Networking and the giving and receiving of advice outside of one's own firm are important features of entrepreneurship and innovation. In this study, Kerr and Kerr investigated how immigrants and natives utilized the potential networking opportunities provided by CIC, formerly known as the Cambridge Innovation Center. CIC is widely considered the center of the Boston entrepreneurial ecosystem. The researchers surveyed 1,334 people working at CIC in three locations spread across the Boston area and CIC's first expansion facility in St. Louis, MO. Survey responses showed that immigrants valued networking capabilities in CIC more than natives, and the networks developed by immigrants at CIC tended to be larger. Immigrants reported substantially greater rates of giving and receiving advice than natives for six surveyed factors: business operations, venture financing, technology, suppliers, people to recruit, and customers. The structure and composition of CIC floors had only a modest influence on these differences.
