Spatiotemporal Evolution of Entrepreneurial Activities and Its Driving Factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of entrepreneurial activities in the local municipalities of the Yangtze River Delta at long timescales from a geographic perspective and to reveal the underlying factors driving such evolution. The ontology of entrepreneurial activities—startups—was chosen as the object of this study, and the developmental characteristics of entrepreneurial activities in the region since 2001 were explored in two dimensions: time series changes and spatial evolution. The driving mechanism was further explored using the geographical detector. The results showed that: (1) Intensive entrepreneurial activities have been underway in the Yangtze River Delta since the beginning of the 21st century. The entrepreneurial process has undergone a stable period of slow growth (2001–2013), as well as one of rapid growth (2014–2018). The number of startups increased during this period, from 241,700 in 2001 to 1,959,600 in 2018. (2) The density of entrepreneurial activities in the Yangtze River Delta has increased since 2001. The agglomerative patterns showed developmental trends of both concentration and diffusion, forming a dotted pattern of agglomeration centered on the provincial capitals of Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Hefei and a belt of agglomeration centered on Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou. (3) High-value agglomeration of entrepreneurial activities was found to be relatively stable, and low-value agglomeration steadily weakened. Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nantong have long been part of H-H clusters, while Chizhou, Wuhu, Bozhou, Huaibei, and Huainan in Anhui have become areas of depressed entrepreneurial activities. (4) Financial strength, degree of informationization, economic foundation, innovative vitality, openness, and market demand are the main factors affecting entrepreneurial activities in the Yangtze River Delta. Entrepreneurial activities have significant spatial correlation, and areas with high entrepreneurial vitality radiate their effect to the entrepreneurial activities in the surrounding areas. The factors affecting entrepreneurial activities have multiple characteristics, and policy makers should promote entrepreneurial activities with a comprehensive vision and multi-channel efforts. The findings of this study add to the understanding of the spatial proximity characteristics of long time series of entrepreneurial activities at the municipal scale in developing countries and reveal the characteristics of the multi-factor combinations affecting them.

Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Development Path of Industry–University–Research Cooperation and Economic Vulnerability: Evidence from China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt

“…The overall pattern of "stepped" spatial evolution prevails in the eastern part < the central part < the western part, specifically, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces in the east are regions with stable and low values for the vulnerability index. With its background of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, the eastern region is shown to have strong research and development (R&D), processing, and manufacturing capabilities [58]. This improves the sustainability of scientific research and innovation investment, thus strengthening inter-regional coordination and linkages, which is conducive to achieving scientific-and technological innovation-driven development.…”

The Evolution of the Spatial Patterns of Startup Firms in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China in the 21st Century

“…Economic geographers have been extensively engaged in the discussion of the spatiality of new firm formation by examining their geographical determinants, spatial behaviour, and spatial distribution [33,34]. They have collectively highlighted the roles of local characteristics (i.e., industrial and technological accumulation, regional culture and institutions, transport infrastructure, entrepreneurial ecosystems), and have argued that interregional differences in new firm formation and their determinants are persistent over time (which is termed as 'spatial stickiness' or 'place dependence') [35][36][37][38].…”

“…In short, the existing geographical research on startup firms tend to emphasize the dynamic, cumulative, and social nature of new firm formation and the network of relationships between the structure of production and the institutional settings in which startup firms are embedded [47,52]. However, this research concentrates largely on countries with established market economies and highly marketed city-regions in developing countries [8,33,37,53], with insufficient attention paid to peripheral and underdeveloped regions [54]. The peripheral and underdeveloped regions are characterized by a lower entrepreneurship rate and a strong dependence on natural resources, and external markets and technologies, since they often lack the basic entrepreneurship-facilitating conditions, including market demand, supporting industries that have technological complementarities and supporting infrastructures (e.g., incubators, education systems and research organizations), and relevant regional actors (e.g., entrepreneurial elites and skilled labour forces), entrepreneurship-oriented policies and business-friendly entrepreneurial ecosystems.…”