135954 20260217205520.0 doi 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123521 sideral 139019 ART-2024-139019 eng Cuéllar-Fernández, Beatriz Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-5557-0380 Factors behind the resilience of rural startups 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Rural areas are characterized by sparse population, low population density, remoteness, and population aging, which can discourage startups and undermine their financial performance, as the theory of urban agglomeration economies suggests. However, many studies have shown that companies created in rural areas survive longer than those created in urban areas, which seems contradictory. This paper aims to identify the factors that explain this rural resilience. We analyzed all of the startups founded in Spain over 10 years. We used statistical matching methods to test for the effect of the location while controlling for founding conditions and environmental factors. Our study confirmed that few startups are created in rural areas and they grow less, but their survival rate is slightly higher than those established in urban areas. We found that high subsidies, low operating costs, high labor intensity, a slow but low-risk growth pattern, and other foundational conditions and external factors contribute to explaining rural resilience. Nonetheless, additional factors, including the traits of rural entrepreneurs and the lack of alternatives to bankruptcy, as proposed by the entrepreneurial opportunity theory, also matter. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2022-136818NB-I00 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S38-23R info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc-nd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es 13.3 2024 REGIONAL & URBAN PLANNING 1 / 55 = 0.018 2024 Q1 T1 BUSINESS 4 / 316 = 0.013 2024 Q1 T1 3.472 2024 Applied Psychology 2024 Q1 Management of Technology and Innovation 2024 Q1 Business and International Management 2024 Q1 26.3 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Fuertes-Callén, Yolanda Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-6468-0944 Serrano-Magdalena, Adriana Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0009-0001-3533-7004 4002 230 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Contabilidad y Finanzas Área Economía Finan. y Contab. 206 (2024), 123521 [16 pp.] Technol. forecast. soc. change Technological Forecasting and Social Change 0040-1625 1306340 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/135954/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2686947 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/135954/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:135954 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:28:22 ARTICLE