Where are the entrepreneurs? A call to theorize the micro-foundations and strategic organization of entrepreneurial ecosystems
Abstract
The “entrepreneurial ecosystem” has become the dominant metaphor in theories explaining how location-specific forces influence entrepreneurship. Despite the progress made by scholars studying entrepreneurial ecosystems, in this essay we contend that the ecosystem metaphor has created an implicit tendency in entrepreneurship theory to emphasize macro-, ecosystem-level dynamics rather than the causal and mediating mechanisms linking entrepreneurs and their local ecosystems. To accompany the macro-dynamics focus in entrepreneurial ecosystem theory, we call for a micro-foundations approach that emphasizes the bidirectional connections between entrepreneurs’ strategizing and organizing activities and their ecosystems. We offer an agenda of theory development opportunities at the intersection of strategic organization and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
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EE affects firms and individuals heterogeneously.
“Thus, we incorporate the notion that EE affects firms and individuals heterogeneously, an aspect that still deserves further scrutiny from dedicated literature (Roundy and Lyons 2021).”
From Dynamic Configurations of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Elements for Blended Value Creation (2025) · cites this paper as Roundy and Lyons 2021
Cites
Toward a process theory of entrepreneurial ecosystems
Spigel, B., & Harrison, R. (2018) · Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal · doi:10.1002/sej.1268 · Cited by 1,163 · see citing works
How firms navigate cooperation and competition in nascent ecosystems
Hannah, D. P., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2018) · Strategic Management Journal · doi:10.1002/smj.2750 · Cited by 692 · see citing works
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Dynamic Configurations of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Elements for Blended Value Creation
Pelegrini, G. C., de Moraes, G. H. S. M., do Prado, N. B., Fischer, B. B., & Anholon, R. (2025) · Sustainable Development · doi:10.1002/sd.3469 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Roundy, P. T., & Lyons, T. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA
- ORCID
- Roundy, Philip T
- Venue
- Strategic Organization
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-01-10
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 447-459
- ISSN
- 1476-1270
- 1741-315X
- Cited by
- 92
- References
- 2
- Language
- en
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