Startseite Entrepreneurial ecosystems as fields: Integrating meso-level institutional theory
Artikel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Entrepreneurial ecosystems as fields: Integrating meso-level institutional theory

  • Carolin Auschra EMAIL logo , Thomas Schmidt und Joerg Sydow
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 13. November 2019
Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

Contemporary works on entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) suffer from a lack of theorization. We address this problem by conceptualizing EEs as institutional fields, which is an analytical construct that is already well-elaborated on in neo-institutional theory. This theory provides a processual lens that is sensitive to the role of both institutions and agency in field structuration. Additionally, understanding EEs as fields can help to capture dynamics within EEs as well as their relationships with other fields. Following this approach, entrepreneurial issue fields mainly focus on debates around entrepreneurship and new venture creation, whereas entrepreneurial exchange fields focus on products and services produced by and offering support for a set of mainly industry-specific new ventures. In addition, we discuss mechanisms for transformations between both types of fields.


Acknowledgement

The authors thank the three anonymous reviewers of ZFW, Oliver Ibert, Agata Kapturkiewicz, and Andreas Kuebart for their very helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.


References

Ács, Z. J./Estrin, S./Mickiewicz, T./Szerb, L. (2018): Entrepreneurship, institutional economics, and economic growth: An ecosystem perspective. In: Small Business Economics, (51)2, 501–514.10.1007/s11187-018-0013-9Suche in Google Scholar

Ács, Z. J./Stam, E./Audretsch, D. B./O’Connor, A. (2017): The lineages of the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach. In: Small Business Economics, (49)1, 1–10.10.1007/s11187-017-9864-8Suche in Google Scholar

Adner, R. (2017): Ecosystem as structure. An actionable construct for strategy. In: Journal of Management, (43)1, 39–58.10.1177/0149206316678451Suche in Google Scholar

Aldrich, H. E./Fiol, C. M. (1994): Fools rush in? The institutional context of industry creation. In: Academy of Management Review, (19)4, 645–670.10.5465/amr.1994.9412190214Suche in Google Scholar

Alvedalen, J./Boschma, R. (2017): A critical review of entrepreneurial ecosystems research. Towards a future research agenda. In: European Planning Studies, (25)6, 887–903.10.1080/09654313.2017.1299694Suche in Google Scholar

Audretsch, D. B./Belitski, M. (2017): Entrepreneurial ecosystems in cities. Establishing the framework conditions. In: The Journal of Technology Transfer, (42)5, 1030–1051.10.1007/s10961-016-9473-8Suche in Google Scholar

Auschra, C./Braun, T./Schmidt, T./Sydow, J. (2018): Patterns of project-based organizing in new venture creation. Projectification of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. In: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, (13)4, 645–668.10.1108/IJMPB-01-2018-0007Suche in Google Scholar

Autio, E./Kenney, M./Mustar, P./Siegel, D./Wright, M. (2014): Entrepreneurial innovation: The importance of context. In: Research Policy, (43)7, 1097–1108.10.1016/j.respol.2014.01.015Suche in Google Scholar

Autio, E./Nambisan, S./Thomas, L. D. W./Wright, M. (2018): Digital affordances, spatial affordances, and the genesis of entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, (12)1, 72–95.10.1002/sej.1266Suche in Google Scholar

Autio, E./Thomas, L. D. W. (2016): Tilting the playing field: Towards an endogenous strategic action theory of ecosystem creation. In: Nambisan, S. (Ed.): Open innovation, innovation ecosystems, and entrepreneurship. Multidisciplinary perspectives. Singapore, 1–39.10.1142/9789813149083_0005Suche in Google Scholar

Bathelt, H./Glückler, J. (2014): Institutional change in economic geography. In: Progress in Human Geography, (38)3, 340–363.10.1177/0309132513507823Suche in Google Scholar

Bathelt, H./Malmberg, A./Maskell, P. (2004): Clusters and knowledge: Local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation. In: Progress in Human Geography, (28)1, 31–56.10.1191/0309132504ph469oaSuche in Google Scholar

Battilana, J./Leca, B./Boxenbaum, E. (2009): How actors change institutions. Towards a theory of institutional entrepreneurship. In: Academy of Management Annals, (3)1, 65–107.10.1080/19416520903053598Suche in Google Scholar

