This paper examines the spawning of new company founders' from large
corporations, using a unique database. Spawning is a function of firm
productivity and innovativeness, after controlling for firm size and age.
The number of founders also varies predictably by sector according to ease
of entry. At the establishment level, we find that establishment and place
characteristics are more important than corporate characteristics, in
explaining local spawning. In addition, using headquarters location as a
proxy for corporate entrepreneurial culture, we find that headquarter
locations in more entrepreneurial regions is associated with a higher rate
of spawning.