Sustainable orientation management and institutional quality: Looking into European entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems

Abstract

While research on entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems (EIEs) has emerged over the last decade, one question remains unanswered: are entrepreneurs able to efficiently adopt and manage a sustainable orientation to increase the quality and visibility of EIEs? This study argues that institutional quality and the sustainable orientation management of entrepreneurs both shape the productive and growth-oriented entrepreneurial activity necessary to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using a primary dataset on 1676 EIE actors from 16 cities in East and South-East Europe, we theoretically debate and empirically test i) the positive and diminishing marginal returns of sustainable orientation management for EIE quality and ii) the moderation effect of institutional quality in this relationship. Our results provide empirical evidence that the institutional quality and sustainable orientation management of entrepreneurs matter for the quality of EIEs, but not for their visibility. This extends prior research on the high-growth and productive orientation of entrepreneurial ecosystems.