Beckert, J. (2010): How do fields change? The interrelations of institutions, networks, and cognition in the dynamics of markets. In: Organization Studies, (31)5, 605–627.10.1177/0170840610372184Suche in Google Scholar

Berthod, O./Sydow, J. (2010): Locked in the iron cage? When institutionalization is (not) a path-dependent process. In: Schreyögg, G. (Ed.): The hidden dynamics of path dependence. Institutions and organizations. 1. Ed. Basingstoke, 204–229.10.1057/9780230392830_11Suche in Google Scholar

Bourdieu, P. (1985): The social space and the genesis of groups. In: Theory and Society, (14)6, 723–744.10.1007/BF00174048Suche in Google Scholar

Bresnahan, T./Gambardella, A./Saxenian, A. (2001): ‘Old Economy’ inputs for ‘New Economy’ outcomes: Cluster formation in the New Silicon Valleys. In: Industrial and Corporate Change, (10)4, 835–860.10.1093/icc/10.4.835Suche in Google Scholar

Brown, R./Mason, C. (2017): Looking inside the spiky bits. A critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Small Business Economics, (49)1, 11–30.10.1007/s11187-017-9865-7Suche in Google Scholar

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (2019): de hub digital ecosystems. Berlin. https://www.de-hub.de/die-hubs/berlin (10.02.2019).Suche in Google Scholar

Cohen, B. (2006): Sustainable valley entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Business Strategy and the Environment, (15)1, 1–14.10.1002/bse.428Suche in Google Scholar

Davis, G. F./Marquis, C. (2005): Prospects for organization theory in the early twenty-first century. Institutional fields and mechanisms. In: Organization Science, (16)4, 332–343.10.1287/orsc.1050.0137Suche in Google Scholar

DiMaggio, P. J./Powell, W. W. (1983): The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. In: American Sociological Review, (48)2, 147–160.10.2307/j.ctv1f886rp.7Suche in Google Scholar

Drori, I./Honig, B./Sheaffer, Z. (2009): The life cycle of an internet firm: Scripts, legitimacy, and identity. In: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, (33)3, 715–738.10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00323.xSuche in Google Scholar

Evans, R./Kay, T. (2008): How environmentalists “greened” trade policy: Strategic action and the architecture of field overlap. In: American Sociological Review, (73)6, 970–991.10.1177/000312240807300605Suche in Google Scholar

Faulconbridge, J./Muzio, D. (2019): Field partitioning: The emergence, development and consolidation of subfields. In: Organization Studies, (19), in press.10.1177/0170840619855745Suche in Google Scholar

Fligstein, N./McAdam, D. (2012): A theory of fields. Oxford.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199859948.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar

Furnari, S. (2014): Interstitial spaces. Microinteraction settings and the genesis of new practices between institutional fields. In: Academy of Management Review, (39)4, 439–462.10.5465/amr.2012.0045Suche in Google Scholar

Furnari, S. (2016): Institutional fields as linked arenas. Inter-field resource dependence, institutional work and institutional change. In: Human Relations, (69)3, 551–580.10.1177/0018726715605555Suche in Google Scholar

Furnari, S. (2018): When does an issue trigger change in a field? A comparative approach to issue frames, field structures and types of field change. In: Human Relations, (71)3, 321–348.10.1177/0018726717726861Suche in Google Scholar

Gartner, W. B. (1985): A conceptual framework for describing the phenomenon of new venture creation. In: Academy of Management Review, (10)4, 696–706.10.4337/9781783476947.00006Suche in Google Scholar

Giddens, A. (1984): The constitution of society. Outline of the theory of structuration. Cambridge.Suche in Google Scholar

Greenwood, R./Oliver, C./Sahlin, K./Suddaby, R. (2008): Introduction. In: Greenwood, R. et al. (Eds.): The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism. Los Angeles, 1–46.10.4135/9781849200387.n1Suche in Google Scholar

Greenwood, R./Raynard, M./Kodeih, F./Micelotta, E. R./Lounsbury, M. (2011): Institutional complexity and organizational responses. In: Academy of Management Annals, (5)1, 317–371.10.5465/19416520.2011.590299Suche in Google Scholar

