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  • 2020
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Entrepreneurs (Co-) Working in Close Proximity: Impacts on Technology Adoption and Startup Performance Outcomes

By: Maria P. Roche, Alexander Oettl and Christian Catalini
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:50 
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Abstract

Entrepreneurs learn from a variety of sources. One particularly important channel is learning from fellow entrepreneurs. In this paper, we examine the influence of physical proximity on technology adoption decisions and subsequent startup performance outcomes at one of the largest technology co-working hubs in the United States. To deal with endogenous geographic clustering, we rely on the random assignment of office space to the hub's 251 startups. Using floor plans to measure geographic distances, we find that proximity greatly influences the likelihood of adopting an upstream technology also used by a peer firm. This effect quickly decays with distance where startups that are more than 20 meters apart no longer influence each other. Our results suggest that other social, informational, and competition-based dimensions alter the effect of distance and that peer interaction is a viable mechanism driving our results.

Keywords

Coworking; Proximity; Knowledge Flows

Citation

Roche, Maria P., Alexander Oettl, and Christian Catalini. "Entrepreneurs (Co-) Working in Close Proximity: Impacts on Technology Adoption and Startup Performance Outcomes." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-024, May 2020.

About The Author

Maria P. Roche

Strategy
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More from the Authors
  • Taking Innovation to the Streets: Micro-geography, Physical Structure and Innovation By: Maria P. Roche
  • Different Founders, Different Firms: A Comparative Analysis of Academic and Non-academic Startups By: Maria P. Roche, Annamaria Conti and Frank T. Rothaermel
  • Scientific Production: An Exploration into Organization, Resource Allocation, and Funding By: Jerry Thursby, Marie Thursby, Karim R. Lakhani, Kyle R. Myers, Nina Cohodes, Sarah Bratt, Dennis Byrski, Hannah Cohoon and M. P. Roche
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