Entrepreneurial ecosystems and clusters: How can economic geographers advance debates for regional development?

Abstract

The entrepreneurial ecosystem concept is now one of the most popular policy tools for regional development following a surge of interest in entrepreneurship-oriented academic circles, yet has experienced little critical engagement within economic geography discourse. We argue that economic geographers should engage with the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept because (1) it describes a shift in spatial socio-economic organisation that has thus far been underexplored by economic geographers and (2) it is an inherently chaotic concept that requires significant conceptual development, not least in relation to the cluster concept. The entrepreneurial ecosystem concept is considered a close relative and potential successor of the cluster concept, which itself rapidly achieved policy stardom despite academic concerns over its conceptual clarity. We argue that there are significant similarities and intersections between the two concepts with implications for broader regional development literatures, enabling economic geographers to enrich academic debates and consequent policy decisions.