To Bridge or Buffer? A Resource Dependence Theory of Nascent Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Spatialities of entrepreneurial ecosystems

“…Theoretical advancements have considered qualitative ecosystem elements, for example, entrepreneurial narratives, social norms, and entrepreneurial culture in ecosystem measurements (Roundy & Bayer, 2019), as defining features of EE measurements. Those qualitative characteristics are then often operationalized with secondary statistics, for example Stam (2018) used ‘new firms registered per 1000 inhabitants’ as an empirical indicator for entrepreneurial culture.…”

“…The illustrative figures of this process model suggest that the boundaries of entrepreneurial ecosystems remain stable, whereas the density of interactions between ecosystem actors increase or decrease. Recent work on the evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems has focused on the margins beside the growth stage of EEs–that is the nascence (Roundy, 2019; Roundy & Bayer, 2019) and the post‐growth phase of such ecosystems. However, spatial aspects are not considered in these studies.…”

Invigorating entrepreneurial ecosystems

“…In order to understand this, ecosystems that are at the nascent stage are best placed to exemplify the successful acquisition and development of resources. Nascent ecosystems are described by Roundy and Bayer (2019) as those which are in the early stages of cultivating the inter-related forces that promote and sustain entrepreneurship. It is at this nascent stage that entrepreneurialism is at its most fragile, with “births” occurring much less frequently, and those that do appear often being more experimental due to this unstable environment.…”

“…Roundy and Bayer (2019) used resource dependence theory in order to better understand nascent EEs’ resource acquisition dynamics. Using such a theory underpins that EEs are much more dependent on their external environments that mature EEs.…”

“…Using such a theory underpins that EEs are much more dependent on their external environments that mature EEs. The bedrock tenet of resource dependence theory according to Roundy and Bayer (2019) is that for organizations to acquire resources they are forces to depend on their relationships with others, such as competitors, suppliers, creditors, customers, and governments. As such, for nascent EEs, the ability to work as a collective to secure both larger amounts of.…”