Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

The start-up acceleration phenomenon is a recent trend in the field of entrepreneurship, impacting academia, policy makers and practioners, but not yet fully researched or comprehended. The existing literature on business incubators, technology transfer and corporate entrepreneurship provide few cues on how to interpret the acceleration phenomenon, justifying the case for an in-depth analysis on how accelerators (and its accelerated ventures) differentiate from existing initiatives. This work aims to contribute to this discussion by mapping the current research and definitions of the acceleration phenomenon and suggesting a number of potential investigation lines to be deployed in the upcoming years.

The framework for this study is based on the research and literature related to serial entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our sample is 12 serial entrepreneurs within a single context—the Waterloo Region—that has been ranked as one of the top start-up ecosystems in the world. In 2012, it was ranked 16th with 32 % of the start-ups identified as being led by serial entrepreneurs. The study provides an understanding of the characteristics that define a mature ecosystem, with specific input on the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. We profile the 12 entrepreneurs to provide a review of their businesses, the contributions they have made within their ecosystem, and their statements on what they have learned in the process of leading multiple ventures. This research may be useful for communities and nations that seek to focus on entrepreneurship as a means for economic growth. It should also stimulate further research on contextual issues and examine serial entrepreneurs within their own ecosystem. -- Entrepreneurs have been viewed as the engines that can move the economy forward, providing new businesses that add to entrepreneurial ecosystems in geographic regions. But entrepreneurs are unevenly distributed individually and geographically. Entrepreneurial behavior is increasingly recognized as being heterogeneous with regard to variations in the level and nature of experiences.

Human capital and social networks are two pillars of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EEs), which are nowadays increasingly shaped by international migration flows. Migrant entrepreneurs are at the same time locally present and culturally diverse from the mainstream host society, thus being prone to separation from the native community and participation to different social clusters, characterized by different venture types and access to institutions. Public agencies and incubators might be pivotal in facilitating the socialization of migrant entrepreneurs and the networked reciprocal exchange with other entrepreneurs. This paper sheds light on this overlooked issue by drawing on explorative interviews in Milan, Italy, in two incubators and the municipality. The findings show how the attraction and inclusion of migrant entrepreneurs is influenced both by EE attributes and by actors' strategies and culture. This work offers novel insights contributing to the literature and policymaking on en-trepreneurship and ecosystems.

En este documento se analiza el ecosistema de emprendimiento de Zacatecas, con base a un modelo de emprendimiento de alto impacto diseñado para ciudades intermedias de Latinoamérica. Los resultados transcriben las experiencias y visiones de los emprendedores de alto impacto zacatecanos, y las vivencias de actores preferentes del ecosistema, a través de los indicadores del modelo. Confiamos que los análisis y conclusiones aquí referidos, abren un abanico de oportunidades para atender los retos detectados y para ampliar el horizonte emprendedor en Zacatecas. Sin duda, damos la bienvenida a todas las opiniones y comentarios que motive la lectura de este documento, porque serán vectores complementarios para lograr que el ecosistema de emprendimiento de Zacatecas logre, de mejor forma y en menor tiempo, sus objetivos económicos y sociales.

Although literature discusses many entrepreneurial ecosystems (EE) based on technological development and Information Technology and Communication (ITC), it also refers that they are unique and can emerge in any place under unrepeatable conditions. Its success depends on nutrients such as the entrepreneurial culture of the actors, the interfaces established and the way how they coordinate their actions imbedded with beliefs, concerns and specific values. In this study we discussed the problematic of the “Lagos” context for the implementation of an EE. So, we justified the application of a case study, unique and singular but with a holistic dimension. The need of understanding the different points of view of the many stakeholders in real context and of building compromise and priorities in a participative way provided the foundations of the choice for a qualitative constructive and interpretive approach, with the option for participatory action research methodology and of soft systems methodology, in a constant social learning. In an early stage, the results allowed to understand the low dynamics of entrepreneurial spirit within the territory, the difficulties in cooperating and with regard to the relations within different actors, and recognize the need for social change, facing the lack of entrepreneurial cultural values within the community. On a second stage, we established a model of an EE, capturing drivers and inhibitors of their implementation and prioritize operating principles and measures of intervention. We managed to achieve consensus in a shared and collaborative governance between the municipality and the private sector.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem; Entrepreneurship and Community; Participatory Action Research; SSM - Soft Systems Methodology

