To solve or to  occupy: Addressing hybrid bottlenecks in innovation ecosystems

By Draschbacher, T., Rachinger, M., & Engwall, M.  (2025). Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 212, 123982.  DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2025.123982

Abstract

Bottlenecks have recently emerged as one of the key objects of inquiry in research on innovation ecosystems. The broader literature is split into two streams on technological and strategic bottlenecks, relying on the implicit assumption that strategic bottlenecks emerge from technological bottlenecks. In practice, however, many ecosystems get “stuck” in the transition from technological to strategic bottlenecks. This results in the formation of hybrid bottlenecks that combine the features of both technological and strategic bottlenecks. The existing recommendations regarding strategies that can be used to address bottlenecks fail to explain actors' strategic responses in these situations. We address this gap by conducting an exploratory multiple case study of strategies actors apply to address the hybrid bottleneck of public charging infrastructure in the innovation ecosystem of battery electric vehicles. We combine resource dependence theory and resource-based theory to show how actors combine different strategies to address hybrid bottlenecks based on how heavily they depend on the availability of bottleneck resources to create value in the innovation ecosystem, their expectations about the future value of these resources, and the ambiguity and uncertainty of the ecosystem's future evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical  entrepreneurial ecosystem research: A guide to creating multilevel datasets

By Hess, S. (2025). Journal of Business Venturing  Insights, 23, e00511. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2024.e00511

Abstract:

Entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) are multilevel phenomena crucial for understanding and promoting productive entrepreneurship and economic development. The key insight of this study is that there is an actionable path to build and manage multilevel, longitudinal datasets for EE research, facilitating deeper insights into patterns and dynamics across different levels—often missed in single-source and cross-sectional data studies. It guides the integration of data spanning founders, firms, and socio-economic indicators from diverse sources, including archival records and self-reported data. Combining and triangulating these sources fills a significant methodological gap, supporting robust empirical EE analyses and enabling evidence-based policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open innovation  in ecosystems: Exploring how the affiliation of an ecosystem partner impacts  the benefits of collaboration in open innovation

By Heaton, S., & Min, J. (2025). Research  Policy, 54(2), 105168. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2024.105168

Abstract:

By combining insights from the open innovation literature with the dynamic capabilities framework, we investigate how three types of open innovation partner choices—partners from competing ecosystems, partners within the same ecosystem, and partners outside any ecosystem—affect firms' innovation outcomes. Additionally, we examine the moderating role of firms' adaptability in this relationship. Analyzing panel data for 70 global airline companies from 47 countries, we find that collaborating with a partner from a competing open innovation ecosystem enhances a firm's innovation effort more than partnering with a company from the same ecosystem or one without an ecosystem. Moreover, our results indicate that this relationship is particularly pronounced for firms exhibiting greater adaptability in times of crisis. Overall, we contribute to open innovation research by challenging the implicit assumption that open innovation occurs solely within dyadic relationships and viewing the open innovation system as static. Instead, we emphasize the interplay of interdependencies and competition across innovation ecosystems, conceptualizing the open innovation system as more dynamic. In this dynamic system, especially under conditions of uncertainty, we highlight firm-level adaptability as a critical boundary condition for successful open innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation  ecosystems and Corporate Social Responsibility: Which dynamic capabilities are  needed?

By  Piantoni G., Arena M., Azzone G. (2025). Journal of Cleaner Production,  Vol. 486, 144594. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.144594

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamic capabilities (DCs) required by firms to implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies grounded in innovation ecosystems (IEs), an emerging approach that integrates multi-level, multi-actor collaboration for pursuing systemic impact. While IE-based CSR strategies hold significant potential, they involve managing the inherent complexities of IEs, in terms of actors, structures, relations, governance and strategies. To do so, firms need to have specific DCs, representing the skills, resources, and capacities to manage IE-based CSR strategies. Although the literature exploring DCs for sustainability strategies and ecosystem management is expanding, there are still no contributions addressing DCs needed for firms to manage IE-based CSR. To address this gap, we conceptually frame and then explore through a single case study analysis the micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities (MofDCs) useful in enacting IE-based CSR strategies. Our analysis identifies fifteen critical sensing, seizing and reconfiguring MofDCs: many of them are novel compared to the literature, thus specific to IE-based CSR strategies. Also, we find out that these MofDCs play a pivotal role in facing the complexities characterizing such CSR approach. This study contributes to the growing literature at the intersection of CSR and IEs: by keeping the theoretical lens of DCs, it uncovers which skills, processes and resources firms need to enact CSR strategies grounded in IEs. Therefore, we contribute to the literature on DCs in sustainability-related settings, by focusing on sustainability strategies at the ecosystem-level. Practically, this study offers a framework for managers seeking to navigate the complexity of IE-based CSR strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power,  process, and potential of mapping an entrepreneurial ecosystem

