Entrepreneurial micro-ecosystems: a study on connectedness and collaboration in the edtech community

This chapter focuses on the edtech micro-ecosystem within the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Helsinki region, Finland. We examine the entrepreneurial practices of a connected and collaborative community. We draw on the definitions of different levels of entrepreneurial ecosystems, in particular the orchestrating role of accelerators. We aim to add to the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature by focusing on the underlying mechanisms of collaboration between entrepreneurs and stakeholders. Using a single case study, we examine the emerging edtech community in Finland during the years 2016-2019 with extensive data consisting of interviews, observations, and documents. Using qualitative methods and including researcher engagement in the field, we have collected in-depth data to illustrate the collaboration and connectedness in the ecosystem in question. Furthermore, this chapter analyses the role of the accelerator as an enabler for an emerging, collaborative community. We identify and discuss the mechanisms within a sub-system and across a sub-system and broader ecosystem that enable collaboration and connectedness. Our attempt is to enrich the contextual heterogeneity of entrepreneurship discourse and contribute to the bottom-up approach of entrepreneurial ecosystem literature.