Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Orchestration: A Middle-Range Theory of Collective Resource Mobilization
Keywords:
entrepreneurial ecosystem, entrepreneurial ecosystem orchestration, collective resource mobilization, resource orchestration, collaborative governanceAbstract
Entrepreneurial ecosystems have become a dominant perspective for explaining regional entrepreneurial development; however, existing research remains largely focused on ecosystem elements, configurations, and contextual conditions while offering limited explanation of how heterogeneous actors collectively mobilize dispersed resources to generate sustained entrepreneurial outcomes. This unresolved mechanism-based gap motivates the development of a more integrative theoretical explanation. Accordingly, this conceptual study develops Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Orchestration as a middle-range theory that explains how orchestrating actors transform fragmented ecosystem resources into collective entrepreneurial capability. Drawing on and integrating entrepreneurial ecosystem theory, resource orchestration, collaborative governance, network governance, and institutional entrepreneurship, the study proposes a process-oriented framework centered on collective resource mobilization as the core generative mechanism linking orchestrating actors, ecosystem resource pools, mobilization practices, coordination architecture, and collective entrepreneurial outcomes. The proposed framework advances existing knowledge by extending resource orchestration beyond organizational boundaries, repositioning orchestration as an ecosystem-level capability, and providing a theoretically bounded and empirically testable explanation of entrepreneurial ecosystem dynamics. The study offers a new conceptual foundation for future theory development and empirical research on ecosystem coordination, resource mobilization, and entrepreneurial ecosystem evolution.
References
Ács, Z. J., Autio, E., & Szerb, L. (2014). National Systems of Entrepreneurship: Measurement issues and policy implications. Research Policy, 43(3), 476–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.08.016
Acs, Z. J., Stam, E., Audretsch, D. B., & O’Connor, A. (2017). The lineages of the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach. Small Business Economics, 49(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9864-8
Adner, R. (2017). Ecosystem as Structure. Journal of Management, 43(1), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316678451
Adner, R., & Kapoor, R. (2010). Value creation in innovation ecosystems: how the structure of technological interdependence affects firm performance in new technology generations. Strategic Management Journal, 31(3), 306–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.821
Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2008). Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum032
Autio, E., Kenney, M., Mustar, P., Siegel, D., & Wright, M. (2014). Entrepreneurial innovation: The importance of context. Research Policy, 43(7), 1097–1108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2014.01.015
Autio, E., Nambisan, S., Thomas, L. D. W., & Wright, M. (2018). Digital affordances, spatial affordances, and the genesis of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 12(1), 72–95. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1266
Battilana, J., Leca, B., & Boxenbaum, E. (2009). 2 How Actors Change Institutions: Towards a Theory of Institutional Entrepreneurship. The Academy of Management Annals, 3(1), 65–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520903053598
Brown, R., & Mason, C. (2017). Looking inside the spiky bits: a critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Small Business Economics, 49(1), 11–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9865-7
Burt, R. S. (2004). Structural Holes and Good Ideas. American Journal of Sociology, 110(2), 349–399. https://doi.org/10.1086/421787
Cantner, U., Cunningham, J. A., Lehmann, E. E., & Menter, M. (2021). Entrepreneurial ecosystems: a dynamic lifecycle model. Small Business Economics, 57(1), 407–423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00316-0
Content, J., Bosma, N., Jordaan, J., & Sanders, M. (2020). Entrepreneurial ecosystems, entrepreneurial activity and economic growth: new evidence from European regions. Regional Studies, 54(8), 1007–1019. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2019.1680827
Dhanaraj, C., & Parkhe, A. (2006). Orchestrating Innovation Networks. Academy of Management Review, 31(3), 659–669. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.21318923
Emerson, K., Nabatchi, T., & Balogh, S. (2012). An Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 22(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mur011
Garud, R., Hardy, C., & Maguire, S. (2007). Institutional Entrepreneurship as Embedded Agency: An Introduction to the Special Issue. Organization Studies, 28(7), 957–969. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840607078958
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481–510. https://doi.org/10.1086/228311
Harima, A., Harima, J., & Freiling, J. (2021). The injection of resources by transnational entrepreneurs: towards a model of the early evolution of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 33(1–2), 80–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2020.1734265
Helfat, C. E., & Raubitschek, R. S. (2018). Dynamic and integrative capabilities for profiting from innovation in digital platform-based ecosystems. Research Policy, 47(8), 1391–1399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.01.019
