Uncovering the building blocks of rural entrepreneurship: A comprehensive framework for mapping the components of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is a crucial driver of economic growth, especially in rural areas. Understanding the unique components that contribute to the success of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems is essential. This study presents a cutting-edge approach to uncover the essential components of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems that support rural entrepreneurship. We employ bibliometric techniques that enable us to leverage the Scopus database's academic paper metadata related to entrepreneurial ecosystems. Through citation analysis, we identify a core network of studies related to entrepreneurial ecosystems. Co-occurrence analysis visualizes the clusters of the most prominent components in both general and rural entrepreneurial ecosystems. We interpret the results based on a literature review. Our study categorizes the essential components into two: actor (academics, business, government, and community) and non-actor (human capital, network, entrepreneurial culture, financial systems, governance systems, infrastructure, environmental resources, and market) components. Environmental resources are critical in distinguishing the conditions of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in rural areas. This component represents the uniqueness and local economic potential of smaller areas, whereas in general entrepreneurial ecosystem studies, this component might not be a concern. By uncovering the components of rural entrepreneurial ecosystems, our study provides insights that can help policymakers, practitioners, and academics better support rural entrepreneurship and promote economic growth in rural areas.