Towards Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in a Transitional Economy: An Analysis of Two Romanian City-Regions through the Lens of Entrepreneurs

Abstract

The entrepreneurial ecosystem, one of the latest trends for researchers and practitioners, has the potential to increase our understanding of entrepreneurship. Existing research was conducted mostly in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the particularities of entrepreneurial ecosystems in two important city-regions of Romania, which should result in a better understanding of the specific context of this transitional economy. Starting from the models of entrepreneurial ecosystems proposed in the literature, we added an element specific to most post-communist states: political entrepreneurs, underlying the impact of their presence for the evolution and sustainability of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The research design was a qualitative exploratory study. The study focused on a sample of 21 entrepreneurs from two city-regions in Romania: Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. The interviews were based on open-ended questions prompting the respondents to engage in a storytelling approach to describe their experiences as entrepreneurs in a volatile environment, along with their perceptions. The data were analyzed based on a descriptive phenomenological approach using thematic analysis. The main findings, resulting from the qualitative interview data, are that although entrepreneurship, both in results and mentality, is well-established, seemingly over the “point of no return”, the particular context is still making things rough for entrepreneurial activity. The results suggest a strong need for coherent policies at local and national levels.

The Influence of Local Economic Conditions on Start-Ups and Local Open Innovation System

“…Given the specificity of start-ups, this is a rational and logical conclusion confirmed by the authors' research and previous publications [53,54,56,58]. In this context, the role of the city is to take care of improving human resources and attracting potential investors [63,68,73,74,76].…”

“…They do not bear the economic, image, organizational, and legal consequences of the failure of a business. They only lose the invested capital, which usually does not significantly deplete their accumulated financial resources [73][74][75][76].…”

Country’s Entrepreneurial Environment Predictors for Starting a New Venture—Evidence for Romania

“…If properly assisted and supported through a clear and unshifting legislative basis, a supportive education system, as well as ongoing and stable financing sources, entrepreneurs could be able to produce powerful, long-lasting, and sustainable change for the benefit of their nations, regardless of economic challenges or social setbacks that they are confronted with [14,19]. Yet, earlier studies on entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurship career pathway development show that there is a decreasing interest in entrepreneurship and self-employment in many transitional economies around the globe [20][21][22].…”

The Entrepreneurial Environment in Greek Rural Areas: The Entrepreneur’s Viewpoint

“…Aiming to reach stable economic development, governments, on either a national or regional scale, should support the creation of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, which must be a major goal of public policies. Sustainability is an important organic part of the added value provided by an entrepreneurial ecosystem [43].…”