Are new rural ventures different from new urban ones? An exploratory analysis of businesses located in Portuguese incubators and science parks

Considering the differences between rural and urban spaces, through the theoretical framework developed, the purpose of this paper is to uncover and rationalize the differences between rural and urban new ventures in terms of the environment surrounding the new venture, their general characteristics (e.g. sector, size) and export/economic performance.

The theoretical framework is empirically assessed resorting to exploratory statistical analysis based on data collected from a questionnaire survey responded by 408 new ventures headquartered in Portuguese business incubators and science parks. The data collected were treated with the Software Package for the Social Sciences.

The results evidence that rural and urban new ventures differ in terms of generic characteristics, namely sector, size and collaborators’ human capital. Additionally, they differ concerning export and economic performance as well in relation to the perception of the municipality support.

Albeit the present study is mainly exploratory, it constitutes a stepping stone for future research into the differences between rural and urban new ventures regarding their export and economic performance determinants.

The present study innovatively contributes to uncover the role of rural and urban context in entrepreneurship and adds to the scanty empirical literature in the area.