Research on entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) is still advancing as a concept that both practitioners and scholars claim has advanced beyond other approaches to fostering or explaining regional entrepreneurship. However, criticism of the concept centers on a lack of understanding of causes and effects and the importance of single instruments for its functionality. While practitioners and policy makers are jumping on the bandwagon and trying to aim policies directly at entrepreneurial ecosystems, investigation of the role of single instruments and their impact on entrepreneurial ecosystems remains insufficient. Fostering entrepreneurship through startup competitions (SUCs) is a decades-old policy instrument. Today, both scholars and practitioners mention SUCs as an element of entrepreneurial ecosystems, but analyzing them from that perspective remains undone. Building on a regional understanding of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems, this paper provides a novel framework for the role of startup competitions in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Following on previous studies of SUCs, this study identifies core mechanisms and benefits of the competitions and presents a general framework for SUCs. Then, the study results are synthesized with mechanisms central to entrepreneurial ecosystems, e.g., entrepreneurial learning, networks of entrepreneurial-related actors in the region, and financing entrepreneurship. It is argued that startup competitions work as network hubs in entrepreneurial ecosystems because they connect: a) entrepreneurs with each other, b) entrepreneurs with relevant actors (e.g., financiers, experts, entrepreneurship support organizations), c) those actors among themselves. Therefore, the competitions are “anchor events” and strengthen the overall quality of the EE in which they occur. The study also argues that SUCs benefit from a functioning EE’s positive climate for entrepreneurship and the availability of resources. The study is theoretical, and its findings lead to an agenda for further research.

Originating from business plan competitions at universities, start-up competitions (SUCs) are nowadays a widely used policy tool to foster entrepreneurial learning among a larger group of potential and nascent entrepreneurs. While the literature on entrepreneurial learning highlights the importance of participants’ prior experiences, studies on learning in SUCs often ignore these experiences, but detect different perceptions of the learning outcomes from SUCs. To address this research gap, we explore configurations of prior experience and the participation routines of entrepreneurs at SUCs. To do so, we apply fuzzy-sets qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to in-depth interview data from 26 participants at two German SUCs. Based on theories on entrepreneurial learning, insights from the interviews, and our empirical results from fsQCA, we identify one necessary condition and two specific configurations of conditions that lead to the outcome. The absence of entrepreneurial knowledge was found to be a necessary condition for entrepreneurial learning in SUCs. Prior industry experience is part of both solutions, but whether the presence or absence of it is important depends on whether it is combined with active participation in the competition. We present implications for policymakers, entrepreneurs, and researchers.

No abstract

No abstract