Four essays on the complexity of entrepreneurial ecosystems

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has emerged as a popular approach to examine entrepreneurial activity within regional agglomerations and the relationships between the stakeholders of such systems. Building on the growing body of literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems, this doctoral dissertation aims to improve the understanding of how entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve and how digitalization influences the broader entrepreneurial landscape. In order to answer these guiding research questions, a range of methodological approaches is employed, including nonlinear time series analysis, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), literature reviews and network analysis. Essentially, it is found that (1) the evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems exhibits features of deterministic chaos, (2) specific combinations of digital technologies and infrastructures are conducive to high or low to medium levels of start-up activity in entrepreneurial ecosystems, (3) ecosystems can be categorized by five overarching ecosystem characteristics and five generic ecosystem types, and (4) prominent APIs from incumbent companies represent crucial resources for health start-ups that operate in the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem.