Reprint of: Capturing conversations in entrepreneurial ecosystems

This paper examines a novel and innovative methodological approach and dataset for measuring the complex relational dynamics underpinning entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). Existing measurement techniques have largely failed to yield sufficiently nuanced data or insights to inform robust policy recommendations within this research field. To rectify this situation, this paper sets out a novel approach to assessing the relational connectivity within EEs by capturing entrepreneurial "conversations". Drawing on real-time data extracted from an event-based social media platform, in combination with social network analysis and qualitative interview data, we provide an in-depth assessment of the relational connections within the city of Edinburgh at three analytical levels. Overall, the paper demonstrates that the analysis of conversations and conversational spaces is an important mechanism for exploring and mapping the relational connectivity within EEs. As well as producing novel empirical insights, this approach provides policy makers with vital strategic policy intelligence to help better inform public policy frameworks and associated interventions.     

论创业型大学研究的理论架构

 区别于传统研究型大学研究的思考方式,创业型大学研究的理论框架构建于高等教育研究、高等教育机构、社会关系研究和其他学科研究相互关联问题领域的基础之上。本文分析了创业型大学研究领域中创业型大学的理念、创业型大学的要素、创业型大学的三螺旋、价值冲突和生存途径及运营方式这五个基本问题后,论述了国家与政府公共政策变化、技术发展、标杆性事件、学术争论和制度化这五种驱动力对创业型大学研究的关键作用,并探究了这些因素何时以及如何发挥作用。     

The Startup Cartography Project: Measuring and mapping entrepreneurial ecosystems

This paper presents the Startup Cartography Project (SCP), which offers a new set of entrepreneurial ecosystem statistics for the United States from 1988 to 2016.  The SCP combines state-level business registration records with a predictive analytics approach to estimate the probability of “extreme” growth (IPO or high-value acquisition) at or near the time of founding for the population of newly-registered firms.  The results highlight the ability of predictive analytics to identify high-potential start-ups at founding (using a variety of different approaches and measures). The SCP then leverages estimates of entrepreneurial quality to develop four entrepreneurial ecosystem statistics, including the rate of start-up formation, average entrepreneurial quality, the quality-adjusted quantity of entrepreneurship, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem performance associated with a given start-up “cohort.” These statistics offer sharp insight into patterns of regional entrepreneurship, the correlation of quality (but not quantity) with subsequent regional economic growth and the evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems over time.  The SCP includes both a public-access dataset at the state, MSA, county, and zip code level, as well as an interactive map, the U.S. Startup Map, that allows academic and policy users to assess entrepreneurial ecosystems at an arbitrary level of granularity (from the level of states down to individual street addresses). The SCP and accompanying datasets may be found at: https://www.startupcartography.com/.     

Intermediaries for the greater good: How entrepreneurial support organizations can embed constrained sustainable development startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Sustainable development startups (SDSs) are important to help overcome societal challenges. However, starting an SDS or investing in them is a high-risk endeavor. Hence, policymakers are trying to make entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) more favorable for SDSs. A critical component of any EE is a financial support network, through which startups receive investments and business knowledge most importantly from private venture capitalists (VCs), among other finance providers. To be successful, SDSs thus need to become embedded in the financial support network. This embeddedness also allows SDSs to serve as network brokers between VCs and other startups, which is beneficial for the entire EE. Entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) can help build a sufficiently dense financial support network by introducing startups to other actors. However, there are often not enough promising SDSs in an EE to meaningfully influence the financial support network. This places ESOs that promote SDSs in the dilemma of which startups to admit: they can either focus their efforts exclusively on SDSs or give their unfilled spots to non-SDSs, with the latter facilitating network brokering among startups. Therefore, this paper answers the following research question: What is the effect from ESOs’ support mechanisms and admission regimes on the number of investments in SDSs? Using an agent-based model, I demonstrate that ESOs are a necessity for EEs with many constrained SDSs, particularly when the constraints are technology-based. Without ESOs, the presence of such SDSs negatively influences the entire EE due to a loss of brokering in the financial support network. ESOs can help repair this damage by having the right admission regimes and helping tenant SDSs overcome some of their constraints. Ultimately, the most effective way to do this is to have an admission regime under which only SDSs are accepted and receive twice as much support from the ESO.     

Local entrepreneurial ecosystems as configural narratives: A new way of seeing and evaluating antecedents and outcomes

This paper develops and applies a new evaluative approach to local entrepreneuriale cosystems, as configural narratives. We examine how configurations of local entrepreneurial ecosystem attributes, as evaluated by local experts, support or hinder the emergence of new and innovative firms. Drawing on sociology of place, we present a novel configurational comparative analysis of local experts' evaluation of their ecosystems in Chile. Our proposed approach to entrepreneurial ecosystems helps us uncover two counterintuitive findings and so elaborateon interferences that have not yet been addressed through conventional concepts, methods and data. First, we reveal three distinct ecosystem types explaining different local levels of new firm activity: Active self-propelled, Indulged and Passive self-absorbed. The internal composition of these types change when only innovative and high growth firms are taken into consideration. Second, we show why, when seen as configural narratives, ecosystem attributes that have been assumed necessary play only a peripheral role. Our study demonstrates a split picture against seemingly similar outcomes and homogenous local contexts, contributing to the advancement of entrepreneurial ecosystem theory, observation and assessment.     