A literatura discute muitos ecossistemas empreendedores (EE) com base na inovação tecnológica e nas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC). Refere que eles são únicos, podem surgir em qualquer lugar, sob condições irreplicáveis, e o seu sucesso depende de nutrientes como a cultura empreendedora dos atores, as inter-relações que estabelecem e o modo como coordenam as suas ações imbuídas de crenças, interesses e valores específicos. Neste estudo discutiu-se a possibilidade de replicar ou desenvolver de raiz a problemática de um EE no contexto do município de Lagos, com a aplicação de um estudo de caso, único e singular, mas de dimensão holística. A necessidade de se entender os pontos de vista dos diversos stakeholders em contexto real e de construir consensos e prioridades de forma participada aconselharam a escolha de uma abordagem qualitativa de dimensão construtivista e interpretativa, com opção por metodologias da Investigação-Ação (IA) e da Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), numa constante aprendizagem social. Numa primeira fase os resultados permitiram compreender a baixa dinâmica do empreendedorismo no território, as dificuldades de cooperação e de relação entre os diferentes atores, e reconhecer a necessidade de mudança social, face à ausência de valores culturais empreendedores na comunidade. Numa segunda fase, acordou-se um modelo de EE, capturaram-se drivers e inibidores da sua implementação e priorizaram-se eixos de atuação e medidas de intervenção. Conseguiu-se consensualizar uma proposta de governança partilhada e colaborativa entre a autarquia e o setor privado.
Palavras-chave: Ecossistema empreendedor; Empreendedorismo e Comunidade; Investigação-ação; SSM - Soft Systems Methodology;

Entrepreneurship is instrumental in a nation’s wealth development and management, furthermore as a
social mobility tool. Over the years the impact of entrepreneurship has brought about numerous
implication and transformation to many fields. One of the significant transformation is the
involvement of universities in entrepreneurship. The involvement of university in entrepreneurial
activities and entrepreneurial education, where the self-sustainment of the university and the creation
of future entrepreneurs are the major contributions. The rich university ecosystem is seen as the
habitat for the development of the entrepreneurial activities and creation of future entrepreneurs.
Allowing the graduates to be nurtured into entrepreneurship, by virtue of teaching and learning
entrepreneurship. Although it is undeniable that the ecosystem is a prominent factor in a graduate’s
entrepreneurial career choice decision but there seems to be a gap in the body of knowledge. The
interplay of the ecosystem and graduates’ entrepreneurial intention are interrelated thus it is crucial
that the ecosystem is taken into account as a contributing factor in the investigation of graduates’
entrepreneurial career choice decision. Thus this paper intend to call for attention studies to further
fill the gap in the body of knowledge by investigating the impact of the university-based
entrepreneurial ecosystem support on the graduates’ entrepreneurial intention.

Purpose: Impact investing, a type of values-based investing that combines financial investment with philanthropic goals, is receiving heightened scholarly and practitioner attention. The geography of impact investing, however, is largely unexamined and it is not clear why some impact investing communities are more vibrant than other regional communities. Regional differences in entrepreneurial activities are increasingly explained by differences in the vitality of entrepreneurial ecosystems, the set of interconnected forces that promote and sustain regional entrepreneurship. Yet scholars have not leveraged the insights from entrepreneurial ecosystems studies to understand the dynamics of communities that encourage and support impact investing.

Design/methodology/approach: To explain inter-regional differences in the prevalence and intensity of impact investing, this conceptual paper draws from research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and impact investment to theorize about the ecosystem attributes and components that drive vibrant impact investing communities.

Findings: It is theorized that vibrant impact investing ecosystems have three system-level attributes – diversity, cohesion, and coordination – that are influenced by the core components of the ecosystems, including the characteristics of investors, the presence of social impact support organizations, and cultural values that support blending logics.

Originality/value: The theoretical model contributes to research on impact investing and hybrid forms of organizing, produces concrete implications for ecosystem builders, and sets an agenda for future research.

Entrepreneurs increasingly tap into both spatial and digital resource environments to mobilize critical resources in support of new ventures. Yet we know surprisingly little about how entrepreneurs make joint use of these environments. Linking the recent debate on spatial and digital affordances to the resource mobilization literature, this study examines how entrepreneurs mobilize critical resources from local ecosystems and the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in complementary ways. We discuss two strategies of resource mobilization: (1) The circular strategy, which is mainly applied by social ventures, leverages community narratives and support for crowdfunding campaigns to strengthen and expand the very community support the campaigns are based on. (2) The cumulative strategy, which is mainly applied by commercial high-tech ventures, mobilizes the symbolic value of local institutional ties to attract crowdfunding backers, and uses crowdfunding success to attract new resource-holders in local ecosystems. Our findings contribute to research on entrepreneurial resource mobilization and our understanding of the interplay of spatial and digital affordances.

