The Evolutionary Nature of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and its Impact on Resilient Growth - An Empirical Investigation on the Role of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Facilitating Productive Entrepreneurship in Regional Economies

Entrepreneurship research has advanced significantly alongside its crucial role in economic development, the role of a lasting structural change, and its impact on society. However, studies in the field of entrepreneurship have focused strongly on the individual entrepreneur, firms, and their characteristics, neglecting the influence of the surrounding framework conditions. Recently, scholars have provided a more holistic approach, adopting a systemic view of entrepreneurship. Based on this conceptualization, the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) approach has emerged across different disciplines in recent years. Although there has been a fast-growing body of EE literature, the concept remains fragmented, and its theoretical foundations are underdeveloped. To address the existing gaps, the concept of economic resilience has been integrated into the EE approach, as economies need to prepare against exogenous shocks and endogenous crises. Thereby, the exploitation of new business opportunities is seen as an entrepreneurial response to absorbing negative effects, securing the survival of economic regions.

Hence, the objective of this dissertation is to create an understanding of how entrepreneurial ecosystems and their framework conditions can impact productive entrepreneurship, fostering resilient growth within a regional context. ... mehrTo support the academic community, policymakers, as well as practitioners around the globe, the findings of this thesis aim to provide guidelines on how to deal with challenges and barriers in developing sustainable and more resilient EEs. In doing so, the insights of this research project support local EE actors to act well-founded and thoughtfully, concerning their local EE characteristics.

Methodologically and empirically, this thesis follows a mixed-method research design applying qualitative and quantitative studies to seek an in-depth understanding of relationships and causal mechanisms affecting entrepreneurial activities in a local context. First, a systematic literature review (SLR) summarizes the existing body of literature, analyzing the linkages between the EE concept and economic resilience. Second, a cross-national qualitative data analysis based on semi-structured expert interviews with local EE actors is conducted to identify profound EE development strategies. Third, the EE of Karlsruhe is presented as a region that has managed structural change successfully, and therefore, case study research is applied to highlight the complex intersections between high-growth firms and the local EE in a real-life scenario. Fourth, using a questionnaire-based survey tool to collect longitudinal data from startups of
Karlsruhe, enables the monitoring and evaluation of evolutionary dynamics, providing empirical evidence for recommendations for actions. In addition, the data set is used to test hypotheses about linear relationships of individual EE elements and firm performance indicators through a bivariate correlation analysis.

Overall, the increased understanding of how context, composition, and interactions between individual EE determinants impact productive entrepreneurship as the outcome can be beneficial for future decision-making, supporting researchers, policy-makers, and local EE builders.