Entrepreneurial City Research Articles

When the ‘inclusive turn’ fuels the entrepreneurial city: Critical perspectives from Singapore

The rise of the notion of ‘inclusion’ in urban planning, seen in phrases like inclusive city, calls for a critical analysis of its evolving meaning and its spatial, social and political implications. Paradoxically, the meaning of urban inclusion has narrowed such that it now primarily refers to accessibility for people with disabilities. At the intersection of urban studies and critical disability studies, our article investigates the conceptions, criteria and modes of production underlying the implementation of urban inclusion in Singapore's ‘Enabling Village’, a purportedly inclusive space opened in 2015. We use a mixed‐methods approach, analysing official narratives and conducting site visits to understand the site as both an appropriated and a branded space. We show that, in Singapore, the inclusion agenda interacts with the city‐state's distinctive approach to planning and governance, where social issues are ‘engineered’ and give rise to replicable operational models. Our hypothesis is that implementing the inclusive city through the production and promotion of ‘inclusive’ urban projects such as the Enabling Village fuels the expansion of Singapore as a state‐led ‘entrepreneurial city’ (Harvey, Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography 1989; 71(1):3–17). In particular, operationalising ‘urban inclusion’ in this way allows for the reinvention of Singapore as a global urban model.

From the Pearl River Delta to the Greater Bay Area: State spatial selectivity, contingent socio-spatial processes, and variegated geographies of China’s city-regionalism

This paper revisits China’s city-regionalism based on a multi-scalar reading of state entrepreneurialism, with a special focus on the transition from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to the Greater Bay Area (GBA). We first propose a multi-scalar theoretical framework of state entrepreneurialism to comprehend China’s city-regional development. At the national scale, the central state maintains planning centrality by establishing normative goals through national political mandates and orchestrating socio-spatial reconfiguration of city-regions using various planning techniques (e.g., zoning, annexation, connectivity, and place-making), which demonstrates state spatial selectivity. At the local scale, city-regional development, led by the local state, pivots on the mandates and resorts to market instruments. Place-specific contexts and development trajectories give rise to distinctive ‘regional models’ and contingent socio-spatial processes. From a historical-geographical perspective, these contingent socio-spatial processes represent both the outcome of and the precondition for successive waves of state spatial selectivity in city-regional development. Building upon the dynamic interplay between state spatial selectivity and contingent socio-spatial processes, we present a periodised analysis to delve into the ongoing transformation from the PRD to the GBA. Amidst evolving global-local conjunctures and shifting national political mandates, state spatial selectivity within the PRD-to-GBA transformation is categorised into three periods: (1) 1980s to early 1990s: exploiting zoning technologies to institutionalise exceptionality within delimited areas for undertaking market-oriented experiments; (2) mid-1990s to 2000s: empowering entrepreneurial cities to drive market-oriented development while managing their size, internal hierarchy, and external connections; and (3) 2010s onwards: an intensified planning centrality at the national scale and the reinvention of zoning technologies to emphasise relationality, reshaping the urban-regional and cross-border dynamics of the GBA within an ‘integration’ framework. In conclusion, this paper reflects on the variegated geographies of China’s city-regionalism – the socio-spatially distinctive, temporally evolving and ultimately polymorphic, multi-scalar construction of Chinese city-regions.

Between the democratization of housing and the neoliberal responsibilization of citizens: The proliferation of co-housing in Viennese city planning