Progress in entrepreneurship research is inhibited by lack of agreement on what constitutes an entrepreneurial venture. We argue for an inclusive conceptualization, and the need to distinguish types of entrepreneurial ventures. A typology is proposed consisting of four venture types. Based on the unique characteristics of each type, it is argued that differences will emerge in the identities of the founder and the organization. Evidence of such differences is provided using samples of each venture type. The tendency in contemporary research to ignore differences in venture type is examined. Implications are drawn for theory development, research practice, and managerial practice.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems have emerged as a popular concept to explain the persistence of high-growth entrepreneurship within regions. However, as a theoretical concept ecosystems remain underdeveloped, making it difficult to understand their structure and influence on the entrepreneurship process. The article argues that ecosystems are composed of 10 cultural, social, and material attributes that provide benefits and resources to entrepreneurs and that the relationships between these attributes reproduce the ecosystem. This model is illustrated with case studies of Waterloo, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The cases demonstrate the variety of different configurations that ecosystems can take.

This study explores the potential of social franchising to contribute to the development of the rural entrepreneurial ecosystem in contexts of market and governance failure in least developed countries. Social franchising is a social enterprise business model that provides market coordination and support systems to rural enterprises so they can achieve social objectives in a financially sustainable way. The case of Krishi Utsho—a network of 112 agricultural input shops in Bangladesh—illustrates how social franchising can address market and government coordination failures in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to benefit both rural entrepreneurs and their client smallholder farming families who earn under US$1 per day.

En la actualidad, el impulso a la actividad emprendedora ha sido una de las principales estrategias para fomentar la generación de empleos y el desarrollo de las localidades. Para poder realizar esta actividad de manera correcta, los generadores de política pública, entidades académicas e instituciones privadas deben conocer a los emprendedores y al emprendimiento de una manera holística.

En este contexto, se vuelve necesario estudiar, analizar y evaluar el ecosistema emprendedor en el que se insertan los nuevos emprendimientos, sobre todo aquellos que son de base tecnológica o de alto impacto, que son los que suelen generarse por oportunidad y que suelen tener altas tasas de crecimiento en poco tiempo. Aunque estudios previos se han enfocado en estudiar este contexto desde puntos de vista muy amplios, como naciones o regiones de países, el presente estudio presenta una alternativa para el estudio de los ecosistemas emprendedores, analizándolos desde el punto de vista local.

A fin de generar una herramienta confiable y potencialmente replicable, se consultaron fuentes diversas como el Banco Mundial, el Instituto Aspen, el Foro Económico Mundial, el Babson College y el Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Gracias a estas herramientas, se seleccionaron más de noventa indicadores, agrupados en veinte categorías y englobados en cinco diferentes pilares esenciales del ecosistema emprendedor: el ambiente regulatorio, la infraestructura de soporte, el acceso a capital, los recursos humanos y la cultura.

Esta herramienta busca ser de utilidad para realizar un diagnóstico adaptado a las necesidades de cada ecosistema, por lo que invita a la realización de nuevas investigaciones en otras ciudades de México y Latinoamérica.

Rooted in the territorial approach, this theoretical paper offers a systematic literature review (SLR) of ecosystems based on a selection of 104 articles and books and their archetypes. First, we identify and discuss the four main types of ecosystems – business, innovation, entrepreneurial, and knowledge ecosystems – and indicate the presence of other transversal concepts. Second, we provide an overview of related and well-established theories from the territorial approach that have been largely omitted although they are ecosystem archetypes. Third, we identify the invariants across the four diverging streams from the ecosystem approach and the seven diverging streams from the territorial approach. Finally, we propose a research framework based on the comparison between key invariants from both approaches and discuss their similarities and differences that could serve as a foundation for future empirical research. This study therefore links the ecosystem and territorial approaches under the complex evolutionary system umbrella by creating a theoretical framework that reflects the complex interconnection between models, theories, and emerging concepts.

A State of Victoria, Australia, report asserts that concept of the entrepreneurial university in Australia has “never been taken seriously” and had been “found to be lacking in validity” (State of Victoria, 2010, p. 83). This is a curious statement given that dozens of eminent research universities outside of Australia have adopted this strategic approach. This article reviews of the field of ‘university entrepreneurship’ with emphasis on the concept of ‘Triple Helix’. It takes as its case study the nine universities in the State of Victoria. The paper explores the sometimes conflicting conceptions of what constitutes an entrepreneurial university. In what sense are Victorian universities entrepreneurial? What are the key facilitators and barriers to becoming a more entrepreneurial university? Which elements of an ‘entrepreneurship ecosystems’ do these universities possess? The basic approach of the study is hermeneutic in that it relies on the interpretation of sense-making, the process by which people give meaning to experience. We take as our case study twentyseven respondents in nine universities within the State of Victoria, Australia. The literature review led to the choice of three instruments previously used and validated. My findings show that Victorian universities, if they identify with the concept of entrepreneurial university at all, believe that such a university is one that adopts commercial methods and values and one that engages in commercialisation of research. There is little knowledge of the other schools of thought such as corporate entrepreneurship, Triple Helix, or entrepreneurial ecosystem approaches. The nine institutions suffer from on-again, off-again support of senior management, if they enjoy any top-down support at all for their entrepreneurship ecosystems. Startling are that major research and science universities have virtually no entrepreneurship at all. The gap between world best-practice and Victorian practice is not being addressed.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are receiving growing attention from scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers in both developed and developing countries. Studies of this phenomenon have focused almost exclusively on ecosystems in large, urbanized regions and metropolitan areas, located primarily in developed economies. However, the prevalence of small cities across the globe and the increasing acknowledgment that entrepreneurship in small towns is a key determinant of their economic development and rejuvenation suggests that entrepreneurial ecosystems research would benefit from a broader lens of inquiry. This conceptual paper introduces the concept of small town entrepreneurial ecosystems, draws from a wide-ranging set of disciplines to delineate the ways in which small town ecosystems are similar to and different than their larger counterparts, and theorizes about several strategies small town entrepreneurial ecosystems use to overcome their limitations. The theory developed produces implications for scholars focused on entrepreneurial ecosystems, economic development, and emerging markets and suggests practical implications for policy-makers and development organizations seeking to improve the economic landscape of small cities.