Greenwood, R./Suddaby, R./Hinings, C. R. (2002): Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. In: Academy of Management Journal, (45)1, 58–80.10.2307/3069285Suche in Google Scholar

Hall, P. A./Soskice, D. W. (Eds.) (2001): Varieties of capitalism. The institutional foundations of comparative advantage. Oxford.10.1093/0199247757.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar

Hannah, D. P./Eisenhardt, K. M. (2018): How firms navigate cooperation and competition in nascent ecosystems. In: Strategic Management Journal, (43)1, 1–30.10.1002/smj.2750Suche in Google Scholar

Helfen, M. (2015): Institutionalizing precariousness? The politics of boundary work in legalizing agency work in Germany, 1949–2004. In: Organization Studies, (36)10, 1387–1422.10.1177/0170840615585338Suche in Google Scholar

Hinings, C. R./Logue, D./Zietsma, C. (2017): Fields, institutional infrastructure and governance. In: Greenwood, R. et al. (Eds.): The SAGE handbook of organizational institutionalism. 2. Ed. Los Angeles, 163–189.10.4135/9781446280669.n7Suche in Google Scholar

Hoang, H./Yi, A. (2015): Network-based research in entrepreneurship: A decade in review. In: Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship, (11)1, 1–54.10.1561/0300000052Suche in Google Scholar

Hoffman, A. L. (1999): Institutional evolution and change: Environmentalism and the U.S. chemical industry. In: Academy of Management Journal, (42)4, 351–371.10.5465/257008Suche in Google Scholar

Jacobides, M. G./Cennamo, C./Gawer, A. (2018): Towards a theory of ecosystems. In: Strategic Management Journal, (39)8, 2255–2276.10.1002/smj.2904Suche in Google Scholar

Keating, A./Geiger, S./McLoughlin, D. (2014): Riding the practice waves. Social resourcing practices during new venture development. In: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, (38)5, 1207–1235.10.1111/etap.12038Suche in Google Scholar

Kenis, P./Knoke, D. (2002): How organizational field networks shape interorganizational tie-formation rates. In: Academy of Management Review, (27)2, 275–293.10.5465/amr.2002.6588029Suche in Google Scholar

Knoben, J./Oerlemans, L.A.G. (2006): Proximity and inter-organizational collaboration. A literature review. In: International Journal of Management Reviews, (8)2, 71–89.10.1111/j.1468-2370.2006.00121.xSuche in Google Scholar

Kugoth, J. (2017): Fintech-Startups lieben Berlin. https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/staedteranking-fintechs (16.02.2018).Suche in Google Scholar

Lampel, J./Meyer, A. D. (2008): Field-configuring events as structuring mechanisms. How conferences, ceremonies, and trade shows constitute new technologies, industries, and markets. In: Journal of Management Studies, (45)6, 1025–1035.Suche in Google Scholar

Lange, B./Power, D./Suwala, L. (2014): Geographies of field-configuring events. In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie, (58)1, 187–201.10.1515/zfw.2014.0013Suche in Google Scholar

Langley, A./Smallman, C./Tsoukas, H./Van de Ven, A. H. (2013): Process studies of change in organization and management: Unveiling temporality, activity, and flow. In: Academy of Management Journal, (56)1, 1–13.10.5465/amj.2013.4001Suche in Google Scholar

Lavie, D. (2006): The competitive advantage of interconnected firms: An extension of the resource-based view. In: Academy of Management Review, (31)3, 638–658.10.5465/amr.2006.21318922Suche in Google Scholar

Lawrence, T. B./Suddaby, R. (2006): Institutions and institutional work. In: Clegg, S. R. et al. (Eds.): The Sage handbook of organization studies. 2. Ed. London, 215–254.10.4135/9781848608030.n7Suche in Google Scholar

Lewin, K. (1951): Field theory in social science. Selected theoretical papers. New York.Suche in Google Scholar

Mack, E./Mayer, H. (2015): The evolutionary dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Urban Studies, (53)10, 2118–2133.10.1177/0042098015586547Suche in Google Scholar