Iacobucci, D., & Perugini, F. (2021). Entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic resilience at local level. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 33(9–10), 689–716. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2021.1888318
Jacobides, M. G., Cennamo, C., & Gawer, A. (2018). Towards a theory of ecosystems. Strategic Management Journal, 39(8), 2255–2276. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2904
Lawrence, T. B., Hardy, C., & Phillips, N. (2002). Institutional Effects of Interorganizational Collaboration: The Emergence of Proto-Institutions. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 281–290. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069297
Leendertse, J., Schrijvers, M., & Stam, E. (2022). Measure Twice, Cut Once: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Metrics. Research Policy, 51(9), 104336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104336
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242–266. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.533225
Nambisan, S., & Sawhney, M. (2011). Orchestration Processes in Network-Centric Innovation: Evidence From the Field. Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(3), 40–57. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMP.2011.63886529
Obstfeld, D. (2005). Social Networks, the Tertius Iungens Orientation, and Involvement in Innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(1), 100–130. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.1.100
Paquin, R. L., & Howard-Grenville, J. (2013). Blind Dates and Arranged Marriages: Longitudinal Processes of Network Orchestration. Organization Studies, 34(11), 1623–1653. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840612470230
Provan, K. G., & Kenis, P. (2008). Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(2), 229–252. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum015
Queissner, M., Stolz, L., & Weiss, M. (2025). A meta-analysis of entrepreneurial ecosystem elements and entrepreneurial activity. Small Business Economics, 64(4), 1817–1847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-024-00953-9
Roundy, P. T., Bradshaw, M., & Brockman, B. K. (2018). The emergence of entrepreneurial ecosystems: A complex adaptive systems approach. Journal of Business Research, 86, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.032
Roundy, P. T., & Lyons, T. S. (2023). Where are the entrepreneurs? A call to theorize the micro-foundations and strategic organization of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Strategic Organization, 21(2), 447–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270211056240
Ryan, P., Giblin, M., Buciuni, G., & Kogler, D. F. (2021). The role of MNEs in the genesis and growth of a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 33(1–2), 36–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2020.1734260
Schrijvers, M., Stam, E., & Bosma, N. (2024). Figuring it out: configurations of high-performing entrepreneurial ecosystems in Europe. Regional Studies, 58(5), 1096–1110. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2023.2226727
Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (2007). Managing Firm Resources in Dynamic Environments to Create Value: Looking Inside the Black Box. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 273–292. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.23466005
Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Gilbert, B. A. (2011). Resource Orchestration to Create Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1390–1412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385695
Spigel, B. (2017). The Relational Organization of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(1), 49–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12167
Spigel, B., & Harrison, R. (2018). Toward a process theory of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 12(1), 151–168. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1268
Stam, E. (2015). Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Regional Policy: A Sympathetic Critique. European Planning Studies, 23(9), 1759–1769. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2015.1061484
Stam, E., & van de Ven, A. (2021). Entrepreneurial ecosystem elements. Small Business Economics, 56(2), 809–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00270-6
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1995.9508080331
Sussan, F., & Acs, Z. J. (2017). The digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. Small Business Economics, 49(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9867-5
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640
Theodoraki, C., & Catanzaro, A. (2022). Widening the borders of entrepreneurial ecosystem through the international lens. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 47(2), 383–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-021-09852-7
Uzzi, B. (1997). Social Structure and Competition in Interfirm Networks: The Paradox of Embeddedness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393808
van Rijnsoever, F. J. (2020). Meeting, mating, and intermediating: How incubators can overcome weak network problems in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Research Policy, 49(1), 103884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.103884
van Rijnsoever, F. J. (2022). Intermediaries for the greater good: How entrepreneurial support organizations can embed constrained sustainable development startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Research Policy, 51(2), 104438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104438
Wurth, B., Stam, E., & Spigel, B. (2022). Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 46(3), 729–778. https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258721998948
