating that the relationship between labor mobility and entrepreneurial entry not necessarily implies knowledge transfer.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Mobility; Knowledge

JEL-codes: J61; M13; O18

36 pages, December 23, 2015

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