The relational embeddedness of startup entrepreneurs: Exploring the role of spatially fragmented work practices

Abstract

Through high levels of trust, relationally embedded network ties allow entrepreneurs to access specialized resources below market price. As proximity can facilitate trust building without the need for permanent co-location, the ways entrepreneurs organize their work in space could matter for their relational embeddedness. Using time logs and interview data, this paper explores the extent to which spatially fragmented working practices are related to the relationally embedded networks of startup entrepreneurs. The paper shows how entrepreneurs who organize their work in more spatially fragmented ways have more relationally embedded ties, embedded to a higher degree and spread over a larger area, than the entrepreneurs whose work is less fragmented. These results increase our understanding of the ways in which the spatial organization of work is related to relational embeddedness. Hence, they could have implications for the facilitation of entrepreneurship in general, and the resource acquisition of startups in particular.