Entrepreneurial ecosystems: a systematic literature review and research agenda

Abstract

PurposeThe emerging concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has captured the attention of scholars, practitioners and policymakers. Although studies on entrepreneurial ecosystems continue to grow, their contributions are still disintegrated. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of extant literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems and to develop a research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe study deployed a systematic literature review of 51 articles obtained from three comprehensive databases of Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus. The analysis includes two phases. First, a descriptive account of research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and second, a content analysis based on a thematic categorization of entrepreneurial ecosystems research.FindingsThe findings show that the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems is both under-theorized and it has been recently dominated by conceptual studies. The focus of empirical research is on technology-based industries in Western economies using cases studies as methodological approach.Research limitations/implicationsThis review contributes to the body of knowledge on entrepreneurial ecosystems research by providing a systematic review following a thematic grouping of extant research into antecedents, outputs and outcomes of entrepreneurial ecosystems.Originality/valueIt reveals existing theoretical and empirical gaps in research as well as offering avenues of future research on entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Entrepreneurial Initiative: Building a Multi-Country Taxonomy

“…As entrepreneurship gained popularity, over the past two decades, academics and practitioners contributed with a plethora of studies on different topics, namely, venture financing, corporate entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and sustainability, entrepreneurial cognition, women and minority entrepreneurs, global entrepreneurial movement, family businesses, and entrepreneurial education [7]. The contributions proposed eclectic approaches, ranging from the individual, firm, region or country level.…”

“…Entrepreneurship has an interdisciplinary nature proved by the links with economics, managements, psychology, which may be extended to other academic fields. The recognition of entrepreneurship as a critical source of economic development and growth in most counties [7,18] has increased the need of analyzing the underlining dynamics of new venture creation, since it depends on the interdependency of multiple context-based factors [19].…”

“…The encouragement to implement supportive policies towards entrepreneurship in a global scale pushed economies to manage entrepreneurial ecosystems differently triggering the emergence of structural differences among underdeveloped, emergent, or developed countries [6]. As EEs gained preponderance, their space of action was expanded, leveraging an international perspective around the phenomenon revealing the importance of grasping the different realities [7,8].…”

Start-ups in entrepreneurial ecosystems: the role of relational capacity

“…The importance of territory, or location, for the competitiveness of entrepreneurial firms has long been acknowledged (Audretsch, 2015;Iacobucci and Perugini, 2021). Entrepreneurial ecosystems represent territories that include institutions that foster the emergence and support of new businesses, bring together individuals with innovation capacity and promote entrepreneurship (Audretsch et al, 2021;Brown and Mason, 2017;Isenberg, 2011;Kansheba and Wald, 2020;Spigel, 2017;Spigel and Harrison, 2018;Voelker, 2012). This concept has proven its relevance in studying start-ups but marked differences exist between various entrepreneurial ecosystems (Autio et al, 2018;Cohen, 2006;Wickham, 2004).…”

“…A systematic literature review on entrepreneurial ecosystems indicates that conceptual studies prevail, while empirical research, especially quantitative research, is still scarce (Kansheba and Wald, 2020;Wurth et al, 2021). In other words, Stam's (2015, p. 1,759) call for more "causal depth and evidence base" of the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach remains very topical.…”