The injection of resources by transnational entrepreneurs: towards a model of the early evolution of an entrepreneurial ecosystem

ABSTRACT

Despite its rapid proliferation, the extant literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems has not paid sufficient attention to the evolutionary nature of entrepreneurial ecosystems, mainly on account of the prevailing structuralist approaches in previous research. Particularly unclear is the early evolutionary context in which a region without rich entrepreneurial resources gains momentum and transforms into a nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem. The literature overlooks ecosystem dynamics in regions with limited entrepreneurial resources, as most studies have investigated more developed entrepreneurial ecosystems. This study illuminates one means to overcome resource scarcity on a regional level: resource injection by attracting transnational entrepreneurs, who transfer unique resources from one location to another. Based on an explorative qualitative study in the Santiago entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chile, where governmental actors incentivized transnational entrepreneurs to temporarily relocate to Santiago, this article proposes a three-step model of resource injection by transnational entrepreneurs with the following components: (i) stimulation of early ecosystem evolutionary momentum, (ii) evocation of institutional changes, and (iii) establishment of a resilient ecosystem. The findings offer practical implications for policymakers in emerging countries to utilize transnational entrepreneurs’ resources for developing an ecosystem in their region.

KEYWORDS:

• Entrepreneurial ecosystems
• transnational entrepreneurship
• ecosystem evolution
• entrepreneurial migrants
• entrepreneurship policy
• Santiago entrepreneurial ecosystem

Acknowledgement

We appreciate Startup Chile, CORFO, and all the other stakeholders of the Santiago entrepreneurial ecosystem for their generous support, which enabled us to conduct this study. We also thank our colleagues at the Chair in Small Business & Management (LEMEX), University of Bremen, Thomas Baron, Manal Haimour, Tatevik Narimanyan, Quynh Duong Phuong, and Tenzin Yeshi for providing us with valuable and critical comments as friendly reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.