In contemporary city planning, self-organized collaborative forms of housing are flourishing. However, in the literature, the increasing incorporation of citizens in housing and planning has been interpreted in very different ways. The research on urban planning has understood the proliferation of co-housing groups as indicating changing participatory demands of citizens on one hand, and as an effort to organize social change on an everyday level on the other. In contrast, critical social researchers have interpreted the rise of collaborative housing not as a democratization, but as a shift of urban governance towards the responsibilization of citizens. In this article, we use these two theoretical perspectives for making sense of the political values that are present in the contemporary proliferation of co-housing groups in Viennese urban planning. The empirical base of our endeavor is a series of qualitative interviews with different stakeholders (city planners, administrators, architects, developers, and neighbors) and members of co-housing groups in the city development area Wildgarten in the South of the city. We conclude that in the Wildgarten, the self-empowerment of citizens goes hand-in-hand with an increasing top-down steering by a neoliberal entrepreneurial city. Furthermore, we found that the co-housing groups tend to willingly accept the hierarchy between planning bodies and themselves, which contradicts the political marketing strategies of social transformation and democratization attached to Wildgarten. Simultaneously, possibly as a consequence from top-down citizen responsibilization, our findings show that co-housing groups often focus more on a democratized group interior than on transforming society at large.

Entrepreneurial emotional bias from mass shootings: Evidence from Kickstarter

This study examines the impact of emotional bias on entrepreneurial decisions in crowdfunding platforms, specifically considering the impact of mass shootings as exogenous emotional shocks. Using data from a leading crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, paired with US mass shooting incidents, we apply a difference-in-differences approach. Our analysis shows that entrepreneurs in cities proximate to a mass shooting tend to adjust their fundraising targets downward. This adjustment subsequently increases the likelihood of campaign success, a trend that is even more pronounced for projects tied to the geographic location of the mass shooting incident. Our findings not only attest to the profound influence of emotions in crowdfunding decisions, but also unveil the nuanced, varying effects based on geographic relevance. This research underscores the importance of understanding and addressing such biases to bolster crowdfunding platform efficiency and to support the consistent success of crowdfunded enterprises.

Geneva’s entrepreneurial ecosystem: From historical roots to a sustainable future

ABSTRACT Geneva, renowned for its intellectual acumen, cultural heritage, and diplomatic influence, has become a globally recognized hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. This article explores Geneva’s evolution, highlighting Switzerland’s sustained economic relevance. The city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem exemplifies adaptability and resilience, presenting a narrative shaped by tenacity, religious innovation, and a commitment to fostering an environment conducive to business growth. Central to this development was John Calvin, a leading French Protestant reformer. His interpretation of Christianity established theological and social patterns in Geneva that profoundly influenced Protestantism and significantly shaped the modern world. By analyzing critical historical events and the strategic actions of Geneva’s leadership, this article argues that the city’s rise as one of Europe’s most entrepreneurial cities is rooted in these influences. It demonstrates how Geneva leveraged its distinct heritage and policy frameworks to create an environment where creativity, enterprise, and growth could thrive.

Mapping the wax and wane of a ‘creative capital’: A personal reflection on 20 years of researching music making in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand

This paper offers an overview of nearly 20 years of researching music making in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand. This is a critical commentary that engages with the musical life of the city as it has waxed and waned over that period of time. In reflecting on this, the discussion will engage with the ways in which the ‘creative capital’ of New Zealand has put into various policies that have, over time, cemented its status as a neoliberal, entrepreneurial city, while also noting the ways in which music makers have found ways to work within and without these policy frameworks.

Entrepreneurial ecosystem patterns and its determinants and outputs: a necessary condition analysis to the Brazilian entrepreneurial cities

