Searching for the existence of entrepreneurial ecosystems: a regional cross-section growth regression approach

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a method by which the entrepreneurial ecosystem, if present, reveals itself in the data. We first follow the literature and define the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a multidimensional set of interacting factors that moderate the effect of entrepreneurial activity on economic growth. The quality of such an ecosystem, by its multidimensionality, is impossible to measure directly. But so defined, we argue that variation in entrepreneurial ecosystem quality should result in variation in the estimated marginal effect of entrepreneurial activity on economic growth. Testing for such variation is possible using a combination of a multilevel growth regression and latent class analysis. We motivate and validate our approach in simulated data before illustrating its applicability in a data set covering 107 European NUTS1-2 regions across 16 EU member states. For this dataset, we cannot reject the hypothesis of a homogeneous contribution of entrepreneurship to regional growth. That is, in this dataset, we find

Innovation Ecosystems in Brazil: Research Universities as Drivers of Competitiveness

“…Interestingly, our empirical approach suggests that such effects are mostly circumscribed to cities, signalling that larger regions might not be adequate geographic units for innovation ecosystems' analytical purposes (Audretsch & Belitski, 2017;Bruns et al, 2017;Qian et al, 2013). This finding emphasizes the importance of spatial proximity (Fritsch & Schwirten, 2006), but it also draws attention to the geographical limits of innovation spillovers.…”

The Performance of High-Growers and Regional Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Research Framework

“…Consequently, firms featuring the same regional context might experience similar growth and profitability patterns Capozza et al, 2018;Dosi & Grazzi, 2006;Chandler, McKelvie, & Davidsson, 2009;Coad, 2009;Lumpkin & Dess, 1996). The extant findings prove the importance of favourable context conditions (resource munificence, financial and institutional support) for firm growth and profitability (Bruns et al, 2017;Barbosa & Eiriz, 2011). Environments differ in resource munificence and can support growth and profitability by the access to financing (Wiklund, 1999;Wiklund & Shepherd, 2003; The Performance of High-Growers and Regional Entrepreneurial … | 105 Chandler et al, 2009;Gagliardi, 2009;Colombo & Grilli, 2005) and institutional support (Janssen, 2009;Baughn et al, 2010;Corrente et al, 2019).…”

“…Although the case-based empirical evidence on EEs is developing (e.g., Auerswald & Dani, 2017;Cunningham, Menter, & Wirsching, 2019;Thomas, Sharapov, & Autio, 2018), quantitative studies are still scarce and largely unsuccessful in confirming the impact of EEs on the performance of regions and firms (Bruns et al, 2017;Acs et al, 2017). The cause might be unique characteristics of each territory Mason & Brown, 2013;Martin & Sunley, 2003), while extant methodologies tested sets of factors expected to bring similar effects in heterogeneous locations.…”

“…The EE concept recognizes the importance of territorial environments for productive entrepreneurship that is best reflected in high-growers and scale-ups or unicorns (Mason & Brown, 2014;Stam, 2017;Spigel, 2016;Dominiak, Wasilczuk, & Starnawska, 2016). The EE concept focuses on the performance of firms and territorial units, especially local and regional settings, however, countries and world regions are also considered (Bruns et al, 2017). It emerged as a policy measure to support quality startups and firm growth rather than entrepreneurship at large.…”

Configurations of Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: An Assessment of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

“…Amongst the factors related to entrepreneurial location in geographical space, access to a relevant knowledge base stands for a fundamental attribute of interesteven more so for the scrutiny of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (Nicotra et al, 2017;Boschma & Martin, 2010). Affluent 2 Because of the highly local nature of entrepreneurial ecosystems, literature has recognized these units (cities) as the most adequate locus for empirical assessments (Bruns et al, 2017;Audretsch & Belitski, 2017) technological environments tend to facilitate entrepreneurial activity at the local level (Nicotra et al, 2017). In the State of São Paulo, Brazil, city-level patenting activity has demonstrated a strong influence on the emergence of KIE activity (Fischer et al, 2017).…”