By Brian J. Bergman Jr. (2025). Business  Horizons, Vol. 68, Issue 1, Pages 55-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2023.12.005

Abstract

Fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE), the set of actors and factors coordinated to encourage entrepreneurial activity and innovation in a particular city or region, has become a focal point in contemporary economic development policy. But cultivating an EE is hard work, especially in places that are underresourced or typically not associated with entrepreneurship and innovation. This can leave motivated communities and their constituents overwhelmed about how and where to begin this lofty endeavor. This article suggests one starting point: creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem map. Uniquely fusing together extensive research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and cartography, this article examines the main elements of an EE and the basics of mapmaking before presenting an eight-step process for mapping an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Beyond articulating a basic process and key considerations for generating an EE map, this article suggests ecosystem maps can create value for a range of actors within and beyond the focal ecosystem and can serve several important roles in developing a community’s EE, aside from pointing entrepreneurs to needed resources. Further, I argue that the exercise of ecosystem mapping is just as—if not more—important than any maps it produces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge-Related  Resourcefulness for Growth in Weak Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

By Rawhouser, H., Sutter, C., Holzaepfel, N., Conger,  M., & Newbert, S. L. (2025). Entrepreneurship Theory and  Practice, 49(1), 159-195. DOI: 10.1177/10422587241259393

Abstract

Entrepreneurs need to access knowledge to grow, but weak entrepreneurial ecosystems tend to lack the types of knowledge that foster venture growth. To explore how entrepreneurs can act resourcefully as they overcome local ecosystem deficiencies in efforts to grow, we conducted 78 interviews with growth-oriented entrepreneurs in Central America. These entrepreneurs, perceiving that their ecosystem was subordinate to stronger ecosystems, challenged local knowledge, prompting them to engage in knowledge-related resourcefulness, which involves reorienting network targets (resourceful cognition) and assembling network tie proxies (resourceful behavior), to leverage benefits from both local and distant entrepreneurial ecosystems in pursuit of steady organic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlocking  growth potential: investigating the significance of firm location for music  startups

By Shabtai, R. H., Tzofi, O., & Blank, T. H.  (2025). International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 21(1),  1-20. DOI: 10.1007/s11365-024-01027-8

Abstract

This study explores how the location choice and financial resources of music-tech startups impact their performance, focusing on the role of CEO type (founder vs. non-founder). Entrepreneurs face the challenge of choosing between leveraging existing networks in their home region or relocating to industry-specific hubs. While location decisions significantly influence access to resources and growth potential, recent findings on their impact remain mixed. This research aims to clarify these dynamics by examining how founder and non-founder CEOs affect startup performance, particularly in creative industries where financial resources and location play critical roles. By providing insights into these factors, the study enhances our understanding of the interplay between startup location, financial support, and leadership in the music-tech sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drivers of CSR  strategies: A regional and relational approach

By  Poveda-Pareja, E., Marco-Lajara, B., Úbeda-García, M., del Carmen  Zaragoza-Sáez, P., & Manresa-Marhuenda, E. (2025). Technological  Forecasting and Social Change, 212, 123911. DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123911

Abstract 

The purpose of this research is to analyse which factors linked to location decisions as well as to the capabilities that are developed in agglomeration environments can be conducive to the development of CSR strategy by tourism enterprises. To carry out this analysis, the degree of agglomeration of the Local Labour Systems where the companies under study are located is initially calculated. In addition, a theoretical model is developed and analysed empirically by applying the PLS statistical technique to a sample of 202 hotels located on the Spanish coast. The results obtained reflect the relevance of inter-organisational ambidexterity as a key capability for channelling the effects of location in agglomerated environments on the CSR strategies of hotels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional mapping  of ICT specialization and adoption of industry 4.0 technologies in Greece

By Stamopoulos, D., Dimas, P., Siokas, E., &  Tsakanikas, A. (2025). Telecommunications Policy, 102903. DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2024.102903

Abstract 

The aim of this paper is to provide a mapping of business ICT specialization and adoption of novel digital production technologies across Greek regions. In addition, it aims to preliminarily investigate whether these aspects are associated with regional economic performance. We develop specialization indicators of each region's ICT activities and economic performance using NUTS3 level data and combine them with regional firm-level data regarding the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies from a large-scale field survey of 1014 industrial firms. Our findings add a novel geographical scope to the ongoing discussion regarding the digital transformation of the Greek economy, highlighting the ICT specialization asymmetries and different digital technology adoption rates between a cluster of highly specialized and connected metropolitan regions and the rest of the mostly rural regions. The results provide preliminary input regarding the importance of region-level characteristics, which are remarkably absent and must be considered in the ongoing national ICT policy discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stuck in the  playground: a (failed) organizational entrepreneuring process

By Picard, H., Fernández, P. D., & Hjorth, D.  (2025). Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 37(1-2),  300-324. DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2024.2365763

Abstract

Collaborative spaces such as fab labs, incubators, and coworking spaces have become a worldwide phenomenon based on their promise of fostering creativity and entrepreneurship. Mature, large organizations have also tried to benefit from this by creating such spaces in-house. This paper studies a failed attempt to create one such space in a large bureaucratic organization. Our study shows that succeeding in actualizing a space for play, creativity, and entrepreneurship in the place of the office requires attention to organizational ‘common sense’. With our process perspective and its upgrading of the role of affect, our study’s contributions highlight (1) The potential for research in organizational entrepreneurship of an affect-based conceptualization of common sense, which also emphasizes the political, in understanding the failure of entrepreneuring, and (2) The importance of ‘spacing’ and the space-place dynamics for entrepreneuring in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional  Topography: A Review of Subnational Institutions

By Dai, L., Hitt, M. A., Huo, C., & Chan, C. M.  (2025). Journal of Management, 51(1), 464-494. DOI: 10.1177/01492063241282640

Abstract

Research on subnational institutions is largely motivated by the observation that formal and informal institutions within countries are unevenly configured over geographical space. Although diverse, this relatively nascent body of work has yet to explicate firm activity across subnational locales that exhibit institutional dissimilarity and isomorphism with both proximate and distant centers of political-economic power. To characterize firm activity over such spatially continuous institutional landscapes within countries, we synthesize insights from the subnational institutions literature by introducing a topography framework with its characteristic dimensions comprised of (1) polycentricity, (2) elevation, and (3) slope. We discuss theoretical contributions from using this framework to review 92 articles in the period 1999 to 2024 from 24 journals before concluding with directions for future research. This work integrates knowledge on subnational institutions across management sub-fields, including, but not limited to, international business, strategic management, and entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating  competitiveness in incumbent small- and medium-sized enterprises: A revised  perspective on digital transformation

By Meier, A., Eller, R., & Peters, M.  (2025). Journal of Business Research, 186, 115028. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115028

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has sped digital transformation efforts of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, recent evidence indicates that SMEs are falling behind in the digital uptake. Therefore, policymakers have repeatedly emphasised the importance of digital transformation in SMEs. To better understand the competitiveness of incumbent SMEs, which potentially resulted from digital transformation, we conducted a conceptual theory synthesis approach. We distil key concepts from the literature and propose a novel framework for SMEs’ competitiveness through the lens of critical realism. Nine perspectives on the extant SME digital transformation areas suggest a relationship between digital transformation and competitiveness. In a multilevel research agenda, nine fundamental premises are proposed to further theorise and empirically investigate incumbent SMEs’ digital efforts to achieve higher competitiveness. The study concludes with managerial implications for aligning an incumbent's strategy with the digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]