Purpose This study aims to identify necessary conditions for innovative entrepreneurship in cities and determine similarities in entrepreneurial configurations among them. Design/methodology/approach The authors assessed the necessary conditions for various levels of entrepreneurial output and categorized cities based on similar patterns by applying necessary condition analysis (NCA) and cluster analysis in a sample comprised of 101 cities from the entrepreneurial cities index, representing a diverse range of urban environments in Brazil. A comprehensive data set, including both traditional indicators from official Bureau of statistics and nontraditional indicators from new platforms of science, technology and innovation intelligence, was compiled for analysis. Findings Bureaucratic complexity, urban conditions, transport infrastructure, economic development, access to financial capital, secondary education, entrepreneurial intention, support organizations and innovation inputs were identified as necessary for innovative entrepreneurship. Varying levels of these conditions were found to be required for different entrepreneurial outputs. Research limitations/implications The static nature of the data limits understanding of dynamic interactions among dimensions and their impact on entrepreneurial city performance. Practical implications Policymakers can use the findings to craft tailored support policies, leveraging the relationship between city-level taxonomy and direct outputs of innovative entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). Social implications The taxonomy and nontraditional indicators sheds light on the broader societal benefits of vibrant EEs, emphasizing their role in driving socioeconomic development. Originality/value The cluster analysis combined with NCA’s bottleneck analysis is an original endeavor which made it possible to identify performance benchmarks for Brazilian cities, according to common characteristics, as well as the required levels of each condition by each city group to achieve innovative entrepreneurial outputs.

Entrepreneurship promotion policies and urban carbon emission efficiency: does environmental concerns matter?

To foster economic and social development, many countries have adopted entrepreneurship promotion policies. However, existing research on entrepreneurship promotion policy primarily focuses on its employment incentive effect, while neglecting to examine the underlying impact mechanism and its effect on environmental sustainability. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of China’s National Entrepreneurial Pilot Cities, this paper employs the difference-in-differences model to examine the impact of the National Entrepreneurial Cities pilot policy on urban carbon emission efficiency. The study finds that China’s National Entrepreneurial Cities pilot policy has generally impaired urban carbon emission efficiency, and a series of robustness tests show that the results are robust. National Entrepreneurial Cities pilot policy decreases urban carbon emission efficiency by increasing the proportion of necessity entrepreneurship, inhibiting the upgrading of industrial structure, and increasing overcapacity. The government’s environmental concerns and the public’s environmental concerns play a prominent role in improving the adverse impact of the National Entrepreneurial Cities on carbon emission efficiency and mainly play a significant role in central and western cities, cities with low per capita GDP, cities with high economic growth pressure, and resource-dependent cities. The research of this paper provides a reference for the government to promote entrepreneurship while taking environmental effects into account.

The impact of the digital economy on urban total factor productivity: mechanisms and spatial spillover effects

Digital economy is the indispensable pathway for driving industrial structural upgrading and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in cities, ultimately facilitating China's economic transformation. Simultaneously, the enhancement of urban total factor productivity (TFP) serves as a crucial means to achieve high-quality economic development in cities. This study examines the specific impact of the digital economy on urban TFP using a panel data model with a sample of 285 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2019. Additionally, it employs a mediation effect model to test the mechanisms through which the digital economy influences urban TFP and utilizes a spatial Durbin model to analyze the spatial spillover effects of the digital economy on urban TFP. The research findings reveal the following key points: (1)The digital economy has an overall significantly positive impact on urban TFP. (2)The digital economy indirectly promotes urban TFP by encouraging the advancement of industrial structure and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in cities. (3)The influence of the digital economy on urban TFP exhibits spatial spillover effects, where the digital economy in neighboring cities significantly enhances the TFP growth of local cities.The results of this study contribute to elucidating the mechanistic pathways through which the digital economy affects urban TFP, holding significant practical implications for achieving high-quality economic development in urban areas.

PROMOSI EVENT SOLO GREAT SALE TERHADAP MINAT BELANJA MASYARAKAT KOTA SOLO

Generating public interest in spending during the post-pandemic economic recovery is certainly not easy. Through the promotion carried out by the Solo Great Sale Event in generating shopping tourism in Solo City by utilizing socialization, social media, and mass media as a means of promotion for events organized by the Surakarta City Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This study aims to find out the promotions carried out by the Solo Great Sale Event in driving the economy for UMKM in the City of Solo and to find out the implementation of the Solo Great Sale Event as an effort to increase the shopping interest of the people of Solo City with discounts and raffle prizes given. Data collection techniques used are observation, interviews, and documentation. The analysis technique used is descriptive analysis technique. The results of this study are (1) Promotions carried out by the Solo Great Sale Event directly (socialization, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube) and indirectly (banners, banners, videotron). (2) The Solo Great Sale event succeeded in driving the economy of the City of Solo (3) The shopping interest of the people of Solo City increased with discounts and raffle prizes. With the Solo Great Sale, public interest in spending has increased and has a positive impact on Solo City entrepreneurs, especially UMKM. In addition to getting more profits, their products can be known by the public.

Mutations of Barcelona’s cultural policy model: Political change, local planning and political instrumentalization of culture in Barcelona

ABSTRACT Barcelona has been a poster child for the entrepreneurial turn in cultural policy, with an approach based on seizing opportunities for promoting the city in the global arena. This model has been successful in terms of urban branding but has driven growing urban inequalities that have drawn criticism from social and academic spheres. Hence, after the 2008 crisis and the ensuing public budget cuts, growing opposition to the model emerged. Criticism of the city’s cultural model crystallized in the leftist, activist candidacy of Barcelona en Comú, a new party that took power in 2015. Since then, pro-commons discourses on cultural policy have emerged that criticize the past model. The new pro-commons approach proposes a radical turn advocating policy as a tool for cultural democratization. Yet this left-wing populist orientation has encountered great hurdles to changing the Barcelona Cultural Policy model (which is based on artistic institutions, creative factories and the instrumentalization of culture for urban branding). Indeed, analysis of the structural cultural expenses of the city council and the innovative local Cultural Rights Plan paradoxically reveals a continuation of the idea of the creative, entrepreneurial city, focusing once again on developing cultural facilities and fostering new urban and cultural clustering. Thus, rather than a radical change in cultural policy, we see great continuities with the previous Creative City model.

IoT-based entrepreneurial city: a new model of urban governance to achieve economic sustainability

PurposeOne of the challenges of urban management is to provide an entrepreneurial environment for the general population, which can be realized by the development of the entrepreneurial city, which will ultimately cause economic sustainability. In order to create an entrepreneur city, it is necessary to create and develop some infrastructures, one of the most important of which is Internet of things (IoT)-based technological infrastructures, so that municipalities have a leading role. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThe research method is a case study type, and a triangulation mixed-method research design has been used for it. For data collection in the quantitative section, questionnaire tools and in the qualitative section, interview tools as well as coding related upstream documents in the municipality were used.FindingsThe findings showed that with the development of the IoT infrastructure, the conditions will be provided for creating an entrepreneurial city and its formation process will be accelerated, so that it will eventually leading to economic sustainability. It was also found that the conditions for the development of urban entrepreneurship based on IoT in the metropolis in question are not favorable. Finally, suggestions were made to improve this situation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature and economic sustainability by explaining a new concept of an entrepreneurial city and defines the role of IoT infrastructure in its development. Existing literature on the systematic use of IoT in applied fields is still scarce, and this study provides useful insights into it.

Comprehensive and multifaceted perspectives on sustainability, urban studies, and entrepreneurship

While practitioners discuss the phenomena of sustainability, cities, and entrepreneurship, such as living labs and smart cities, alongside sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems at length, researchers tend to reduce the complexity by considering these phenomena from the perspective of one discipline or by merging two research disciplines at best. This study intends to provide guidance on what is required for the emergence of a transdisciplinary research stream of sustainability, urban studies, and entrepreneurship. By applying design science involving practitioners and scientific experts, we designed a relevant and rigorous future research agenda that considered phenomena, research design, and theoretical foundations. Starting from the basis that sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems are promising, the agenda integrates the knowledge base and establishes a multifaceted and comprehensive perspective on sustainable entrepreneurship in cities. Furthermore, implementing the research agenda has strong practical implications for realizing the common vision of a transition that ensures the quality of life on Earth.

