Determinants of Innovative Versus Non-Innovative Entrepreneurs in Three Southern States

Entrepreneurship is becoming an important economic development strategy for communities across the nation. This research distinguishes between innovative and non-innovative entrepreneurs as well as “traditional” entrepreneurs – percent nonfarm proprietors of total employed – across counties in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Three sets of predictor variables were used to better understand the determinants of these entrepreneurs: demographic/location, infrastructure, and socioeconomic. Results indicate that innovative entrepreneurs are more sensitive to highway proximity and rurality while non-innovative are more sensitive to educational attainment, creative class, and access to broadband. Important differences surface comparing innovative versus non-innovative versus nonfarm proprietors.