How to measure Entrepreneurial Ecosystems? Current debate and challenges for the Brazilian case

Abstract

Objective: The paper reviews and systematizes the metrics proposed in the literature for measuring the different elements of entrepreneurship ecosystems and discuss the challenges of measuring ecosystems at the regional level and in the Brazilian case. Method: Bibliographic review of the metrics proposed for Entrepreneurship Ecosystems and descriptive statistics to systematize the indicators found in the literature. Results: There is still no uniformity in the proposal of metrics. Most of them have a national approach and are related to the dimensions of public policy and regulation, culture, and resources. The effort to apply theory to the Brazilian case is still incipient, and it is necessary to construct adequate metrics for the national reality. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The article contributes to the debate on the measurement of entrepreneurship ecosystems by showing the diversity of proposed methodologies and indicators, existing gaps, the need to think about indicators for the subnational level, and the implications for the Brazilian case. Relevance/Originality: Despite its potential as a tool for public policies, the concept of EE and its measurement methods are still underexplored by the Brazilian academic community. The article aims to fill this gap and demonstrate that this line of academic research is promising.