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.

Writing in Small Business Economics Scott Shane argues that policy-makers should stop subsidising start-ups and instead focus on supporting the small subset of new businesses with high growth potential. However, both Shane and other scholarswho havemade the same argument only offer broad-brush proposals to achieve this objective. The aim of this article, in contrast, is to engage in a detailed discussion of how to create appropriate policies for high-growth firms (HGFs). Drawing on research in Scotland, we argue that policy-makers are looking for HGFs in the wrong places. The heterogeneous nature of HGFs in terms of sector, age, size and origins makes in impractical to target support on particular sectors, technologies or types of firms (e.g., new or R&D intensive). The article proposes a reorientation of HGFs, both in terms of appropriate targeting and forms of support. Public policy also needs to focus on the retention of HGFs which are acquired by non-local businesses. Finally, policy-makers need to properly reflect upon the specificities of their entrepreneurial environment when devising appropriate policy interventions

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There is a substantial literature on the relationship between gender and access to finance. However, most studies have been concerned with access to debt finance. More recently, the focus of this research has broadened to examine women and venture capital. This article extends the focus further by examining the role of women in the business angel market, which is more important than the formal venture capital market in terms of both the number of ventures supported and total capital flows. Based on a detailed analysis of business angels in the U.K., the study concludes that women investors who are active in the market differ from their male counterparts in only limited respects. Future research into women business angels, and the possible existence of gender differences, needs to be based on more fully elaborated standpoint epistemologies that focus on the experience of the woman angel investor per se, and center on the examination of the role of homophily, social capital, networking, and competition in investment behavior. IntroductionThe role of gender in access to business finance has been the subject of extensive research, debate, and policy concern in recent years as part of a wider interest in issues of women's entrepreneurship and business ownership (Ahl, 2004;Carter, Anderson, & Shaw, 2003;Duchenaut, 1997;. Reflecting the nature of the funding environment and the characteristics of the ventures established by women entrepreneurs, much of the debate on gender and finance has been concerned with access to loan finance and with the role of the banks in creating or perpetuating gender-based differences in access to finance (Buttner & Rosen, 1988Carter & Rosa, 1998;Coleman, 2000;Fay & Williams, 1993;McKechnie, Ennew, & Read, 1998;Read, 1998;Riding & Swift, 1990; Verhuel & Thurik, 2001). Despite the volume of research, there is no unequivocal support for the idea that there are genderbased differences in access to finance: While several studies "report discrimination . . . it seems to be related to structural factors rather than gender per se" (Ahl, 2004, p. 99). From a policy perspective, two fundamental questions remain unanswered in unequivocal terms: Is there a real shortage of capital for women entrepreneurs (the funding gap), and to what Please send correspondence to: Richard T. Harrison at r.harrison@qub.ac.uk. 2007 extent are the constraints faced by women entrepreneurs due to the "general business environment, a lack of information, firm characteristics, gender-based discrimination or other factors?" (Koreen, 2000, p. 4). P T E &1042-2587 © 2007 by Baylor University 445 May,More recently, attention has shifted to the examination of a number of gender-related features of the venture capital market Greene, Brush, Hart, & Saparito, 1999). Based on an assessment of the empirical evidence, on the demand-side, only a very small proportion of women-owned businesses raise venture capital. On the supply-side, there very few women involved in making investments, either as venture capital fund managers or as ...