Despite the ubiquity of small towns, the forces shaping entrepreneurship in cities of limited size, reach, and scope are unexamined. To address the lack of attention to small town entrepreneurship, a comparative-case study of two small towns (Newton Falls, Ohio and Geneva, Ohio) was conducted. The study examines how and to what extent entrepreneurial activity manifests in small towns and identifies the strategies and contextual forces that promote and hinder small town entrepreneurship. Findings reveal (a) a variety of entrepreneurial activities occur in small towns, (b) community members engage in market and community-based strategies to encourage entrepreneurship, and (c) there is an ecosystem of economic and community dynamics that spur and discourage entrepreneurial activity. The findings contribute to research on entrepreneurship and economic development in small towns and generate practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs.

The recent widespread interest of policy in
entrepreneurial ecosystems has been complemented by
a burgeoning academic research output. This research to
date may be broadly categorized as focusing on place,
actors, governance, and evolution. Of these groupings,
evolutionary processes have been paid least attention
despite their centrality to a dynamic ecosystem phenomenon
that evolves from an origin through processes of
growth, adaptation, and resilience. To redress this imbalance,
we frame a future research agenda on evolutionary
processes of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Foremost
amongst these are the competing lens for the
evolutionary processes, the appropriate and evolving
geographic scope and boundaries of the ecosystem,
and the evolving visible or invisible modes of governance.
Methodologically, we call for greater use of
longitudinal studies of such evolutionary processes.

Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems – systems of inter-related forces that promote and sustain regional entrepreneurship – are increasingly viewed as sources of innovation, economic development, and community revitalization. Regions with emerging, underdeveloped, or depressed economies are attempting to develop their nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems in the hopes of experiencing the positive benefits of entrepreneurial activity. For nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems to grow requires resources. However, it is not clear how nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems manage their resource dependencies and the tensions that exist between creating and attracting resources. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory of nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem resource dependence.

This conceptual paper analyzes entrepreneurial ecosystems as meta-organizations and builds on resource dependence theory to explain how nascent ecosystems respond to environmental dependencies and their resource needs through internal and external strategies.

We explore two specific strategies used by nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems to manage resource dependence – bridging and buffering. We propose a positive relationship between the resource dependence of a nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem and its use of bridging and buffering activities. We also identify two ecosystem characteristics that influence the pursuit of bridging and buffering: ecosystem size and the presence of collaborative values. In addition, we theorize that resource dependence strategies influence a key, system-level characteristic of entrepreneurial ecosystems: resilience, the ecosystem’s ability to respond and adapt to internal and external disruptions.

The theory presented generates insights into how nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems create and obtain resources when ecosystems are unmunificent, resource-constrained, or underdeveloped. Our theorizing addresses which resource dependence strategy – buffering or bridging – has a stronger link to resource dependence (and resilience) and under what conditions these linkages occur. We generate insights for research on entrepreneurship in emerging and developed economies and produce practical implications for ecosystem participants, policy-makers, and economic development organizations.

Over the past two decades, various policies have been implemented on an international and national level to support regional competitiveness, in which Universities are often called on to play a crucial role. Taking into account their contribution to the combined performance of education, the advanced research and the networking of knowledge, Universities are recognized as knowledge-intensive institutions and environments that foster human capital development, innovation and entrepreneurship. According to the current practice, Universities include in their mission not only a generalized transfer of know-how, but also the promotion of business thinking and entrepreneurial culture, the establishment of institutions, actions as well as the creation of venture capital, thus contributing further to the promotion of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. By examining the entrepreneurship development in teaching and learning through the various actions of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Units of the Greek Universities between 2011 and 2015, the present article aims at assessing the contribution of the Greek Universities to the fostering of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, making a comparative evaluation of them and strengthening the role of the Greek Universities in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. Firstly, the theoretical approaches of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems as well as the role of Universities in Regional Development are examined and analyzed. Secondly, it is attempted to record the role of the Greek Universities through the collection and processing of innovation information and actions, utilizing, as a case study, the structures of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Units. Thirdly, taking into account the results of the research, proposals for the national and regional policy are made.

