Table 5.3

Entrepreneurial ecosystems linked to outcomes

Main ArgumentsFocus*Main FindingsMethodologySelected Empirical Studies
Ecosystems foster economic growth and more efficient resource allocation due to knowledge spilloversMultiple elementsEcosystems at the country level are linked to economic growth.Quantitative: fixed effects model (GEM, Penn World Table, World Bank, WEF)Acs et al. (2018)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems contribute to national productivity by promoting Kirznerian and Schumpeterian entrepreneurship.Quantitative: DEA (IMF, GEM, GCI, Doing Business Index)Lafuente et al. (2019)
  National entrepreneurial ecosystem configurations with high levels human capital, research and infrastructures lead to high levels of sport-related GDP in European Union countries.Mixed: fsQCA (Eurostat, GII)*González-Serrano et al. (2021)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems must not only produce high-potential start-ups but support their growth, as the quality of entrepreneurship is more relevant than the quantity for economic development.Quantitative: index development, correlations (Business registration records, USPTO, SDC)Andrews et al. (2022)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems, beyond the technological environment, have a positive effect on the performance of ICT cultural industries.Quantitative: SEM (478 survey responses)Xie et al. (2019)
  Firms in more consolidated entrepreneurial ecosystems are better able to translate key resources and capabilities into competitiveness.Quantitative: benefìt-of-t he-doubt analysis (based on 348 firms)Lafuente et al. (2021b)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems impact strategic positioning, hereby enabling learning and knowledge spillovers across industry boundaries.Quantitative: text-based analysis, network visualizations, and topic modelingBasole et al. (2019)
  Mature ecosystems enable knowledge spillovers, which increase efficient resource allocation.Quantitative: DEA (DBI, GCI, GEM, World Bank)Lafuente et al. (2016)
Regional development through ecosystems that are more mature or have a higher qualityMultiple elementsPositive impact of interaction between company—university—government on entrepreneurial development (greater for more developed regions/ecosystems).Quantitative: factor analysis (data from 368 Latvian companies)Erina et al. (2017)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems lead to resilience at local levels beyond start-up rates.Quantitative: OLS estimation (ISTAT and other sources)Iacobucci and Perugini (2021)
  Entrepreneurial success stories and strong local leadership and governance create synergies, innovation and co-creation.Qualitative: case study (15 semi-structured interviews)Grama-Vigouroux et al. (2022)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems with a high concentration of creative industries support productive entrepreneurship and GVA in the region.Quantitative: fixed effect regression and random effect estimation (Eurostat)Audretsch and Belitski (2021)
  The quality of an entrepreneurial ecosystem is vital to the economic performance of a region.Qualitative: panel interviews, secondary data, document analysisSpilling (1996)
Ecosystems support sustainable innovation and addressing grand societal challengesMultiple elementsEntrepreneurs’ attitudes and beliefs are pivotal lever to the development of a thrivable entrepreneurial ecosystem that is able to face grand challenges.Mixed: case study (32 survey responses and 16 interview)Moggi et al. (2022)
  Entrepreneurial ecosystems (and particularly policy, finance and infrastructural and administrative support), have a positive impact on national levels of sustainable innovation.Quantitative: PCA and H CA (World Bank, WTO, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNCTAD, IMF, ILOSTAT, IEA, CWN)Khatami et al. (2022)
Functioning ecosystems have a positive impact on societySupport organizationsIncubators within entrepreneurial ecosystems can stimulate entrepreneurship with lowering crime, recidivism, and economic inequality, as well as increased social capital, community trust, and optimism as spillovers.Qualitative: descriptive case study (secondary data)McDaniel et al. (2021)
 Multiple elementsEntrepreneurship support in entrepreneurial ecosystems is negatively related to homicide (moderated by education but not start-up creation density).Quantitative: fixed-effects model (Golden, nationalsurvey.org, FFIEC, FBI, U.S. Census Bureau)McDaniel et al. (2022)
Measuring the outcome of ecosystems should be tailored to its configuration and the contextMultiple elementsEntrepreneurial ecosystems should not be reduced to standardized measures but evaluated based on their configuration according to the “Varieties of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems” and within their context and state of development.Qualitative: multiple case study (field visits, 80 semi-structured interviews)Kapturkiewicz (2021)
Ecosystems as a moderator for the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic developmentMultiple elementsPositive moderating effect of the ecosystem on the relation between entrepreneurship (both Kirznerian and Schumpeterian) on regional economic growth.Quantitative: OLS regression (Eurostat, GEM, REDI)Szerb et al. (2019)
  Ecosystems moderate the impact of regional entrepreneurial outputs on economic development (outcomes).Quantitative: latent class analysis (GEM)Content et al. (2020)
Ecosystems or at least many of their elements do not impact entrepreneurial/economic outcomesMultiple elementsNo moderating effect of entrepreneurial ecosystems on the relation between entrepreneurship and economic growth.Quantitative: multilevel growth regression, latent class analysis (Eurostat, GEM)Bruns et al. (2017)
 FinanceImproving the entrepreneurial ecosystem leads to higher venture capital investments, but links to wider economic benefits (e.g., GDP growth) are inconclusive (most likely due to their complexity).Quantitative: composite indicators using “benefit of the doubt” (GEI)Lafuente et al. (2021a)

Note: *All studies in this list include a variety of ecosystem elements, but some emphasize the role of particular element(s) as indicated in this column.

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