Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a framework of the elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the context of born global start-ups. The study also applies this framework to uncover the ecosystem elements that impact start-ups during their initial phases of discovery and validation. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an online survey questionnaire sent out to several Estonian start-ups. Based on the responses, a dataset was developed and analysed using STATA and t-test methodology. Findings The analysis resulted in the identification of seven systemic ecosystem elements as the main factors impacting the launch and ten elements impacting the growth of born global start-ups. The systemic elements that comprise the ecosystem’s strengths and weaknesses were also identified. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional nature of the survey method and the single-country context are noted as limitations of the study and offer future research potential for longitudinal settings, for mixed method studies and for comparative country data. Practical implications The study suggests that start-ups should function in a more collective manner to create platforms, promote one another’s products and services where possible and launch collective initiatives to enhance their visibility in the global context. Born globals should engage with their local entrepreneurial ecosystem, while remaining aware of its relative strengths and weaknesses for supporting internationalisation. Social implications Although the local ecosystem involves many stakeholders, this study helps identify key stakeholders that should be focused on by the government. Doing so will help create an increasingly comprehensive ecosystem at the national level – one that functions efficiently in supporting growth-seeking enterprises such as born globals. Originality/value This study combines the two research streams of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and born globals by directly connecting them with systemic elements. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to combine the two, thus making an added contribution by highlighting macro- and micro-viewpoints, with the former lacking in research on born globals and the latter in research on ecosystems. Thus, the present study helps in bringing venture creation and local ecosystem development research closer to each other.

The entrepreneurial ecosystem stream of research is relatively new, yet it has started to attract the attention of scholars across a range of disciplines including international business and international entrepreneurship. Review studies are needed to consolidate the research and to illustrate the status quo and present visions for research going forward. This study aims to do so by applying bibliometric process technique. The present study summarizes the key countries and institutions, source journals, scholars and publications, and key themes encompassing the domain of entrepreneurial ecosystem research up to 2019. The findings illustrate an exponential growth of research covering a wide array of disciplines and top journals, observe several influential scholars and their collaboration networks, and find that the studies remain distinctly practitioner focused. In addition, six themes within the research domain are identified. The multilevel analysis gives a comprehensive overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem domain.

The entrepreneurial-ecosystem concept has recently gained renewed attention among entrepreneurship scholars, yet research in the fields of regional studies and international entrepreneurship has stayed notably silent on the role that incubating environments can have in driving entrepreneurial activities in developing rapidly internationalising born-global (BG) firms.In this exploratory study, we seek to further the discussion on the role that the entrepreneurial ecosystem can have in the research on international entrepreneurship affecting firm development. We assess entrepreneurial ecosystems in Finland and Estonia from the point of view of BG entrepreneurs and do so in a transnational-ecosystem context. Using a survey method and data analysis employing an analysis of variance (ANOVA), this study contributes to the literature on regional studies and international entrepreneurship by examining which of the transnational entrepreneurial ecosystem's structural elements are critical for start-ups during their developmental stages and how these elements are perceived differently depending on the characteristics of BG firms. The study thus enhances understanding of the interactions of the transnational entrepreneurial ecosystem and its role in supporting new ventures.

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