@article{10272/28251,
year = {2026},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28251},
abstract = {We investigate if and how the degree of urbanization of an entrepreneur’s living area influences its ICT use frequency at work. Earlier research has shown that more intensive ICT use by entrepreneurs is associated with stronger entrepreneurial performance. At the regional level this implies that a higher ICT use frequency by the region’s entrepreneurs is associated with stronger regional performance and more scope for regional development. Hence it is important to understand entrepreneurs’ ICT use frequency and the role of regional context. Using survey data for 305 NUTS-2 regions in 35 European countries, and controlling for the regional level of digital infrastructure, we find that ICT use frequency by entrepreneurs is substantially higher in urban areas compared to rural territories. Importantly, when investigating various moderation effects, we also find that the impact of urbanization on entrepreneurs’ ICT use frequency at work is smaller in regions with a higher level of general human capital and/or a higher level of digital infrastructure, that is, the lower ICT use frequency of entrepreneurs living in rural areas can partly be compensated for by higher regional levels of general human capital and digital infrastructure. Moreover, we also identify compensating effects related to entrepreneurs’ characteristics such as age and household’s income level. Policy implications for the economic development of rural areas are discussed.},
organization = {Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Huelva/CBUA. The study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación) under research project PID2020-115183RB-C22 and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and European Funds of the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Economía, Hacienda y Fondos Europeos) through Andalusia ERDF 2014-20 Operational Programme (Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucía 2014-20) under University of Huelva research project UHU-1265299. At the time of writing the paper, José María Millán was completing a research stay at the University of Antioquia (Colombia), which was co-funded with an Ibero-American Grant Santander Research (Banco Santander).},
publisher = {Springer},
keywords = {ICT usage frequency},
keywords = {Degree of urbanization},
keywords = {Entrepreneurship},
keywords = {Self-employment},
keywords = {Regional knowledge spillovers},
keywords = {Europe},
title = {Explaining differences in entrepreneurs’ ICT use frequency between urban and rural regions},
doi = {10.1007/s40821-025-00329-3},
author = {Ramos Poyatos, Juan de Dios and Barrientos Marín, Jorge and Millán Tapia, José María and Nolan, Eimear and Van Stel, André},
}