Entrepreneurial ecosystem: do you trust or distrust?

Bayer

2019

JEEE

Purpose Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, systems of inter-related forces that promote and sustain regional entrepreneurship, are increasingly viewed as sources of innovation, economic development and community revitalization. Regions with emerging, underdeveloped or depressed economies are attempting to develop their nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems in the hopes of experiencing the positive benefits of entrepreneurial activity. For nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems to grow requires resources. However, how nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems manage their resource dependencies and the tensions that exist between creating and attracting resources are not clear. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory of nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem resource dependence. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper analyzes entrepreneurial ecosystems as meta-organizations and builds on resource dependence theory to explain how nascent ecosystems respond to environmental dependencies and their resource needs through internal and external strategies. Findings Two specific strategies used by nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems to manage resource dependence – bridging and buffer – are explored. It is proposed that there is a positive relationship between the resource dependence of a nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem and its use of bridging and buffering activities. Two ecosystem characteristics that influence the pursuit of bridging and buffering – ecosystem size and the presence of collaborative values – are also identified. In addition, it is theorized that resource dependence strategies influence a key, system-level characteristic of entrepreneurial ecosystems: resilience, the ecosystem’s ability to respond and adapt to internal and external disruptions. Originality/value The theory presented generates insights into how nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems create and obtain resources when ecosystems are unmunificent, resource-constrained or underdeveloped. The theorizing addresses which resource dependence strategy – buffering or bridging – has a stronger link to resource dependence (and resilience) and under what conditions these linkages occur. The theoretical model generates insights for research on entrepreneurship in emerging and developed economies and produces practical implications for ecosystem participants, policymakers and economic development organizations.

Section: External Resources and Nascent Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

To bridge or buffer? A resource dependence theory of nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems

Bayer

2019

JEEE

“…If EE leaders engage in the same integrative behaviors when interacting with nonleader participants then these actions demonstrate trust‐building behaviors throughout the ecosystem (Wai On et al, ). Trust among the leadership group and among EE participants increases the cultural coordination of the EE by strengthening the ecosystem's community logic, a mindset and way of interacting based on reciprocity, cooperation, and community‐building (Muldoon, Bauman, & Lucy, ; Thornton, Ocasio, & Lounsbury, ). Scholars have argued that a community logic is necessary for ecosystem coordination because it is, in part, what motivates EE participants to work together and help others in the EE (Roundy, ).…”

Section: Theory Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do we Lead Together? Leadership Behavioral Integration and Coordination in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

J of Leadership Studies

2020

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are the systems of forces that encourage and sustain entrepreneurship in geographic areas. Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems exhibit coordination—participants engage in explicit attempts to organize, develop, and promote the ecosystem. Coordination involves ecosystem leaders; however, there is not a theory explaining the linkages between ecosystem leadership and coordination. To understand how ecosystem leaders promote coordination, the current paper proposes a model of entrepreneurial ecosystem behavioral integration. It is theorized that entrepreneurial ecosystem behavioral integration is influenced by leader and leadership‐group characteristics and, in turn, influences an ecosystem's cognitive, social, and cultural coordination. The model contributes to research at the intersection of leadership and entrepreneurship by delineating a precise and theoretically grounded conception of the connections between ecosystem leadership and coordination. A more nuanced understanding of coordination is provided by identifying its mechanisms and sub‐dimensions. The proposed theory charts a path for interdisciplinary research on leadership and entrepreneurial ecosystems and identifies practical implications for ecosystem leaders.

“…If EE participants hold common values, like fairness, openness in transactions, and trust (cf. Muldoon, Bauman, & Lucy, 2018), then this reduces entrepreneurs' negotiation costs because entrepreneurs can rely on informal mechanisms, such as mutual trust and altruism, as a basis for contracts, which reduces time spent negotiating agreements. Taken together, these arguments suggest: Proposition 2.…”

Section: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Coordination and Negotiation Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Place-Based Advantages in Entrepreneurship: How Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Coordination Reduces Transaction Costs

Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management

Fayard

2020

Academics and practitioners are increasingly lauding the economic and community benefits of entrepreneurial ecosystems: the interrelated forces that promote and support entrepreneurship in geographic areas. Most researchers examining entrepreneurial ecosystems have sought to identify their core attributes rather than isolating the concrete mechanisms by which entrepreneurial ecosystems influence entrepreneurs. We address this omission in ecosystems research by theorizing about a specific set of economic forces through which ecosystems influence the entrepreneurship process: cost-reduction mechanisms. We integrate and extend insights from transaction cost economics and develop a framework for understanding the costreducing effects of ecosystems on entrepreneurial activities. We synthesize the fragmented research on entrepreneurial ecosystem coordination and theorize that as coordination increases three types of costssearch, negotiation, and enforcementdecrease, which improves ecosystem participants' ability to engage in entrepreneurship. Our theorizing contributes to research at the management and entrepreneurship interface and produces actionable insights for entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders.