Chapter 7: Rural Entrepreneurship and Location: Does Rurality Matter for Small Firms?

The purpose of this chapter is to review whether location matters for rural entrepreneurs; more specifically, whether the extent of rurality matters. This incorporates an aim to review the relevant literature and recent developments since the presentation of a paper at the 15th Rural Entrepreneurship Conference (REC) in 2017 on whether a rural location mattered for small firms (Deakins & Bensemann, 2017),¹ subsequently published as Deakins and Bensemann (2019). The current chapter includes the following aims: First, to provide a selective literature review, taken from a wider bibliography, on rurality, location and the innovativeness of small firms over the past 20 years, including an overview of recent developments, such as digitalisation, which may affect the extent to which entrepreneurs and small firms are constrained by rurality. Second, to propose a theoretical resource-based framework that can be used as a lens to underpin future research approaches. Third, to present recent qualitative case research with rural-based entrepreneurs undertaken by the authors on entrepreneurial resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated strict lockdowns in New Zealand. Fourth, to propose issues for future research in the light of the results and the increased frequency of global crises.