Entrepreneurial ecosystems: a systematic literature review and research agenda

Abstract

Purpose

The emerging concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has captured the attention of scholars, practitioners and policymakers. Although studies on entrepreneurial ecosystems continue to grow, their contributions are still disintegrated. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of extant literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems and to develop a research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

The study deployed a systematic literature review of 51 articles obtained from three comprehensive databases of Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus. The analysis includes two phases. First, a descriptive account of research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and second, a content analysis based on a thematic categorization of entrepreneurial ecosystems research.

Findings

The findings show that the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems is both under-theorized and it has been recently dominated by conceptual studies. The focus of empirical research is on technology-based industries in Western economies using cases studies as methodological approach.

Research limitations/implications

This review contributes to the body of knowledge on entrepreneurial ecosystems research by providing a systematic review following a thematic grouping of extant research into antecedents, outputs and outcomes of entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Originality/value

It reveals existing theoretical and empirical gaps in research as well as offering avenues of future research on entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Citation

Kansheba, J.M.P. and Wald, A.E. (2020), "Entrepreneurial ecosystems: a systematic literature review and research agenda", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 27 No. 6, pp. 943-964. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-11-2019-0364