The next Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy Research virtual seminar is Tuesday, Octovber 10, from 11:00-12:15 ET. Jiayi Bao (Texas A&M University) - will present "Makerspaces, venture social focus, and resource acquisition" (with Joonho Oh and Bowen Lou). Daniel Armanios (University of Oxford) will discuss. Click HERE to register for the 10/10 seminar (abstract is below). We hope you join us.
Please visit this LINK to view and register for upcoming Fall seminars.
- Tim Folta (UCONN), Maryann Feldman (ASU), and Supradeep Dutta (Rutgers U)
Abstract: Social ventures face significant challenges in acquiring financial resources for long-term growth. This paper examines how makerspaces-physical spaces that provide fabrication tools and materials for prototyping-facilitate resource acquisition for socially-focused ventures. We propose that makerspaces increase (1) venture-level social capital through social interactions fostered by shared prototyping needs and knowledge domains, and (2) community-level social capital through shared identity of "makers." The interplay between social interactions and community engagement suggests that makerspace establishments benefit socially-focused ventures more in fundraising activities. Leveraging a novel text-similarity approach that measures venture social focus on a continuous spectrum and the staggered establishments of 126 first makerspaces in 179 unique economic areas, we find consistent evidence that supports the hypothesis and the proposed mechanisms in the context of venture-capital-backed deals.