Malecki, E. J. (2011): Connecting local entrepreneurial ecosystems to global innovation networks: open innovation, double networks and knowledge integration. In: International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, (14)1, 36.10.1504/IJEIM.2011.040821Suche in Google Scholar

Malecki, E. J. (2018): Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Geography Compass, (12)3, e12359.10.1111/gec3.12359Suche in Google Scholar

Maskell, P./Bathelt, H./Malmberg, A. (2006): Building global knowledge pipelines: The role of temporary clusters. In: European Planning Studies, (14)8, 997–1013.10.1080/09654310600852332Suche in Google Scholar

Mason, C./Brown, R. (2014): Entrepreneurial ecosystems and growth oriented entrepreneurship. The Hague, NL.Suche in Google Scholar

Micelotta, E./Lounsbury, M./Greenwood, R. (2017): Pathways of institutional change. An integrative review and research agenda. In: Journal of Management, (43)6, 1885–1910.10.1177/0149206317699522Suche in Google Scholar

Minto-Koy, I./Elo, M. (2017): Towards an entrepreneurial ecosystem for attracting diaspora investments in Jamaica, (MSBM Business Review)3–4, 28–30.Suche in Google Scholar

O’Sullivan, N./O’Dwyer, B. (2015): The structuration of issue-based fields. Social accountability, social movements and the Equator Principles issue-based field. In: Accounting, Organizations and Society, (43), 33–55.10.1016/j.aos.2015.03.008Suche in Google Scholar

Owen-Smith, J./Powell, W. W. (2008): Networks and institutions. In: Greenwood, R. et al. (Eds.): The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism. Los Angeles, 594–621.10.4135/9781849200387.n26Suche in Google Scholar

Pfeffer, J./Salancik, G. R. (1978): The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York.Suche in Google Scholar

Phillips, N./Lawrence, T. B./Hardy, C. (2000): Inter-organizational collaboration and the dynamics of institutional fields. In: Journal of Management Studies, (37)1, 23–43.10.1111/1467-6486.00171Suche in Google Scholar

Pitelis, C. (2012): Clusters, entrepreneurial ecosystem co-creation, and appropriability. A conceptual framework. In: Industrial and Corporate Change, (21)6, 1359–1388.10.1093/icc/dts008Suche in Google Scholar

Qian, H./Ács, Z. J./Stough, R. R. (2013): Regional systems of entrepren-eurship: The nexus of human capital, knowledge and new firm formation. In: Journal of Economic Geography, (13)4, 559–587.10.1093/jeg/lbs009Suche in Google Scholar

Radinger-Peer, V./Sedlacek, S./Goldstein, H. (2018): The path-dependent evolution of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) – dynamics and region-specific assets of the case of Vienna (Austria). In: European Planning Studies, (26)8, 1499–1518.10.1080/09654313.2018.1494136Suche in Google Scholar

Schmidt, S./Müller, F. C./Ibert, O./Brinks, V. (2017): Open Region: Creating and exploiting opportunities for innovation at the regional scale. In: European Urban and Regional Studies, (100)3, 1–19.10.1177/0969776417705942Suche in Google Scholar

Schmidt, T./Braun, T./Sydow, J. (2019): Copying routines for new venture creation: How replication can support entrepreneurial innovation. In: Research in Sociology of Organizations, (61), 55–78.10.1108/S0733-558X20190000061004Suche in Google Scholar

Schumpeter, J. A. (1934): The theory of economic development. An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle. New Jersey.Suche in Google Scholar

Scott, W. R. (2014): Institutions and organizations. Ideas, interests and identities. 4. Ed. Los Angeles, CA.Suche in Google Scholar

Shane, S./Venkataraman, S. (2000): The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. In: Academy of Management Review, (25)1, 217–226.10.5465/amr.2000.2791611Suche in Google Scholar

Slotte-Kock, S./Coviello, N. E. (2010): Entrepreneurship research on network processes: A review and ways forward. In: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, (34)1, 31–57.10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00311.xSuche in Google Scholar

Sonderegger, P./Täube, F. (2010): Cluster life cycle and diaspora effects: Evidence from the Indian IT cluster in Bangalore. In: Journal of International Management, (16)4, 383–397.10.1016/j.intman.2010.09.008Suche in Google Scholar

