Regional differences in the founding of high tech enterprises in Austria

The vast majority of new technology based firms (NTBFs) emerge in urban and suburban areas. Of course, this is not very surprising, given the greater economic potential of these regions in comparison with rural and/or periphe ral areas. Nevertheless, the crucial factor in determining the proportion o f new high tech firms in overall firm formation seems to be the high tech o rientation of already existing firms. In districts where the existing econo mic structure is orientated towards high tech industries (including the ser vice sector:) the NTBFs' contribution to new firm formation is generally hi gher. New high tech firms in the manufacturing sector do have only a tiny s hare in overall firm formation in Austria. Only approximately 2% of all new firms are to be characterised as manufacturing firms operating in the high tech sector. In the manufacturing sector as such new high tech firms accou nt for about 17% of all new manufacturing firms. This share varies consider ably between regions. A clear urban regions-periphery pattern can be observ ed. In urban as well as in suburban regions the share of new high tech firm s in the manufacturing sector is significantly larger than in rural and/or peripheral areas. The importance of new high tech service firms is much gre ater, their share in overall firm formation is about 7%; their share in fir m formation in the service sector even is about 21%. Again a significant ce ntre-periphery pattern can be observed. With respect to the contribution of new high tech firms to structural chang e at the regional level, a somewhat revised centre-periphery pattern was ob served. The NTBFs' share of new firm formation in rural/peripheral regions in comparison with the TBFs' share in the existing firms is relatively larg er than in urban areas. NTBFs induce a modernisation process which is more pronounced in areas at the bottom line of the centre-periphery hierarchy.