Developing sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: the role of different ecosystem types and links

The current discourse on ecosystems does not sufficiently address the concept of sustainability. This chapter begins by reviewing different ecosystem concepts, taking into account their historical roots, differences and application to sustainability. In a second step, we consider ecosystems as meta-organizations and use the exploration-exploitation framework to further delineate the goals of various ecosystems with regard to different perspectives on sustainability and identify how ecosystem actors can influence different ecosystems to promote sustainable entrepreneurship. In doing so, we develop a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial ecosystems and other types of ecosystems and discuss its implications for stakeholders interested in contributing to the sustainability, persistency and longevity of such ecosystems. We draw attention to the overlap and interactions between different ecosystems. We propose that an overarching ecosystem value proposition of creating particular sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities can facilitate the structuring of different ecosystem types. This in turn promotes sustainable entrepreneurship in both existing organizations (sustainable intrapreneurship) and new ventures. We then argue that sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems are a means of contributing toward more sustainable societies, as compared to being an end in themselves, which requires different types of ecosystems to collaborate.