The Role of Entrepreneurship in the Development of Peripheral Areas: Combining Business Network View and Entrepreneurship Studies

This doctoral thesis analyses the process of entrepreneurship development and resource interaction in Peripheral Areas (PAs), that is, those places far from large urban and industrial centres that suffer from the effects of unequal territorial development. The thesis poses strong bridges between entrepreneurship and IMP literature, which have been considered in developing the issue. The thesis is structured as a collection of four stand-alone papers and three intermediary sections. Overall, the thesis contributes to expanding the research field of study contextualised in PAs, particularly focusing on the role that business networks and entrepreneurial activities play in the development and resilience of these places. Second, we contribute to the entrepreneurship field of research by analysing the resource mobilisation processes enabled by business network activities and relationships in PAs. Third, we contribute to IMP research by expanding studies on the emerging topic of place in business network analyses, presenting it as a resource bundle other than a feature of resources.