CAPITAL CITIES is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation’s Perspectives on Wealth program that investigates the societal foundations and role of wealth in two leading European startup ecosystems: Paris and Berlin. Adopting a comparative perspective, the project brings together sociologists (TU Berlin) and entrepreneurship scholars (University of Wuppertal) to examine how different actor groups shape the startup activity within these ecosystems.
About the Project
Research Interest
Wealth is simultaneously a resource and an outcome of the startup ecosystem. We aim to understand how different uses of and aspirations for wealth shape the prevailing socio-economic dynamics of startup ecosystems. Four strategic actor groups are at the center of our analysis: investors, startup founders, entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs), and political enablers. We examine how these groups’ interests, resources, decision-making power, and interdependent relationships relate to wealth and wealth accumulation. Through its interdisciplinary approach, the project advances academic debates across sociology, entrepreneurship, and related fields, while also informing practitioners through reports, policy briefings, and roundtables on startup ecosystem development.
Methodology
We conduct a multi-sited ethnography in the startup ecosystems of Paris and Berlin. During the field phase, we engage directly with the strategic actor groups through qualitative interviews with investors, startup founders, entrepreneurial support organizations, and political enablers, as well as through participant observation at relevant events and ongoing involvement in the field. In addition, we draw on secondary data to contextualize and triangulate our findings. This comparative design allows us to examine how national and local contexts shape the relationship between wealth and ecosystem dynamics.
Strategic Actor Groups
Investors
Startup Founders
Political Enablers
Entrepreneurial Support Organizations
the Startup Ecosystems of Berlin and Paris
- Berlin and Paris rank among the top 3 startup ecosystems in Europe
- Both Cities rank among the top 3 in Europe by total VC investments and VC rounds
- Paris has emerged as a leading European hub for AI and deep-tech innovation, whereas Berlin constitutes the central node for these activities within the German ecosystem
Team
Our Partners
Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, we collaborate with a diverse network of academic partners and practitioners to advance the insights of our research and leverage the transfer of knowledge.
Funding Partner
The project is funded by the renowned Volkswagen Foundation, a private research funding organization, known for supporting creative and foundational research about processes of societal transformation.
Partners
EDHEC Business School
EDHEC Business School is a Top 10 ranked European Business School according toThe Financial Times. It is an independent institution where excellence, innovation, and diversity converge, to shape the next generation of leaders for a world in profound transformation, underscored by the triple accreditation for business education (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA).
Centre for Responsible Entrepreneurship
In particular, we collaborate with the EDHEC Centre for Responsible Entrepreneurship represented by Prof. Ludovic Cailluet. The centre was established in 2022, and connects the three pillars of entrepreneurship-focused teaching, research initiatives and EDHEC Entrepreneurs incubation programs at Station F in Paris.
Céline Bessière
Céline Bessière is a Professor of sociology at Paris Dauphine University (PSL University) and a senior member at the Institut Universitaire de France. She studies the material, economic and legal dimensions of family, in particular through the analysis of inheritance and divorce. Her new project is about gender and wealth accumulation in Europe. Her research is at the crossroads of several fields: economic sociology, elite studies, sociology of law and justice, sociology of gender, class and the family.
In 2016-2017, she was a member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. She was a Visiting Professor at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (2022), New York University (2024), Universidad Nacional de San Martin in Buenos Aires (2024), Université Libre de Bruxelles (2025).