This study examines the progress of the two major universities in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago toward the transition to entrepreneurial universities through the core components of designing and delivering entrepreneurship education programmes, establishing effective university-based business incubators, and building of university-industry-government collaboration. The theoretical construct of the triple helix interrelationships was applied to describe the progress of the universities toward pursuing their development mission. The main finding was that while the universities made progress toward achieving entrepreneurial university status, significant challenges related to the core components remained to be addressed.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems, the set of forces that generate and sustain regional entrepreneurial activity, are a growing focus of scholars and practitioners. Studies are beginning to draw attention to the role of cultural artifacts, including narratives, in the functioning of entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, the mechanisms driving narratives’ effects on ecosystem participants are unexamined. The purpose of this paper is to develop theory that explains the influence of entrepreneurial ecosystem narratives on how audiences process information. It is theorized that differences among ecosystems can, in part, be explained by differences in the properties of the narratives that take hold in them. Specifically, propositions are developed about four properties that represent sources of variation among ecosystem narratives: their ability to capture attention, influence the cognitive and emotional encoding of information, and be memorable. Further, it is argued that the maturity of the entrepreneurial ecosystem influences the novelty and potency of narrative effects. By integrating theories of cognitive and social psychology, narrative theory, and entrepreneurship, this paper advances our understanding of how narratives about entrepreneurial ecosystems influence audiences.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems – the inter-connected set of organizing forces that produce and sustain regional entrepreneurial activity – are receiving heightened attention. Research finds that narratives about ecosystem participants discursively construct entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, studies do not emphasize ecosystem- and region-level narratives, do not focus on ecosystems in which narratives are contested, and, thus, do not examine how ecosystem narratives compete with other regional narratives. The purpose of this paper is to develop a theory that explains how narratives and entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge and change in response to existing regional narratives.

A longitudinal process model is proposed to explain how entrepreneurial ecosystem narratives emerge and compete with other regional narratives. To illustrate the phases of the model, archival data was collected from three entrepreneurial ecosystems (Warren and Youngstown, Ohio; Chattanooga, Tennessee) where new narratives have had to overcome entrenched economic and cultural narratives.

It is theorized that entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge, in part, through discourse. For an entrepreneurial ecosystem to develop, a narrative must take hold that allows participants to make sense of the new entrepreneurial activities and the changes to the region. A four-phase process model is presented to explain how entrepreneurial ecosystem narratives compete with other regional narratives and, particularly, negative economic narratives.

The theory developed in this paper contributes to research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and organizational narratives and generates practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs seeking to promote entrepreneurship as a tool for economic development.

My intention in this paper is to take an expansive view of the word ‘ecosystem’ and to discuss
how a seemingly biological concept works at the level of society and at the level of the private
sector, which includes business entrepreneurs. My ultimate aim is to connect the role of
universities with entrepreneurs and the planet by introducing the concept of entrepreneurial
ecology. Entrepreneurs are more related to the planet than one might on first thought imagine.
As one example, I launch this paper with a status report on climate change in Asia and its
relation to entrepreneurs. I then develop a promising framework to describe what we mean by
‘positive entrepreneurship’ and its relationship to the biosphere. I finally make the connection to
the role of the university within the Triple Helix framework to climate change and
entrepreneurial activity, and conclude with a call for ‘landscape analysis’ of a university’s
readiness to become an entrepreneurial university.
2
As I generate a new approach to knowledge, I find myself relying on a variety of approaches. In
the first instance I take a systems approach in examining the linkages between particular
environmental phenomena and the social system known as entrepreneurship. I also must rely on
biological analysis with special focus on balance, competition, and the ecological processes of
invasion, succession, and dominance, also well-known characteristics of entrepreneurial activity.
One such principle is ‘perturbation’, which is similar to what Schumpeter calls ‘creative
destruction’. Another approach I find myself taking is ecological analysis which looks at
resilience, resistance, persistence, and variability. Spatial analysis is also a necessary
characteristic of the present research in focusing on the extent and scope of physical
infrastructures that influence entrepreneurship in the age of climate change. Finally, I also use
material flow analysis, which looks at the flows of materials and energy, metabolism studies
and ecological footprints that entrepreneurs leave behind and that affect the current climate
change crisis.

