Innovation and entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized towns

Abstract

Innovation and entrepreneurship only play a minor role in research on small and medium-sized towns. As crucial economic development dynamics, innovation and entrepreneurship are mostly associated with large cities. Yet, the large city context is quite different from that of a small and medium-sized town. While the large city boasts a great number of firms, different types of economic actors such as support organizations, higher education and research organizations, research partners, etc., a medium-sized city or a small town may lack part or all of them. In addition, SMSTs differ in other characteristics necessary for innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish. In this chapter, I outline various aspects that contribute to innovation and entrepreneurship dynamics in smaller urban places and I refute the notion that SMSTs do not provide a fertile environment due to their small size. In particular, the chapter outlines the importance of dynamics such as diverse notions of urban diversity, capabilities of actors, relational aspects in terms of networks, different types of innovations such as social innovations and slow innovation, and small town entrepreneurial ecosystems. The chapter concludes with a call for research that goes beyond the deficiency-oriented perspective of innovation and entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized towns.