The strength of social embeddedness: societal and cultural activism, as conditions for early Internet entrepreneurs in Amsterdam

Three theoretical notions from co-evolution, entrepreneurship, and embeddedness are used to understand the interplay between innovation and the structuring of an organizational community. A case study of early Internet activity in Amsterdam is used to chart the relevant processes in the initial phase. In this paper we focus on the Digital City that played a pivotal role in the acceptance of Internet based economic activity. In particular cultural and social activists played a role in envisioning applications of Internet in this early phase. In the social, cultural and economic sectors new organizations sprang up that formed a network that helped to start and legitimate Internet companies. We describe the main organizations, Digital City, XS4ALL and De Waag Society, that emerged from this early phase and which constituted the core group of organizations for the early Internet community in Amsterdam. The dynamics of this early phase suggest that a closer look at mix of organizations will be useful to understand the creation of successful microclimates for technology adaptation and the formation of new ventures.