Poster #20 - Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Governance: Theoretical Frameworks and State-level Practices

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

In the past decade, the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) approach in local economic development has proliferated in both academic research and practice (Malecki, 2018). The flourishing of EE is argued to depend on constructive interactions among the various actors involved, such as entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, universities, and governmental organizations (Scott et al., 2022; Daymond et al., 2022). Nevertheless, researchers argue that research is still scant in understanding how EE actors align interests, allocate resources, share benefits and costs, and set up mutually agreed ways for cooperation and competition, a process that is generally termed EE governance (Colombelli et al., 2019; Colombo et al., 2019; Cunningham et al., 2019). Furthermore, scholars continue to debate whether the EE governance process is top-down, bottom-up, or both (Hruskova, 2024). The key difference among these approaches is the presence of non-spontaneous governance practices by entities such as the government in the process (Hruskova, 2024). Considering the research gap and the ongoing scholarly debate, the present study aims to contribute to this line of inquiry. The first part of this study involves a systematic review of 48 articles on EE governance, filtered from 438 retrieved in Web of Science. Articles were coded along how they articulated: 1) the definition of EE governance, 2) the importance of it, 3) the major actors, and 4) the governance mechanisms. Preliminary results indicate that, first, a relatively clear and consistent definition/conceptualization of EE governance may still be lacking. Second, although researchers may still be uncertain about what EE governance really is, most have identified it as key to EE development. Discussions on why EE should be governed are sometimes embedded in theoretical frameworks such as transaction cost theory and principal-agent theory. Third, previous research has identified various actors as EE governing bodies. Fourth, in prior literature, a large set of actions has been included as EE governance practices, ranging from providing resources to enforcing IP protection institutions. Such a broad inclusion risks blurring the line between governance and actions that benefit EE development or perpetuation. The second part of the study is a pilot case study aiming at depicting the state-level EE governance practices embedded in the evolution process of EE in the state of Georgia. Special attention will be paid to how EE development-related governmental organizations, such as Georgia’s Center of Innovation, participate in the EE governance process. This case study will draw on secondary data and serve as an initial attempt for larger-scale empirical research toward a more comprehensive framework for EE governance across all U.S. states. In addition to contributing to the theorization of EE governance, this study is also expected to benefit practitioners by enriching their toolkit and mindsets for building EE and promoting local and regional economic development.

Author

• YIFEI CHEN, Georgia State University
  Presenting Author