Sorenson, O. (2017): Regional ecologies of entrepreneurship. In: Journal of Economic Geography, (17)5, 959–974.10.1093/jeg/lbx031Suche in Google Scholar

Spigel, B. (2017): The relational organization of entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, (41)1, 49–72.10.1111/etap.12167Suche in Google Scholar

Spigel, B./Harrison, R. (2018): Toward a process theory of entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, (12)1, 151–168.10.1002/sej.1268Suche in Google Scholar

Stam, E. (2015): Entrepreneurial ecosystems and regional policy. A sympathetic critique. In: European Planning Studies, (23)9, 1759–1769.10.1080/09654313.2015.1061484Suche in Google Scholar

Stam, E./Spigel, B. (2017): Entrepreneurial ecosystems. In: Blackburn, R. et al. (Eds.): The Sage handbook of small business and entrepreneurship. London, 407–422.10.4135/9781473984080.n21Suche in Google Scholar

Sternberg, R. (2005): Gründungen und Region. In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie, (49)3–4, 129–130.10.1515/zfw-2005-0001Suche in Google Scholar

Stuck, J./Broekel, T./Revilla Diez, J. (2016): Network structures in regional innovation systems. In: European Planning Studies, (24)3, 423–442.10.1080/09654313.2015.1074984Suche in Google Scholar

Sussan, F./Ács, Z. J. (2017): The digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. In: Small Business Economics, (49)1, 55–73.10.1007/s11187-017-9867-5Suche in Google Scholar

Teece, D. J. (2007): Explicating dynamic capabilities. The nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. In: Strategic Management Journal, (28)13, 1319–1350.10.1002/smj.640Suche in Google Scholar

Thomas, L. D. W./Autio, E. (2016): The ecosystem as an organizational field. Working paper.Suche in Google Scholar

Thomi, W./Werner, R. (2001): Regionale Innovationssysteme. In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie, (45)1, 202–218.10.1515/zfw.2001.0012Suche in Google Scholar

Thompson, T. A./Purdy, J. M./Ventresca, M. J. (2018): How entrepreneurial ecosystems take form: Evidence from social impact initiatives in Seattle. In: Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, (12)1, 96–116.10.1002/sej.1285Suche in Google Scholar

Thornton, P. H./Ocasio, W. (2008): Institutional logics. In: Greenwood, R. et al. (Eds.): The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism. Los Angeles, 99–129.10.4135/9781849200387.n4Suche in Google Scholar

Tiwana, A./Konsynski, B./Bush, A. A. (2010): Research commentary —Platform evolution. Coevolution of platform architecture, governance, and environmental dynamics. In: Information Systems Research, (21)4, 675–687.10.1287/isre.1100.0323Suche in Google Scholar

Van de Ven, A. H. (1993): The development of an infrastructure for entrepreneurship. In: Journal of Business Venturing, (8)3, 211–230.10.1016/0883-9026(93)90028-4Suche in Google Scholar

van Wijk, J./Stam, W./Elfring, T./Zietsma, C./den Hond, F. (2013): Activists and incumbents structuring change: The interplay of agency, culture, and networks in field evolution. In: Academy of Management Journal, (56)2, 358–386.10.5465/amj.2008.0355Suche in Google Scholar

Welter, F. (2011): Contextualizing entrepreneurship – Conceptual challenges and ways forward. In: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, (35)1, 165–184.10.4337/9781788119474.00016Suche in Google Scholar

Windeler, A./Sydow, J. (2001): Project networks and changing industry practices – Collaborative content production in the German television industry. In: Organization Studies, (22)6, 1035–1060.10.1177/0170840601226006Suche in Google Scholar

Zietsma, C./Groenewegen, P./Logue, D./Hinings, C. R. (2017): Field or fields? Building the scaffolding for cumulation of research on institutional fields. In: Academy of Management Annals, (11)1, 391–450.10.5465/annals.2014.0052Suche in Google Scholar

Received: 2018-03-30
Accepted: 2019-08-13
Published Online: 2019-11-13
Published in Print: 2019-11-01

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 3.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/zfw-2018-0016/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen