Search

In this article, we present the results of a case study of an entrepreneur who successfully founded and grew a venture underpinned by a portfolio of strongly homophilous, dyadic ties. Building on our case, we discuss how the entrepreneur strategically constructed these ties through a form of narrative identity work, explore the shared identity narratives that he used to do so, and highlight the heterogeneous nature of the resulting tie portfolio. We go on to explore the factors that motivated the entrepreneur to purposefully construct an entrepreneurial tie portfolio in this way. Building on our findings, we discuss the nature of narrative identity work and its role in creating homophilous ties, explore the connection between the resulting shared identity narratives and trust, and discuss the central role of values in strategic homophily.

This article considers the capabilities entrepreneurs require to create successful new international ventures. An in-depth case study of a successful serial entrepreneur and the two international new ventures he founded leads the authors to propose three entrepreneurial capabilities that are particularly important for successful international new venture creation – international opportunity identification, institutional bridging, and a capacity and preference for cross-cultural collaboration. The article also considers how budding international entrepreneurs can develop such capabilities in order to improve their chances of international new venture success, and concludes with a discussion of the implications of the authors' findings for entrepreneurship research and practice.

Quintessentially a US phenomenon, the information and knowledge economy (IKE) combines regional clusters of innovation with new and sophisticated forms of intellectual and finance capital. Regions such as Silicon Valley in California and Route 128/495 in Boston have excelled in technologically sophisticated, knowledge-based industries such as telecommunications, information technology and software development. They have won praise for their innovativeness, entrepreneurship and phenomenal growth, and have been central to the remarkable renaissance of the US economy over the last two decades. Although some point to similar regions in Europe, there is widespread concern that Europe cannot match the innovativeness of the US. For those European economies struggling to adjust to global competition, the IKE is seen as the panacea. It is regarded as a proven recipe for all places and sectors, with the potential to remedy structural weaknesses that have become ever more apparent in a world subject to globalisation, increased international competition, and technological change. This paper begins with the IKE as a source of wealth creation and competitive advantage. Building on previous work, we suggest an agent-centred perspective for understanding economic systems and behaviour that stresses the significance of cognition and learning for innovation while making the connection between organizations and their environments. As represented by Silicon Valley, the IKE is complex and multi-faceted, and cannot be transposed easily between cultures: place-specific features of social and spatial organization underpin the IKE, acting as resources for actors and promoting collective action. Finally, we draw together the implications of our approach for European regional development, both in the European Union and in the accession countries of central and eastern Europe.