不同创业环境下的机会认知和创业决策研究

在回顾和评述创业机会认知和创业决策研究的相关文献的基础上,指出其存在的问题;进而分析不同创业环境的特征,指出这些不同环境的特征对创业机会认知方式和创业决策方式的选择有重要影响,并提出创业者在三种不同创业环境下的创业机会认知和创业决策模型;认为当环境及创业者自身能力发生变化时,创业者的决策行为也应进行相应的调整。     

创业激情对创业成功的作用机制研究

  近年来,创业激情作为影响创业行为和创业成功的关键情感因素日益受到学者关注,但有关创业激情对创业成功影响机制的相关研究较少。本文提出“创业激情-创业坚持-环境动态性-创业成功”的路径作用过程,以236位创业企业主为研究对象,通过问卷调查法收集数据,利用SPSS24.0以及AMOS24.0等数据处理软件进行实证检验。研究结果表明：创业激情对创业成功有积极影响;创业坚持在创业激情对创业成功的作用机制中起到中介作用;环境动态性会对创业坚持和创业成功间的关系产生消极影响;环境动态性调节创业坚持在创业激情与创业成功间的部分中介效应。本研究有助于更进一步探索创业成功的影响因素,揭示创业激情向创业成功转化的有效途径。     

创业激情对创业坚持行为的影响机制研究

创业坚持被认为是创业者成功实现目标最重要的影响因素之一,但现有文献对于是什么因素使得创业者坚持或者退出知之甚少。本文在社会认知理论的基础上,构建创业激情、创业自我效能和创业坚持的关系模型,并通过实证研究发现：和谐激情与执念激情均正向影响创业坚持行为;创业自我效能在和谐激情和创业坚持行为间起完全中介作用,但在执念激情和创业坚持行为间起部分中介作用;随着先前创业经历的增加,和谐激情对于创业自我效能的正向影响不断增强,而执念激情对于创业自我效能的正向影响减弱。     

制度环境、创业自我效能感与创业意愿

如何促进创业是近年来学术和实践领域广泛关注的议题。基于制度理论和社会认知理论,本文研究了创业自我效能感对创业意愿的影响,以及制度环境在该过程中所起的调节作用。利用来自28个国家跨越2009-2013年的面板数据构建分层广义线性模型。结果发现,创业自我效能感正向影响创业意愿,制度环境中支持创业法规、金融资本可得性、教育资本可得性和腐败控制正向调节二者关系,社会文化价值观负向调节二者关系。论文从跨层视角探索了创业自我效能感与制度环境对创业意愿的交互作用,拓展了对企业家精神的研究。最后,本文从创业者和政府层面提出管理启示,以激发企业家精神,促进创业发展。     

A semantics and image retrieval system for hierarchical image databases

This work presents a content based semantics and image retrieval system for semantically categorized hierarchical image databases. Each module is designed with an aim to develop a system that works closer to human perception. Images are mapped to a multidimensional feature space, where images belonging a semantic are clustered and indexed to acquire its efficient representation. This helps in handling the existing variability or heterogeneity within this semantic. Adaptive combinations of the obtained depictions are utilized by the branch selection and pruning algorithms to identify some closer semantics and select only a part of the large hierarchical search space for actual search. So obtained search space is finally used to retrieve desired semantics and similar images corresponding to them. The system is evaluated in terms of accuracy of the retrieved semantics and precision-recall curves. Experiments show promising semantics and image retrieval results on hierarchical image databases. The results reported with non-hierarchical but categorized image databases further prove the efficacy of the proposed system.     

Open creative labs as functional infrastructure for entrepreneurial ecosystems: Using sequence analysis to explore tempo-spatial trajectories of startups in Berlin

By analyzing the tempo-spatial trajectories of startups, this paper proposes a new method to benchmark functions in entrepreneurial ecosystems based on longitudinal data. To demonstrate this novel method, a regional case study of the ecosystem infrastructure in Berlin is considered, for which tempo-spatial trajectories of startups are analyzed with quantitative sequence methods. It is explored empirically how open creative labs such as co-working spaces or seed accelerators supply core functions within entrepreneurial ecosystems based on the aspects of regional integration and trans-local connection. Open creative labs do not only provide important resources for startups and entrepreneurs but also have systemic functions within entrepreneurial ecosystems. Namely, they provide conditions under which critical links within regional entrepreneurial ecosystems can be formed and they facilitate inter-ecosystem ties between regions.     

创业自我效能感、创业资源与农民创业动机

 近年来,我国农村创业活动越来越活跃,农民创业动机也在悄然发生变化。本文采用实证分析方法,研究创业自我效能感与创业资源两大因素对农民创业动机强度的影响。结果表明,创业自我效能感维度中,机会识别效能感对农民创业动机强度影响最大,机会识别效能感、组织承诺效能感、管理控制效能感对农民生存型和机会型创业动机强度都有显著性影响,而风险承担效能感仅对农民机会型创业动机强度有显著影响;创业资源各维度中,财务资源对农民创业动机强度影响最大,财务资源和知识资源对农民机会型和生存型创业动机强度都有显著影响,而人力资源仅对农民机会型创业动机强度构成影响。可见,提升农民创业自我效能感和增多农民创业资源能够有效增强农民创业动机的强度。     

学术型企业家特质及其创业行为与创业环境分析

本文从分析"学术型企业家"的本质着手,分析了"学术型企业家"的特质,阐述了"学术形企业家"兼备科学家创造力与企业家创新精神的特质,继而论述了学术型企业家的创业行为,分析了其特殊的创业环境。     

创业政策与创业模式匹配对创业绩效影响机制

尽管我国创业活动在全球经济体处于活跃状态,但我国的创业成功率较低。这主要是因为我国创业政策供给与异质性创业模式的匹配度不高。以供需匹配为视角,借助MOS模型,运用独立样本t检验法和多元层次回归分析法,实证分析了创业政策与创业模式匹配对创业绩效的影响机制。研究结果表明：（1）动机激发和机会增加政策有助于提升生存推动型创业者的自我效能感,为其提供更多的创业资源和创业机会;（2）动机激发和技能培育政策有助于增强机会拉动型创业者的创业自信心,提升其专业知识和实践技能;（3）机会增加和技能培育政策有助于扩展创新驱动型创业者的社会网络,提升其组织管理能力。鉴于此,政府应采取异质性的创业政策供给,即关注生存推动型创业者的动机激发和机会增加,注重机会拉动型创业者的动机强化和技能培育,侧重创新驱动型创业者的技能提升和机会增加。     

社会网络、创业效能感与创业意向的关系研究

本研究围绕"社会网络如何影响创业意向"这一基本研究问题,在回顾和梳理相关文献的基础上,构建了社会网络特征、创业效能感与创业意向关系的概念模型。通过向高校大学生群体发放问卷,并对数据进行层次回归分析以检验研究假设。结果表明:社会网络规模越大、连接越强、异质性越高,创业效能感越强,而网络中心度的提高只能增强风险容忍效能感,对机会识别效能感没有影响;创业机会识别效能感和风险容忍效能感均对创业意向有显著的正向影响;创业效能感在社会网络特征与创业意向的因果关系中起到部分中介作用。     

Contextualizing entrepreneurial innovation: A narrative perspective

We review literatures that inform entrepreneurial innovation, paying particular attention to different conceptualizations of contexts. Early research explored micro and macro approaches with some scholars taking an actor-centric perspective and others a context-centric perspective. Bridging these perspectives, different scholars proposed multilevel approaches, arguing that opportunities are “found” or “made” by entrepreneurs whose efforts are moderated by contexts. More recent constitutive approaches, such as those informed by structuration, complexity and disequilibrium theories, have viewed entrepreneurial innovation as a process wherein actors and contexts are co-created. We add to constitutive approaches by examining how entrepreneurs contextualize innovation through narratives. A narrative perspective considers entrepreneurial innovation as an ongoing process involving embedded actors who contextualize innovation through performative efforts. We discuss the implications of this perspective for policy, entrepreneurs, and research.     

创业学习与创业导向关系辨析

基于创业学习与创业导向的相关文献,对创业学习与创业导向之间的关系进行了阐述,以明晰这两个构念之间的联系与区别,对提升创业学习与公司创业理论的理解和发展进行了简述。     

技术创业型企业与创业平台资源共生演化机理

创业平台和技术创业型企业是原创技术孵化的关键主体,其共生关系的形成对促进技术创新具有重要意义。现有研究聚焦于创业平台对技术创业型企业的单向资源供给,或内部资源整合对个体发展的影响,忽略了资源共生对提高孵化效率、实现价值共创的关键作用。鉴于此,选取Y Combinator、创新工场、概念证明中心进行案例研究,剖析技术创业型企业与创业平台的共生演化机理。研究发现：（1）技术创业型企业与创业平台表现出“寄生→偏利共生→互惠共生→偏利共生→互惠共生”螺旋上升的共生演化过程;（2）多元化资源收益驱动创业平台与技术创业型企业共生关系的形成,其中技术资源收益促使创业平台打破局限于经济收益的互惠共生,步入技术资源拼凑的偏利共生;（3）构建横向创业链和纵向创业链是技术创业型企业和创业平台形成寄生、偏利共生、基于经济收益互惠共生关系的实现路径;创业平台拼凑共生资源、协奏形成资源结构化,并嵌入横、纵创业链集成创业网络,最终实现网络资源获取的互惠共生。研究结论明确了共生资源收益和创业链构建、资源整合对驱动和实现共生演化的关键作用,为形成技术创业型企业和创业平台的互惠共生,促进创业平台向专业型、技术型转化,实现价值共创提供借鉴。