通过分析2024年“全国返乡创业调查数据”，以信号理论为核心，探究返乡创业者的地理流向如何影响返乡创业绩效。研究发现：从东部沿海返回内陆家乡的返乡创业，其绩效显著高于区域内流动和从内陆返回东部沿海家乡的返乡创业，其间机制是海陆流动的返乡创业在当地获得了更多的政府补贴和政府关注。进一步分析显示，地理流向所带来的绩效优势集中体现在受过高等教育的、首次创业的创业者和生存期、新兴行业的企业上，且会被当地的创业竞争程度所负向调节。这表明地理流向具有信号传递的作用，只有海陆流动者有能力传递与当地政府期待相符的信号，因此更易获得政府支持。

Drawing on the 2024 National Survey on Returning hometown for Entrepreneurship and employing the signaling theory, this study investigates how the geographic migration patterns of returnee entrepreneurs influence their business performance. We find that entrepreneurs returning from the eastern coastal regions to their inland hometowns exhibit significantly superior performance compared to those who migrate within the same region or return from inland areas to coastal hometowns. The primary mechanism underpinning this difference lies in the fact that coastal-to-inland returnees tend to receive more government subsidies and attention. Further analysis reveals that this performance advantage associated with geographic mobility are concentrated among entrepreneurs who are highly educated, first-time founders, and those operating businesses in the survival stage or emerging industries. However, these advantages are negatively moderated by the intensity of local entrepreneurial competition. These findings suggest that geographic mobility functions as a signaling mechanism. These results indicate that only land-coastal entrepreneurs can transmit signals that align with local government expectations, thereby increasing their likelihood of receiving government support.