The Impact of Politically Connected Entrepreneurs on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Emerging Economies

While substantial progress has been made in decoding the entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) of cities and regions in developed nations, the intricate components of EEs in regions within emerging economies remain under-explored. By employing entrepreneurial ecosystem concept in the context of emerging economies, we delve into which actors and elements of the EE could potentially contribute to detrimental entrepreneurship. The phenomenon of politically connected entrepreneurship (PE) is omnipresent, characterized by its intricate nature and significant impact, thus continuing to fuel economic and social discourse. In our analysis, it is identified as an economic activity that is strongly interwoven with both local and national governments through formal and informal cooperation to access resources in a preferential manner. The crux of the matter lies in the actions of these influential actors, their motives, and the manner in which they can be regulated. Disparities in power enable certain actors to assert dominance over others, thereby dictating resource accessibility and limiting the allocation of opportunities to a privileged category of players. From a theoretical standpoint, this study enhances scholarly comprehension of the PE concept, its key characteristics, and its subsequent impact within the entrepreneurial ecosystem; it also provides a taxonomy of political entrepreneurship.