This paper analyses how different institutional frameworks condition the influence of selected social traits: the social stigma to entrepreneurial failure and the presence of entrepreneurial role models, over entrepreneurial activity levels in a rural area with strong industrial and entrepreneurial history versus those that are not necessarily characterized by such a tradition. To attain this objective we undertake a rare events logit model using a robust Spanish dataset from 2003. The main contribution of the study indicates that there is a significant difference between entrepreneurial activity levels in rural Catalonia as compared to rural areas in the rest of Spain. This difference is in large part explained by the distinct impact of the observed social traits, where the presence of entrepreneurial role models is a prominent explanatory factor favouring entrepreneurial activity in rural (Catalonia) areas with strong industrial tradition. The findings of the paper back the growing call for territorial specificity in the formulation and application of entrepreneurship support measures, distinguishing between rural and urban areas. Hence, and in accordance with the new rural paradigm, entrepreneurship promotion should take a more holistic character and become an integral part of any rural development plan. The paper's results imply that fostering business creation in rural areas is more often than not a generational process, where the search for short-term benefits can result in the mistaken impression that in rural areas entrepreneurship support policy does not work.

The mainstream servitization literature mostly describes the success of manufacturing firms in integrating services for their corporate clients. However, the literature is relatively silent on how territories capitalize on the potential interconnectedness between manufacturing firms and the knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) sector. The analysis of the outcomes that result from the mutually dependent associations between manufacturing businesses and KIBS firms, a process that we call Territorial Servitization, is of great relevance for academics and policy makers. This research hypothesizes that there is a positive symbiotic and bidirectional link between the growth in KIBS activity and employment generation by manufacturing sector startups. Furthermore, we scrutinize the mediating role over this relation of relevant industry characteristics, in our case the stock of manufacturing firms and the total number of freights transported. The empirical application considers a unique dataset created from multiple sources-the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the Spanish Institute of Statistics and Eurostat-for the 17 Spanish regions during the period 2006-2012. The results support the view that territorial servitization contributes to employment creation in manufacturing sectors. Territories with a vigorous manufacturing base benefit from a virtuous circle in which KIBS start-ups and newly formed manufacturers are connected through the economic activity of incumbent manufacturing firms. The study offers valuable insights for scholars and policy makers on how to implement specific policies-e.g., the development of digital infrastructures-that facilitate the interaction between manufacturing and KIBS businesses, thus fuelling territorial development.

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This paper investigates how gender diversity in top management-i.e., boardroom and top management positions-impacts business performance among Colombian public businesses. Design/methodology/approach: Building on the Upper Echelon theory which emphasizes that gender in an important characteristic that influences top management's decision making, we employ panel data models on a sample of 54 Colombian public businesses for the period 2008-2015 to test the proposed hypotheses relating gender diversity and subsequent business performance. Findings: The results support that gender diversity is positively associated with subsequent business performance. More concretely, we find that the relationship between gender diversity at the top of the corporate hierarchy-in our case, as CEO and in the top management team-and subsequent performance becomes more evident when performance is linked to business operations (ROA), while the positive effect of women's representation in the boardroom and subsequent performance is significant when performance is measured via shareholder-oriented metrics (ROE). Originality/value: Few studies have addressed the role of gender diversity on performance in developing economies. This study contributes to better understand how gender diversity impacts performance in contexts where women are underrepresented in the top management, and where the appointment of women directors or managers is not driven by regulatory pressures.