The value of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial ecosystem: Evidence from 265 cities in China

Abstract

Abstract Entrepreneurship scholars consider the benefits of entrepreneurial activities to include regional innovation, employment, and growth. In recent years, the entrepreneurship literature has begun to focus on entrepreneurial contexts, especially the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which may exist at different levels, such as cities and countries. This study analyzes whether the entrepreneurial ecosystem promotes regional development and if so, how. Using fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis, we employ the most recent available full data, for 2018, to conduct research on 265 urban entrepreneurial ecosystems in China and reveal the conditions that can stimulate regional entrepreneurship and development. Overall, our results indicate that the entrepreneurial ecosystem can well explain employment and innovation in the region, while there is only one configuration to promote economic growth, which emphasizes the impacts of formal institutions and finance. Our research explains how the elements within the entrepreneurial ecosystem interact to promote regional short‐term and long‐term development. The results have rich implications for policies on entrepreneurship and urban planning as well as practice.

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