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The buzz before business: a design science study of a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem

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  • Gregory O’Shea

    (LUT University)

  • Steffen Farny

    (Aalto University)

  • Henri Hakala

    (LUT University)

Abstract

This paper examines how entrepreneurial opportunities co-evolve within a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem (SEE). Most of the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems falls short on integrating the entrepreneurial process in empirical research. To analyze data collected from pre-start-up teams within a nascent SEE on high-tech cellulose-based materials over 3 years, we apply a design science approach that helps understand actors’ collaborative sensemaking in designing and structuring ecosystem features and relationships. Our findings show that the SEE can be seen as a design artifact which evolves by ecosystem actors collectively engaging in new venture ideation and developing opportunity confidence. Furthermore, the paper presents a novel SEE framework, which elaborates on phases and enablers of the opportunity co-evolution process within an emerging ecosystem. We contribute to the literature on sustainable as well as general entrepreneurial ecosystems and offer a new theoretical foundation for a process view on ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory O’Shea & Steffen Farny & Henri Hakala, 2021. "The buzz before business: a design science study of a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1097-1120, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:56:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-019-00256-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-019-00256-4
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    Cited by:

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    2. Theodoraki, Christina & Dana, Léo-Paul & Caputo, Andrea, 2022. "Building sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: A holistic approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 346-360.
    3. Francesca Ricciardi & Cecilia Rossignoli & Alessandro Zardini, 2021. "Grand challenges and entrepreneurship: Emerging issues, research streams, and theoretical landscape," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1673-1705, December.
    4. Fernhaber, Stephanie A. & Zou, Huan, 2022. "Advancing societal grand challenge research at the interface of entrepreneurship and international business: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    5. Bertello, Alberto & Battisti, Enrico & De Bernardi, Paola & Bresciani, Stefano, 2022. "An integrative framework of knowledge-intensive and sustainable entrepreneurship in entrepreneurial ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 683-693.
    6. Elisabeth S. C. Berger & Christine Blanka, 2024. "Comprehensive and multifaceted perspectives on sustainability, urban studies, and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 471-501, February.
    7. Jantos, Louisa & Bäumle, Philipp & Feser, Daniel, 2024. "Removing barriers for sustainability: A qualitative cross-country analysis of entrepreneurial ecosystem attributes in Israel and Germany," ifh Working Papers 44/2024, Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen (ifh).
    8. Lupoae, Oana-Daniela & Wilk, Violetta & Radu, Riana Iren, 2024. "Sustainable entrepreneurship in equine services," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    9. Mariana Pita & Joana Costa & António Carrizo Moreira, 2021. "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Entrepreneurial Initiative: Building a Multi-Country Taxonomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-26, April.
    10. Xin Jin & Chunwu Chen & Min Zhang, 2022. "Research on Synergy between Entrepreneurial Service and Financial Support in Crowd Innovation Space Ecosystem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    11. Haifeng Qian & Jing Wu & Siqi Zheng, 2024. "Entrepreneurship, sustainability, and urban development," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 463-469, February.
    12. Sanjay Chaudhary & Puneet Kaur & Hind Alofaysan & Jantje Halberstadt & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Connecting the dots? Entrepreneurial ecosystems and sustainable entrepreneurship as pathways to sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5935-5951, December.
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    14. Allison L. Ricket & G. Jason Jolley & Faith Beale Knutsen & Sarah C. Davis, 2023. "Rural Sustainable Prosperity: Social Enterprise Ecosystems as a Framework for Sustainable Rural Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Design science study; Entrepreneurial ecosystem; Buzz; Opportunity process; Sustainable entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L73 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Forest Products
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O35 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Social Innovation

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