The failure of urban entrepreneurialism on patrimonial lands – the Rio de Janeiro of mega-events and the limits of peripheral neoliberalization

Based on a comparative perspective involving the growth machines that have propelled cities in the US and the recent experiences of urban localism that have spread across Europe, this paper analyzes the specific path that peripheral cities such as Rio de Janeiro have followed in adhering to the model of urban entrepreneurialism. It contends that, on one side, due to a lack of organization by the economic agents and on the other, insufficient state capacities, peripheral cities like Rio have been unable to replicate either the European pathway or that of US cities in implanting the tenets of urban entrepreneurialism. With the support of a case-study on the main urban interventions and economic actors involved during the mega-events in Rio, the study has developed a hypothesis, according to which, to a large extent, the project of the entrepreneurial city was mainly hailed as an ideological construct that reiterated “rent-seeking” strategies on the part of economic actors who, for decades, have occupied a central position in commanding the political economy of the city.

The failure of urban entrepreneurialism on patrimonial lands – the Rio de Janeiro of mega-events and the limits of peripheral neoliberalization

Based on a comparative perspective involving the growth machines that have propelled cities in the US and the recent experiences of urban localism that have spread across Europe, this paper analyzes the specific path that peripheral cities such as Rio de Janeiro have followed in adhering to the model of urban entrepreneurialism. It contends that, on one side, due to a lack of organization by the economic agents and on the other, insufficient state capacities, peripheral cities like Rio have been unable to replicate either the European pathway or that of US cities in implanting the tenets of urban entrepreneurialism. With the support of a case-study on the main urban interventions and economic actors involved during the mega-events in Rio, the study has developed a hypothesis, according to which, to a large extent, the project of the entrepreneurial city was mainly hailed as an ideological construct that reiterated “rent-seeking” strategies on the part of economic actors who, for decades, have occupied a central position in commanding the political economy of the city.

Inclusive urban entrepreneurial ecosystem: An exploration of factors affecting organizational ambidexterity

AbstractOne of the main challenges inclusive urban entrepreneurial ecosystems (IUEEs) face is balancing their organizations' two opposing individual and cooperative activities. The closest concept in the management of dual structures is the so‐called organizational ambidexterity (OA). We refer to it as “Individual–Collective Organizational Ambidexterity”. Thus, it is necessary to explore factors affecting the OA of the IUEE's organizations to benefit simultaneously from individual and collective potentials and form successfully. To do so, a model was designed by examining the factors affecting the OA capacity of the IUEE's organizations. The statistical population was organizations involved in the IUEE of 36 cities in Kermanshah province, one of the poorest provinces in IRAN (N = 2041). 328 valid responses were collected as statistical sample based on the sampling table of Krejcie and Morgan (from 1970), and through the proportional stratified sampling method. The main instrument was a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 26 and Smartpls3 software. The results showed among the factors studied, diversity, learning orientation, and promotion of entrepreneurial culture had a positive and significant effect on OA. Networking capacities and commitment to collaboration in the ecosystem did not significantly affect OA. OA also had a positive and significant effect on the performance of IUEE. The discussion eventually suggests the future directions of the research. The findings of this study can be used to develop IUEEs and achieve entrepreneurial cities.

Inclusive urban entrepreneurial ecosystem policies: An application of the meta‐synthesis approach

AbstractPoverty has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. Despite the nature of entrepreneurship to facilitate economic development, there are limited studies regarding the related concept of inclusive development. This issue is the motivating factor for this study to introduce the concept of inclusive urban entrepreneurial ecosystem (IUEE). IUEE provides a market‐ and resource‐based view of poverty alleviation and can be considered as a new pattern of inclusive business (IBs) growth. Hence, the aim of this study is to formulate policies for IUEE by conducting a qualitative meta‐synthesis of the theoretical literature. In this meta‐synthesis, we synthesized a total of 155 findings from 64 studies conducted to date. The results are grouped into 17 concepts and nine main policies as follows: IUEE modeling, considering the role of IBs, improving the ecosystem members' social interactions, supporting inclusive entrepreneurship intermediaries, sustained commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship, strengthening learning opportunities in the ecosystem, maintaining the ecosystem diversity and dynamics, improving the inclusive entrepreneurship facilities and managing the inputs and outputs of the ecosystem. The findings of this study can be used to develop IUEEs and achieve entrepreneurial cities.

