Research

Contextual and evolutionary perspectives on entrepreneurial ecosystems. Insights from Chris Freeman’s thinking

In recent years a concept gaining much traction amongst both economic and policy communities is that of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EE). We are interested in this concept because it has clear roots in innovation system thinking and can be argued to represent a contemporary iteration of ideas around systemic understandings and policy approaches to economic development, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In our work we have been exploring the links between earlier innovation systems and newer entrepreneurial ecosystem concepts. In this essay, we expand this line of thinking by interrogating the EE concept from the perspective of the work of Christopher Freeman, often called the father of innovation studies. It is our argument that by combining contemporary debates in EE with the more ‘classic’ literatures from the innovation systems cannon, we can gain a deeper understanding of the trinity of economic development, innovation, and entrepreneurship to be of benefit both to the research and policy communities. Specifically, in this paper we zoom in on two specific elements of Freeman’s thinking on innovation systems: context specificity and evolutionary dynamics and push EE thinking forward using these insights.

Diverging associations of dimensions of competitiveness with gender and personality

More attention must be paid to the multidimensional nature of competitiveness to better understand how competitiveness relates to personality and gender. We focus on three dimensions: Desire to Win (DW), Personal Development competitiveness (PD), and Enjoyment of Competition (EC). Our empirical exploratory analysis is based on a large sample of 1520 individuals. We control for interdimensional correlations, correct for multiple testing, and use conservative thresholds to provide robust evidence on dimension-specific associations of competitiveness with personality, operationalized via the HEXACO framework, and gender. Independent of the respectively other competitiveness dimensions, DW relates to less honesty-humility and less agreeableness, PD to more emotionality, and EC to more extraversion and less emotionality. EC is the sole source of gender differences among the correlated competitiveness dimensions.

The role of diaspora in opportunity-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems: A mixed-methods study of Balkan economies

Migration is among the main factors influencing economic development in the twenty-first century. And while much research has explored the role of migration on economic growth, the role of diaspora for the development of the country-of-origin entrepreneurial ecosystems remains virtually unknown. We advance evidence that the entrepreneurial activity in a country does not depend only on the activities of the current residents but also on the ties that keep them interconnected via its diaspora to global entrepreneurial hubs and on the (intangible) resources that the diaspora makes available to local entrepreneurs. We perform a mixed-method study and provide evidence consistent with the idea that the diaspora stimulates opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activity despite potential conditions of a brain drain, by contributing essential social and human capital to the resources available locally.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems meets Innovation Systems: Synergies, Policy Lessons and Overlooked Dimensions 

This edited book - a joined effort with Alexandra Tsvetkova and Rhiannon Pugh - presents multidisciplinary research that expands our understanding of the innovation system (IS) and the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) perspectives on regional economic development. It critically reviews the two concepts and explores the promise and the limits of bridging IS and EE, particularly as applied outside of the bubbling global hubs or to the types of entrepreneurship different from the high-growth variety.

Here is an external article on one of the chapters.

Beyond global hubs: Broadening the application of systems approaches

Special Issue with the following contributions

Orchestrating an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in an emerging country: The lead actor’s role from a social capital perspective by A. Porras-Paez and J. Schmutzler

Innovation systems and entrepreneurial ecosystems: Implications for policy and practice in Latin America by L. Carlos Freire-Gibb and G. Gregson

Public policy’s role and capability in fostering the emergence and evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems: A case of ecosystem-based policy in Finland by N. Nordling

Exploring the convergence between sustainability and local innovation systems from a southern perspective: What Brazilian empirical evidence has to offer by M.G. Podcameni, J.E. Cassiolato, M.C. Lustosa, I. Marcellino, & P. Rocha 

Using technology to improve access to healthcare: The case of the MomConnect programme in South Africa by S.S. Grobbelaar and M. Uriona-Maldonado

Orchestrating an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in an emerging country: The lead actor’s role from a social capital perspective

During the recent years, the question of whether an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem emerges organically or is man-made has been disputed. This paper explores the case of an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in a developing country. We argue that in the context of lagging industrial development and weak institutions, a lead actor needs to step in to aid the emergence of an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. We argue that only a locally embedded actor who has the resource endowment and the legitimacy to do so can assume such a role. By applying social capital theory, we show that deliberate strategies by this lead actor to densify the social network within the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem will assist in establishing trust and future collaboration, which will result in productive entrepreneurship.

How context shapes entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a driver of entrepreneurial intentions: A multilevel approach 

This paper, developed jointly with Veneta Andonova (Universidad de los Andes) and Luis Díaz-Serrano (Universitat Rovira i Virgili), studies how the proximate and distal sociocultural environments affect the well-established relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. We rely on GEM data and find that for individuals with entrepreneurial self-efficacy the positive effect of knowing nascent entrepreneurs as a driver of entrepreneurial intentions is weaker than for individuals who do not believe to be able to successfully launch a business venture. This effect is contingent on the individualistic–collectivistic character of the national culture. 

This research received the recognition of highly commended paper at the 2019 GLOBE Robert J. House Best Research Paper Award.

Tolerance, agglomeration, and enterprise innovation performance: a multilevel analysis of Latin American regions

This paper was developed jointly with Edward Lorenz (University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis) and evaluates the effect regional tolerance has on the innovation performance of firms in regions of seven Latin American countries.  The empirical analysis which relies on a multilevel design shows that regional differences in tolerance matter for product innovation. 

Innovation in Development and Transition Countries

This edited work - a joined effort mainly by alumni of the Globelics Academy - offers a multidisciplinary perspective on innovation challenges and innovative practices in the context of developing and transition countries. The contributions mostly embrace a national innovation system approach in an attempt to understand innovation processes and their implications at both macro and micro levels.