Do diversity, creativity and localized competition promote endogenous firm formation? Evidence from a high-tech US industry

This paper tests the effect of diversity, creativity and localized competition on firm formation in US computer and electronic product manufacturing within the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship (KSTE) framework. Fixed effects instrumental variable estimation results support the KSTE contention of a positive relationship between knowledge and entrepreneurship. Industrial diversity and diversity of knowledge tend to promote endogenous firm entry, whereas evidence on other factors is mixed. This points to sensitivity of conclusions in the KSTE literature to regional and industrial environments and calls for caution in interpreting and generalizing findings obtained in various settings.