The impact of distance from a nation’s commercial center on entrepreneurs’ managerial skills, firm success and performance

Abstract

This research looks at the impact of a firm’s distance from the center of governmental, commercial and financial activities on entrepreneurial capabilities, tendencies and firm performance. This is especially relevant in developing countries, because few cities tend to usually have the infrastructure and educational resources that are seen as needed for entrepreneurial activity to flourish.

A matched sample of 269 Thai entrepreneur/business owners and their partners/senior managers/co-founders, representing every region of the country, provided the data for this study. Results indicate that certain skills had an impact on performance, but that distance had neither a direct or moderating effect on firm performance. There was some evidence that those farther from the center of activities were less adapt with respect to marketing and financial analysis, but their entrepreneurial traits and skills in other areas were not different from more centralized located entrepreneurs.