Through a mixed methods approach, this paper explores how coworking as a phenomenon manifests itself in Sweden, and, using the foundations of agglomeration economy theory as a lens, discusses what impact the occurrence of coworking spaces might have on local and regional development in Sweden's rural regions.Our findings show that the occurrence of coworking providers in Sweden is much more widespread than previously known, as there are far more spaces than popular aggregation sites suggest -our study found that for Sweden they only show 14-18 percent of the actual number of spaces available. In our interviews with members and owners, we used Duranton and Puga's (2004) pillars for agglomeration as a sorting mechanism, which showed that sentiments that fit the themes "matching", "sharing" and "learning" crop up frequently when respondents explain their experiences. There is reason to go forward from this first, small study to explore how agglomeration economies at the micro level may influence surrounding society and regional economic growth in rural regions.We argue that the emergence of these spaces in rural regions might be a factor in the development of local economies by enabling agglomeration economies at the micro level. We also make the suggestion that gaining accurate information about the number and characteristics of coworking spaces in rural regions will allow for better informed policy decisions and labor market legislation when it comes to regional development.

This study investigates the relationship between social capital and small business entrepreneurship in China. Unlike previous studies that focus solely on rural or urban residents, this paper pays more attention to the differences between them. According to our study, social capital has both positive and negative impacts on small business entrepreneurship. Based on the data drawn from China General Social Survey, we find that the impact of social capital differs significantly between rural and urban areas. In rural China, residents who have higher social capital tend to have entrepreneurial behaviors, while higher social capital leads to lower intention of small business entrepreneurship in urban China. Individuals whose parents have the experiences of small business tend to have small business entrepreneurial activities; individuals who are better educated tend to find regular jobs instead of having their own small business. The results suggest that small business entrepreneurship in rural China might be “entrepreneurship by necessity”. 

Based on a historical overview of spatial networks and mobility, and the development of spatial theory, this review discusses current rural problems in Europe and the need for a new rural policy. The development toward a post-urban world, that is, a world where the traditional urban–rural dichotomy is dissolving and is replaced by city-regions and vast, declining peripheries, means a division of rural areas into two types: those becoming integrated into the growing city-regions and the peripheries, where exploitation of natural resources is a main activity. We claim that a policy that only focuses on rural areas would fail. The reason is that endogenous rural development is simply not possible in current Europe. What is required is better urban–rural development policies oriented towards maximizing the development potential of each region, combining people-based with place-based approaches, and empowering local stakeholders to take greater control of their future. Regional science has an important role to play in providing decision-makers with evidence-based research that meets the challenges of the post-urban world.

In this study, we use unique purpose-built survey data to show that small food firms are more innovative when externally engaged. To capture this, we apply a broad classification of innovative activities, including new products, processes, markets, organization, and distribution channels, and examine them against types of external interactions. The analysis, an ordered logit estimation, controls for heterogeneity across firms as well as geographic conditions. The results demonstrate a positive relationship between external interaction and firm innovation, though there are differences across types of external engagement and innovation activities. Product innovation benefits from knowledge from extra-regional firms, while several of the other forms of innovation show a positive relationship with support from regional and municipality boards. Additionally, firm collaboration regarding transports and sales enhances most types of innovation, but there are few relationships of benefit with research-intensive organizations. We conclude that, to be effective, innovation strategies of both the firms themselves and policymakers need to consider local context, access to intra- and extra-regional knowledge sources, and what types of innovation activities the firms are engaged in.

The purpose of this paper is to address the hypotheses of complete urbanization and the post urban world with an emphasis on the agricultural sector. The paper studies spatial and temporal changes in land-use and agricultural activities in one rapidly growing metropolitan region, the Stockholm region. We explore the number and size of agricultural firms, changes in their main activity and trends of diversification and land prices for various types of land and location, all in a disaggregated spatial dimension. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of agriculture's function in metropolitan regions and shed new light on the possibilities of the agricultural sector to transform in a world where the traditional urban-rural relations are ceasing to exist.

The purpose of this article is to examine the wider societal outcomes of entrepreneurs' networking in ethnically divided post-conflict societies. Using network theory to explain relational dynamics between business, social and personal relationships, we postulate that entrepreneurs' interactions generate connections and paths across ethnically diverse social networks, thus facilitating social relations between ethnic groups. The survey was conducted with 130 entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia. The findings demonstrate that entrepreneurs are driven to increase profit and networks when cooperating with diverse ethnic groups. While spreading their business connections with other ethnic groups, they at the same time form connections between ethnic communities. Entrepreneurs alleviate ethnic cleavages and improve relations between ethnic groups. This article contributes to the recognition of the capacity of economic ties to facilitate cooperative patterns and rebuild impaired ethnic relations in ethnically divided post-conflict societies.

Building on the neo-endogenous rural development model and the resource-based view of the firm, this paper investigates the role of place-based amenities for new firm formation. Empirically, we employ a full-population dataset encompassing new firms in Sweden from 2009 to 2016, combined with geocoded datasets with the spatial distribution of nature- and culture-based amenities. The results show that local amenities are indeed important factors in determining the rate of new firm formation. Estimating the model across urban and rural neighborhoods show that amenities are relatively more important in explaining new firm formation in rural areas as compared to urban. As such, our study contributes to the literature on diversification of the economies of rural areas by pointing at the important role that place-based amenities may play for an entrepreneurially-driven development of less developed and/or rural areas.

This article examines the value and effect of social capital deriving from cross-ethnic business cooperation on social networks and society in the aftermath of war. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the social function entrepreneurship conveys beyond its economic role. Based on Putnam’s bridging and bonding social capital theory and Granovetter’s theory on weak ties, the article studies ties between entrepreneurs originating from different ethnic groups in ethnically divided post-conflict societies. This study highlights the capacity of entrepreneurs to produce and generate social capital across ethnic lines. The field study includes surveys and interviews in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. The results show that the majority of entrepreneurs cooperate and employ across ethnic lines. Cross-ethnic business relationships formed between entrepreneurs create benefits not only for entrepreneurs but also for building social capital across ethnic lines, thus forming valuable, yet depleted, social capital in post-conflict societies. Voluntary relationships between managers and business owners set a valuable model of weak ties facilitating associative behaviour among divided ethnic groups. Business exchange and relationships create social values that transcend a simple financial transaction. Value is in the form of friendship and trust, a reliance that maintains entrepreneurs’ relationships and contributes to the social capital.

This chapter aims to contribute to the research on innovation, entrepreneurship and their determinants by investigating these issues in two Swedish regions - Jonkoping County and Jamtland. Jonkoping County is representative for a rural and peri-urban area, with a central location in Sweden. Firm innovativeness is an important dimension of entrepreneurship and is regarded as playing a vital role for firm growth, including for firms located in rural areas. The ability of firms to renew themselves is becoming increasingly important from the perspective of firm survival and growth. The county has a strong entrepreneurial and small firm tradition in the manufacturing sector. The town of Gnosjo is famous for its “entrepreneurial spirit” and flexible small firms that both compete and cooperate. The county has a strong entrepreneurial and small firm tradition in manufacturing. Interesting regional differences emerge when looking at the factors that can facilitate innovation, i.e. firm size and human capital characteristics.