The contextual turn in entrepreneurship research has shifted scholars’ attention to the place-based forces that shape entrepreneurship in vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, such as Silicon Valley, Stockholm, and Bangalore. Studies find that an important component of ecosystems is the knowledge they contain about the entrepreneurship process. However, the critical questions of how entrepreneurs overcome challenges associated with acquiring tacit knowledge, how entrepreneurs leverage their ecosystems to organize knowledge, and what factors influence an ecosystem’s ability to serve as a knowledge repository remain unexamined. To formulate a theory explaining how entrepreneurs use their ecosystems to facilitate knowledge management and organizational learning, insights from group cognition are adapted to introduce the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem transactive memory. It is theorized that ecosystem-level characteristics, including diversity, coherence, connectivity, prosociality, and interdependence, influence an ecosystem’s transactive memory structure and processes. By examining the linkages between ecosystem characteristics and transactive memory, a more nuanced understanding of the cognitive dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems is provided. The theoretical model charts a path for interdisciplinary research on knowledge management in entrepreneurial ecosystems and generates implications for practitioners.

Κατά τις τελευταίες δύο δεκαετίες εφαρμόζονται σε διεθνές και εθνικό επίπεδο πολιτικές στήριξης της περιφερειακής ανταγωνιστικότητας και ανάπτυξης στις οποίες συχνά κεντρικό ρόλο καλούνται να διαδραματίσουν τα Ιδρύματα Τριτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης (Ι.Τ.Ε.). Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη την συμβολή τους στην συνδυασμένη απόδοση εκπαίδευσης, προηγμένης έρευνας και δικτύωσης γνώσης, αναγνωρίζονται ως φορείς και περιβάλλοντα έντασης γνώσης τα οποία στηρίζουν την ανάπτυξη του ανθρώπινου κεφαλαίου, της καινοτομίας και της επιχειρηματικότητας (Cooke, και συν., 1997). Σύμφωνα με την σύγχρονη πρακτική τα Ι.Τ.Ε. περιλαμβάνουν στην αποστολή τους πέραν της γενικευμένης μεταφοράς τεχνολογίας, και την καλλιέργεια επιχειρηματικής σκέψης και κουλτούρας, την δημιουργία θεσμών, δράσεων και επιχειρηματικού κεφαλαίου συμβάλλοντας περαιτέρω στην ενίσχυση των περιφερειακών οικοσυστημάτων επιχειρηματικότητας.  Η παρούσα εργασία αποσκοπεί στην ανάδειξη και αξιολόγηση της συμβολής των ελληνικών Πανεπιστημίων στην ενίσχυση των περιφερειακών οικοσυστημάτων επιχειρηματικότητας, παρουσιάζοντας παράλληλα τα εμπόδια και τους παράγοντες επιτάχυνσης της αποστολής τους αυτής. Διερευνώνται και συζητούνται κατά πρώτον, οι θεωρητικές προσεγγίσεις των περιφερειακών οικοσυστημάτων επιχειρηματικότητας καθώς και του ρόλου της Τριτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης στην Περιφερειακή Ανάπτυξη. Κατά δεύτερον, επιχειρείται η αποτύπωση του ρόλου των ελληνικών Πανεπιστημίων μέσα από μια πρώτη συγκέντρωση και επεξεργασία στοιχείων και δράσεων καινοτομίας και επιχειρηματικότητας αξιοποιώντας ως μελέτη περίπτωσης τις δομές των Μονάδων Καινοτομίας και Επιχειρηματικότητας. Κατά τρίτον, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, κατατίθενται προτάσεις εθνικής και περιφερειακής πολιτικής.

please send an email to vincent.blok@wur.nl if you want to receive the PDF

Sustainable entrepreneurs are key actors in sustainability transitions; they develop needed innovations, create markets,
and pressure incumbents. While socio-technical transitions literature is well developed, questions remain in terms of
(1) the different roles that sustainable entrepreneurs can play in sustainable transitions, and (2) how best to empower
these roles. To explore these challenges, we review literature and construct a framework combining the multilevel
perspective and entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. We apply this framework to the context of climate-smart
agriculture in (Western and Central) Europe. By analysing semi-structured interview data (n=27) we find that
sustainable entrepreneurs are constrained by ineffective policy, resistant users, as well as novel alignment issues within
the supply chain. We focus on the role of sustainable entrepreneurs as coordinators of action rather than developers of
technological innovation within transition contexts characterised by low landscape pressures, large unmotivated
incumbent firms, low consumer awareness and demand, and unincentivized users (farmers).

