Abstract
Research on entrepreneurial ecosystems has largely taken a macro-perspective to better conceptualize and map the determinants and evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems, yet has neglected the micro-level interactions of various entrepreneurial ecosystem actors. Recent criticisms of entrepreneurial ecosystems have centered on the lack of explicit case and effect relationships, attribution, units of analysis, the different use of network definitions as well as the static nature of existing frameworks. The purpose of our paper is to present a micro level principal investigator (PI)-centered governance framework that addresses these posited criticisms and in doing so identifies the value creation indicators (benefits), PI capabilities, the problem categories (costs), and solving mechanisms that PIs can use to govern effectively and efficiently large-scale publicly funded research programs. In leading such research programs, PIs interact with different actors within entrepreneurial ecosystems and manage governance issues, conflicts, and tensions effectively at the micro level to deliver the anticipated benefits and costs for each actor. Our framework provides the basis for future empirical research on entrepreneurial ecosystem as we have attributed cause and effect at an individual actor level and conceptualized the governance challenges at a micro rather than at the macro level that overcomes the static nature of previous frameworks.
Highlights
The literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems has identified a range of actors and supporting institutions that encourage and support formally and informally entrepreneurial activities and their diffusion (Acs et al 2014; Colombo et al 2015)
We present a principal investigator (PI)-centered entrepreneurial ecosystem governance framework that integrates actors that PIs need to deal with, the primary capabilities they need to possess in order to deliver against the principal’s primary interests, the problem categories associated with respective bilateral governance relationships as well as related solving mechanisms, to comply with actors’ monitoring mechanisms as well as contribute to the economic and non-economic value creation and capture for entrepreneurial ecosystem actors
We address some of the criticisms of entrepreneurial ecosystems and in doing so identify the value creation, PI capabilities, the problem categories, and solving mechanisms that PIs can use to govern effectively and efficiently large-scale publicly funded research programs
Summary
The literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems has identified a range of actors and supporting institutions that encourage and support formally and informally entrepreneurial activities and their diffusion (Acs et al 2014; Colombo et al 2015). Our paper adds to the under-developed entrepreneurial ecosystem literature as argued by Spigel (2015) by focusing on the micro level principal investigator governance issues of entrepreneurial ecosystem that contribute to Bproductive entrepreneurship^ (see Stam 2015: 1764). Our micro level PI-centered governance framework identifies the value creation (benefits), PI capabilities, the problem categories (costs), and solving mechanisms that PIs can use to govern effectively and efficiently large-scale publicly funded research programs based on imperfect contracts. Based on our micro level conceptual framework, we suggest future avenues of research on how PIs deal effectively with conflicting governance mechanisms that constrain their actions, value creation activities, and the allocation of costs and benefits to relevant entrepreneurial ecosystem actors. A final section provides some concluding remarks and discusses future research avenues
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