Entrepreneurial regions in theory and policy practice

Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems

“…Feld's advice that entrepreneurs must lead an entrepreneurial ecosystem resonates with the observation of Sweeney (, p. 239) that “Government and its agencies can create the environment in which entrepreneurs will prosper, but they cannot make the decisions to invest, to innovate, to start or to expand. Only the entrepreneur does this.” An entrepreneur‐centric view is also suggested by Lawton Smith (), who identifies three core elements of entrepreneurial regions: entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial resources, the emergence of an entrepreneurial vision, and a willingness of stakeholders to put that vision into practice through coordinated activity.…”

“…Some universities “act not only as educators but also as institutional entrepreneurs, proactively networking, shaping regional strategies and attempting to change local routines as well as national policies” (Raagmaa & Keerberg, : 270). In the relatively rare vibrant entrepreneurial university ecosystem , universities are embedded within entrepreneurial regions (Hayter, ; see also Feld, ; Lawton Smith, ; Smilor & Feeser, ; Smilor et al, ; Smilor, O'Donnell, Stein, & Wellborn, ).…”

“…Most important are the flows of ideas, advice, and knowledge that are exchanged informally (Johannisson, Ramirez‐Pasillas, & Karlsson, ). It is not easy to identify informal institutions, interactions with them, or their impact (Lawton Smith, ). More importantly, we need to measure the “interaction effects between the activities of the various stakeholders and actors, the evolutionary dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystem development and the identification of corresponding stages of entrepreneurship ecosystems development” (Simatupang, Schwab, & Lantu, , p. 392).…”