Undoubtedly, stimulating the European entrepreneurship is one of the most important prerequisites both for strengthening the EU member-state financial position and for maintaining their share in international production as a reply to the trends of the national economy and the growth rates of the fast emerging Asian economies. At the same time, there is an obvious insufficiency to fully utilise their business potential, since they offer neither an attractive location for their business activities nor the required conditions for shaping and developing a business mentality. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the financial, cultural or social factors related to encouraging or discouraging the decision made by young businessmen to establish businesses in the Greek Territory, with the Region of Peloponnese serving as a case study. More particularly, the paper aims at analysing the special characteristics of youth entrepreneurship in the Greek Territory, the problems faced by young people who decide to undertake a business initiative as well as the problems faced by those young people who examine the possibility to develop a business activity. The methodological framework of the research is based on a series of personal interviews by means of a structured questionnaire with closed and open questions in which participated seventy (70) young businessmen from various sectors of the regional economy who have their seat in one of the five (5) Prefectures in Peloponnese. The participants of the aforementioned research on youth entrepreneurship were businessmen aged between 19 and 40 years old. The statistical processing of the research data results in a series of findings concerning the characteristics and the factors that affect youth entrepreneurship, which lead to corresponding regional policy proposals.

Female-led ventures that are market-expanding, export-oriented, and innovative contribute substantially to
local and national economic development, as well as to
the female entrepreneur’s economic welfare. Female-led
ventures also serve as models that can encourage other
high-potential female entrepreneurs. The supply of high-potential entrepreneurial ventures is driven by individuals’
entrepreneurial attitudes and institutional factors  associated with a country’s conditions for entrepreneurial
expansion. A systematic assessment of those factors can
show policymakers the strengths and weaknesses of the
environment for high-potential female entrepreneurship.

This study aims to identify the prevailing type of culture and its relationship with performance in SMEs operating in Pakistan. Using competing value framework, the cultural profile and dominant characteristics of SMEs are identified and investigated to ascertain their implied relationship with organizational performance on the basis of certain self-assessment variables. For this purpose, primary data was collected form SME employees through a self-administered survey questionnaire. The results revealed that 'hierarchy' culture is the prevailing type of culture and a statistically significant relationship exists between organizational culture and performance among the sampled SMEs. The study concludes with certain important insinuations for theory and practice especially concerned with SMEs.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are receiving growing attention. However, prior research has primarily focused on the physical characteristics and artifacts of such systems. The social construction of entrepreneurial ecosystems, and particularly the discourse involved in their creation, evolution, and promotion, has not been examined. To address this omission in prior research, this conceptual paper builds on work from several disciplines on a specific type of discourse: narratives. Theory is developed regarding the types of narratives constructed in entrepreneurial ecosystems and their functions. The theorizing draws from and synthesizes multiple streams of research, including work on sensemaking, identity construction, legitimacy, and attention.

Undoubtedly, stimulating the European entrepreneurship is one of the most important prerequisites both for strengthening the EU member-state financial position and for maintaining their share in international production as a reply to the trends of the national economy and the growth rates of the fast emerging Asian economies. At the same time, there is an obvious insufficiency to fully utilise their business potential, since they offer neither an attractive location for their business activities nor the required conditions for shaping and developing a business mentality. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the financial, cultural or social factors related to encouraging or discouraging the decision made by young businessmen to establish businesses in the Greek Territory, with the Region of Peloponnese serving as a case study. More particularly, the paper aims at analysing the special characteristics of youth entrepreneurship in the Greek Territory, the problems faced by...

The notion of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) has garnered considerable attention in the academic discourse. However, quite often this notion is treated as just a biological metaphor that should not be taken too seriously. I challenge this view and ask in a thought experiment what could be learned from the management of natural ecosystems to assist the development of EEs. The outcome is a novel, service-based definition of EEs and five suggested principles for the management of EEs that might advance theorizing on them and future empirical analysis.

La construcción de un sistema de aprendizaje que complemente el sistema de instrucción y desarrolle en los estudiantes de diferentes carreras los atributos y características del emprendedor es un desiderátum clave en el entorno universitario contemporáneo. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la experiencia de los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje del emprendimiento desde las comunidades de aprendizaje, una estrategia que se ha desarrollado en la Universidad
del Zulia. La idea es situar a los participantes en la cúspide del proceso buscando fortalecer lashabilidades empresariales en beneficio tanto de la comunidad académica como del dinamismo de la economía productiva del país. El método utilizado es analítico, bibliográfico, documental y de campo. Se concluye que bajo el liderazgo de cinco comunidades de aprendizaje se han podido reorientar los flujos de conocimiento hacia y desde el aula y la comunidad organizada, gestionando y articulando las acciones de cooperación tanto interna como interinstitucionalmente. Mediante redes empresariales y diferentes medios virtuales y cara a cara, las acciones emprendedoras
se construyen bajo la supervisión del desempeño de competencias empresariales por un tiempo determinado, estimulando la construcción de un modelo de dinamización económica.

Palabras clave: universidad emprendedora; comunidades de aprendizaje; estrategia de emprendimiento; redes de emprendedores; ecosistema de emprendimiento.

