Do Makerspaces Affect Entrepreneurship? If So, Who, How, and When?

Makerspaces are physical spaces that offer individuals fabrication tools and materials (e.g., 3D printers) to make artifacts. Although not designed specifically for entrepreneurs, these spaces offer affordable access to rapid prototyping infrastructure. This study examines whether makerspaces affect entrepreneurship and, if so, who, how, and when. Leveraging hand-collected data on US makerspaces and large archival data on Kickstarter projects, I show that makerspaces positively affect entrepreneurial participation and subsequent commercialization outcomes. However, these effects are mostly specific to hardware (vs. nonhardware) activities that typically involve physical prototypes. I find that the effect on entry is driven more by new (vs. established) but intentional (vs. accidental) entrepreneurs and that the effect on commercialization comes from two operating and complementary channels—resource provision and social facilitation.