Looking inside the spiky bits: a critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems

Abstract

The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has quickly established itself as one of the latest 'fads' in entrepreneurship research. At face value, this kind of systemic approach to entrepreneurship offers a new and distinctive path for scholars and policy makers to help understand and foster growth-oriented entrepreneurship. However, its lack of specification and conceptual limitations has undoubtedly hindered our understanding of these complex organisms. Indeed, the rapid adoption of the concept has tended to overlook the heterogeneous nature of ecosystems. This paper provides a critical review and conceptualisation of the ecosystems concept: it unpacks the dynamics of the concept; outlines its theoretical limitations; measurement approaches and use in policy-making. It sets out a preliminary taxonomy of different archetypal ecosystems. The paper concludes that entrepreneurial ecosystems are a highly variegated, multi-actor and multi-scalar phenomenon, requiring bespoke policy interventions.

Entrepreneurship and the city

“…Whether speculative or productive, collaboration spreads the risk of investment across the different stakeholders involved. For example, in entrepreneurial ecosystems, the support of new venture projects rests on various partnerships (see Brown & Mason, 2017). In speculative investments, a diverse portfolio maximizes the likelihood of profit (see Lauermann, 2018).…”

An infatuation with building things: Business strategies, linkages, and small city economic development in Manitoba

“…Isenberg's () six‐part categorization of the “domains of the entrepreneurship ecosystem” (markets, policy, finance, culture, supports, and human capital) is a good example. However helpful this conceptual development has been, the existing emphasis on regional cluster development components leaves weaknesses to be addressed (Brown & Mason, ). Relating to the present study, two specific criticisms are of relevance.…”

“…The EE literature provides a powerful framework of great utility in conceptualizing the factors driving the operation and growth of local business communities (Malecki, 2018). As already noted, these factors and the communities they shape interact in a broad spectrum of ways that reflect the structural complexity of even a small city's competitive environment (Brown & Mason, 2017). Accordingly, the EE and its ecological metaphor is an appropriate paradigm to frame the present multifaceted study of local businesses, public institutions, and their strategies for business expansion.…”

Demand pull or supply push? Metro-level analysis of start-ups in the United States

“…In fact, empirical evidence suggests that the growth of employment or productivity in high-tech sectors has been slower than the overall economy since the 1990s (Hecker, 2005;Kask & Sieber, 2002). Furthermore, among high-growth companies, high-tech sectors comprise less than one-quarter (Brown & Mason, 2017;Motoyama, 2015). Thus, we examine entrepreneurship across all sectors of the economy and move to the second school of thought that considers agglomeration economies, which affect external economies of urbanization and localization.…”