Urban entrepreneurialism, metagovernance and ‘space of innovation’: Evidence from buildings for innovative industries in Shenzhen, China

Supporting innovation is among the priorities for entrepreneurial cities globally. Dominant urban studies examine the developmental process, power dynamics, and political-economic impacts of industrial spaces that foster high-tech development. Scant research unfolds the governance transformation of entrepreneurial cities and illustrates how the entrepreneurial cities transform the governing pattern to guide the governance process for supporting innovation space production. A new spatial policy entitled ‘Building for Innovative Industries’ (BII) has been formed in Shenzhen, China. Based on policy review, data analysis and interviews, this study investigates metagovernance arrangements of the entrepreneurial state. Research finds that the Chinese entrepreneurial city introduces flexible governance over innovation space production by inviting broader actors, increased autonomy of operative agency and contextualised operation.

Hubungan Faktor Resiko dengan Mortalitas pada Pasien Rawat Inap Icu Covid-19 di Rumah Sakit Bp Kota Batam

Background: Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) causes a respiratory tract infection that was discovered in and declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Mortality in COVID-19 patients is known to be related to age and disease history. the greater risk of mortality obtained by patients who have a history of the disease coupled with older age, the older the age, the higher risk can apply mortality.
 Methods: This research method is descriptive analytic with a cross sectional study approach which was carried out at the Batam City Entrepreneurs Agency Hospital in December 2021. The sampling technique was simple random sampling with a total sample of 59 respondents. Univariate analysis is presented in the frequency distribution table and bivariate analysis using Chi Square . test.
 Results: Patients no cytokine storm was 62.7% and cytokine storm was 37.3%. No bronchopneumonia was 67.8%, and bronchopneumonia was 32.2%. No COVID-19 mortality is 64.4% and yes 35.6% mortality. There is a significant relationship between COVID-19 mortality and age in Batam City RSBP patients (p value = 0.000). There is a relationship between COVID-19 mortality and comorbidities in Batam City RSBP patients (p value = 0.000). There is a relationship between COVID-19 mortality and cytokine storm in Batam City RSBP patients (p value = 0.001). 
 Conclusion: Based on this study, it was concluded that there was a significant relationship between the characteristics of the clinical picture and mortality in ICU COVID-19 inpatients at BP Hospital Batam in 2021.

Innovation in cities a driving force for knowledge flows: Exploring the relationship between high-tech firms, student mobility, and the role of youth entrepreneurship

Cities have increasingly asserted their central role in the national economy and in developing and promoting knowledge and innovation at local and national levels. Scholars, economists, and policymakers have examined the effects of innovation in this field as well as the resulting impact on the competitiveness and attractiveness of cities, regions, and urban areas. In the knowledge age, the importance of new generations and the trend towards high-skilled human capital are key factors in urban and national development.In this study, we aim to examine the role played by high-tech firms in the city context and its influence on the attraction of knowledge flow and analyse the moderating role of youth entrepreneurship in those relationships. Using the Spatial Panel data model, we evaluated the student flow interconnections in 30 Italian cities for a 10-year period (2009–2019). As a result, we found that the city attractiveness in terms of student mobility is influenced by the capacity of cities to generate and promote innovation in terms of high-tech firms at the local and spatial levels.These findings suggest that local high-tech firms in cities can influence the knowledge inflow and students' mobility while youth entrepreneurship in cities positively affects this relationship. The obtained results could serve as a good basis to enhance the city development policies in terms of innovation and knowledge, as well as the implementation of smart city projects.