This paper develops and applies a new evaluative approach to local entrepreneurial ecosystems, as configural narratives. We examine how configurations of local entrepreneurial ecosystem attributes, as evaluated by local experts, support or hinder the emergence of new and innovative firms. Drawing on sociology of place, we present a novel configurational comparative analysis of local experts’ evaluation of their ecosystems in Chile. Our proposed approach to entrepreneurial ecosystems helps us uncover two counterintuitive findings and so elaborate on interferences that have not yet been addressed through conventional concepts, methods and data. First, we reveal three distinct ecosystem types explaining different local levels of new firm activity: Active self-propelled, Indulged and Passive self-absorbed. The internal composition of these types change when only innovative and high growth firms are taken into consideration. Second, we show why, when seen as configural narratives, ecosystem attributes that have been assumed necessary play only a peripheral role. Our study demonstrates a split picture against seemingly similar outcomes and homogenous local contexts, contributing to the advancement of entrepreneurial ecosystem theory, observation and assessment.

Scholars are increasingly adopting an ecosystems perspective focused on the complex systems of factors that influence organizations. A type of ecosystem that is receiving significant academic and practitioner attention is the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE): the interconnected system of actors and forces that supports or hinders entrepreneurship in a geographic area. However, the role that leaders play in ecosystem development, particularly in unmunificent contexts, has received little attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate EE leadership and development and induce a theory explaining how it unfolds. An inductive research design was combined with the case study methodology to analyze the leadership of an entrepreneurial support organization (an incubator) and its role in developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The findings revealed that incubator leaders constructed a dynamic leadership model that evolved as the EE developed and was tailored to the region’s strengths and weaknesses. The study contributes to research at the nexus of leadership and entrepreneurship by introducing a new level of analysis (the meta-organization), focusing on an underexamined leader-type (the support organization), and emphasizing the interplay between leadership and regional characteristics.

Entrepreneurial alertness can play a vital role in the identification and creation of opportunities involving early-stage ventures. However, the strategic function of entrepreneurial alertness in more mature organizations has not been explored. In a field study of organizations responding to an environmental disruption, we explore if entrepreneurial alertness influences decisions involving the creation and maintenance of competitive advantage. We find a direct effect of entrepreneurial alertness on strategic change decisions and organizational performance. Moreover, we find a synergistic influence of entrepreneurial alertness and other cognitions, including issue categorization and assessments of uncertainty, on strategic decisions. Findings demonstrate that managerial decision makers can take multiple, reinforcing pathways when heeding change.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) are receiving intense attention. However, the revitalization of inactive EEs in unmunificent contexts is understudied. To investigate this phenomenon, an inductive study was conducted of a once-vibrant EE that became dormant because of an undiversified industrial base and a precipitous decline in its regional economy. The study revealed that the community members working to revitalize the city's EE ("EE champions") used a holistic collection of economic, socio-cultural, community, and discursive strategies. The findings have implications for scholars focused on entrepreneurship in atypical contexts, the micro-foundations of EEs, and EE leadership. The study also generates concrete insights for practitioners seeking to reinvigorate EEs.

Entrepreneurs require human resources to establish and scale their ventures; however, constraints often prevent entrepreneurs from investing in formal human resource systems. How entrepreneurs overcome human resource challenges by leveraging their entrepreneurial ecosystems as informal inter-organizational talent management systems has been overlooked by scholars. We propose a model of entrepreneurial ecosystem human resource management, theorizing that ecosystem participants collectively perform the human resource management function for entrepreneurship communities. Drawing from economic rents theory, we explain how entrepreneurial ecosystems encourage a form of meta-organizational human resource management that allows ecosystem participants to coordinate talent acquisition, learning and development, performance management and rewards, and retention. Coordinated entrepreneurial ecosystems improve entrepreneurial performance by sourcing talent, onboarding selected members, enculturating ecosystem values, developing entrepreneurial skills, and retaining human resources, which in turn generates rents. We discuss how our theory catalyzes research at the HR and entrepreneurial ecosystems interface and reveals insights for practitioners.

Academics and practitioners are increasingly lauding the economic and community benefits of entrepreneurial ecosystems: the inter-related forces that promote and support entrepreneurship in geographic areas. Most researchers examining entrepreneurial ecosystems have sought to
identify their core attributes rather than isolating the concrete mechanisms by which entrepreneurial ecosystems influence entrepreneurs. We address this omission in ecosystems research by theorizing about a specific set of economic forces through which ecosystems influence the entrepreneurship process: cost-reduction mechanisms. We integrate and extend insights from transaction cost economics and develop a framework for understanding the cost reducing effects of ecosystems on entrepreneurial activities. We synthesize the fragmented research on entrepreneurial ecosystem coordination and theorize that as coordination increases
three types of costs – search, negotiation, and enforcement – decrease, which improves ecosystem participants’ ability to engage in entrepreneurship. Our theorizing contributes to research at the management and entrepreneurship interface and produces actionable insights for entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders.