[Séminaire CREM Caen] Legacy in motion: Tracing the persistent impact of early entrepreneurship on contemporary performance - UFR SEGGAT - MRSH

Abstract:
In this seminar, I will present how historical entrepreneurial activities continue to shape contemporary regional business dynamics in different economic landscapes. Drawing on data from post-Soviet countries and Poland, I will show the persistence of both low- and high-quality entrepreneurship over almost a century. In regions that lacked high-quality entrepreneurial patterns in the early 20th century, especially in sectors such as crafts, transport, trade and credit, the legacy of low-quality entrepreneurship - reinforced by ‘sticky’ regional factors such as insufficient industrialisation and low population density - has persisted. Conversely, regions with a solid base of knowledge-based entrepreneurship in the 1920s show a marked increase in modern start-up activity, even despite significant historical disruptions and demographic changes. These results highlight that the historical legacy of entrepreneurship - whether marked by shortcomings or strengths - serves as a fundamental driver of regional economic evolution and offers valuable insights for tailoring policy interventions to foster sustainable, high-quality entrepreneurial ecosystems.