DescriptionInterest in the benefits and drawbacks that stem from the geographic distribution of firms – meaning the socio-economic environment in which they operate – as a potential source of competitive advantage has increased recently in both the entrepreneurship and strategy literature. How those benefits and drawbacks affect de novo firms (independent new ventures) who are considered a major source of job creation, innovation, and economic growth, is not well understood. This dissertation aims to shed light on the processes and conditions underlying de novo firm growth, innovativeness, and the likelihood of transition into the high-growth stage. I draw and integrate theories from strategic management, entrepreneurship, and economic geography and examine these issues using a comprehensive longitudinal data of Canadian manufacturing firms. The insights from my studies are important because they allow us to theoretically and empirically identify and separate the exact locational attributes that affect the growth of new entrants, examine which firms experience the benefits and drawbacks of each attribute, and provide a more complete and systematic explanation of their growth and the determinants of their innovativeness.