entrepreneurial ecosystem

The purpose of this research is to design a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem model in Internet retail businesses. The type of research work is applied, in the qualitative part of the statistical population of this research, in order to identify the indicators, two groups of academic experts in the field of digital technologies and entrepreneurship have been formed in the number of 14 people, and in the quantitative part of the statistical population of the research, 384 officials. The programmers and operators of these businesses were in Tehran. The sampling method in this research is systematic random method due to the homogeneity of the studied population. The required information was collected by two methods of library studies (in order to develop hypotheses) and field method (in order to test hypotheses). The research tool includes a fuzzy Delphi questionnaire as well as a researcher-made questionnaire based on the extracted criteria. Convergent validity method was used to confirm validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to confirm reliability. To analyze the data, statistical methods at two descriptive and inferential levels and statistical tests appropriate to the data scale, PLS statistical software, partial least squares test and bootstrapping technique have been used.

Global teachings on the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems show that the role of universities and higher education centers in the formation of these ecosystems has been special. This research has been conducted using a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology with the aim of prioritizing and investigating the application rate of entrepreneurship ecosystem promoters in Ilam University.

In this research, in the first step, using hierarchical analysis technique and with the participation of 12 faculty members of Ilam University, the promoters of the entrepreneurship ecosystem of Ilam University were prioritized. The validity of the data collection tool was confirmed by the opinion of three faculty members of Ilam University. The compatibility rate of the criteria and sub-criteria also showed the reliability of the research tool. In the second step, a focus group of 5 people was used to explain the current situation of the use of these promoters in Ilam University. The software used included 26Spss and expert choice 11.

The findings of the research showed that in Ilam University, none of the identified entrepreneurship ecosystem promoters related to cultural and student fields have been implemented. In the fields of education, support and human resources, and research and technology, a number of initiatives have been implemented or are being implemented, and some have not been implemented.

Therefore, in order to form an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ilam University, it is necessary to plan for the application of the unfulfilled promoters in all departments of the university. It seems that the student and cultural fields need more effort to align their activities with the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The primary objective of this article is to identify and rank the indicators of entrepreneurial development with an industrial employment approach for university graduates using the meta-synthesis approach. The statistical population of this research consists of experienced managers and experts in the field of entrepreneurial development in the industry, as well as entrepreneurship graduates. A purposive sampling method, which is a non-probability sampling method, was employed, and the perspectives of 16 industrial entrepreneurial development experts were utilized. To familiarize and gain insight into the entrepreneurial development model with an industrial employment approach for graduates of Islamic Azad University branches in Yazd province, as well as for better coordination and identification of research variables, interviews were conducted with several experts. This method yielded acceptable and influential results in identifying the components. Qualitative data content analysis was performed using the meta-synthesis method with the help of MAXQDA software to synthesize studies obtained from a systematic review centered around the topic of this research. To screen the identified indicators and select the main indicators, the fuzzy Delphi technique was used. The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique was employed to determine the appropriate activities for public companies, rank their importance, and identify relationships between the indicators. From the extracted indicators in related articles, after eliminating synonymous and frequently recurring indicators, and ultimately categorizing and grouping the final indicators, 12 categories and 64 codes were obtained. Furthermore, based on the frequency of codes, the highest repetition was attributed to the highest entropy. The innovation infrastructure in the field of information security had the highest entropy.

The aim of the current research is to Designing an entrepreneurial ecosystem model in the university with a knowledge-oriented approach. According to its purpose, the research method is applicable; and mixed (qualitative-quantitative) in terms of its implementation. The statistical population in the qualitative section includes 20 academic experts who are knowledgeable about the entrepreneurship ecosystem, using a targeted sampling method; and in the quantitative section, it includes 384 people from all managers of Islamic Azad Universities across the country. Data collection in the qualitative part was done through semi-structured interviews with the members of the statistical community, and in the quantitative part was done through a questionnaire. Data analysis was done using ATLAS TI software in the qualitative part, and partial least squares method in the SPSS and PLS software in the quantitative part, and factor analysis method was also used in data analysis. The results in the qualitative part showed that 67 primary codes, 11 basic themes, and 5 constructive themes are identified in most infrastructure and support clusters (2 themes), integration of technology and knowledge (2 themes), education and culture (3 themes), policy and planning. (2 themes), and integrated management (2 themes); and relationships between them were drawn and presented in the form of a paradigmatic model. The results of the quantitative part showed that 5 indicators and 11 components with factor load, average extracted variance, and convergent validity are higher than (0.4), Cronbach's alpha coefficient and composite reliability are higher than (0.7), significant t coefficients is higher than (1.96); all were confirmed, and the model has a strong fit.

The entrepreneurial ecosystem provides a growth model for entrepreneurs and by determining related indicators and elements, it identifies opportunities and threats and provides the basis for the growth of entrepreneurial activities. The aim of the current research is to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem model with the approach of employability of knowledge-based businesses based in Science and Technology Park of Tehran University. In this regard, through interviews with 20 academic experts and entrepreneurs related to the field of research, the field under study was investigated with a qualitative method. The analysis of information in the qualitative section has been carried out by the method of theme analysis. The results of the research showed that the entrepreneurial ecosystem model can be designed with the approach of employability in six categories of human capital, financial capital, market capital, cultural capital, political capital and support capital, and each of these sectors had different subsystems. It was also concluded that paying attention to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem model has results such as the development of innovation and entrepreneurship and the creation of sustainable employability.

The study of science and technology parks literature shows that approaches based on regional economy, technological and industrial clusters, and innovation systems are the basis for creating science and technology parks. The main idea of the formation of science and technology parks is to develop technology and entrepreneurship and promote innovation culture through managing the flow of knowledge and technology between universities, research institutes and private companies and the market. In the past years, many policymakers, academics and company managers have increasingly recognized the benefits of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. Accordingly, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem means thinking and action have been used to design entrepreneurial policies. Examining the research reports indicates that a small number of technological businesses enjoy parking services in the life cycle of the company, which is caused by two categories of factors, the first includes the macro issues, such as reduction of government budgets, lack of management efficient systems, sanctions and bottlenecks in international communication, lack of participation of the private sector, and the second includes lack of experience of the park headquarters in managing technology and innovation, crisis management and solving upcoming challenges, and issues such as managing interactions, resilience and sustainability of businesses. Hence, the purpose of this research is to provide a framework for evaluating the entrepreneurial ecosystem of science and technology parks, because according to the experiences gained, providing the framework prevents the partiality and insularity of science and technology parks in drafting programs to support entrepreneurial processes and minimizes parallel work and waste of resources.
The research is qualitative and based on systematic grounded theory. The data of the research was collected through semi-structured interviews including 15 experts in the field of entrepreneurship and science and technology parks of the country until reaching theoretical saturation and purposeful sampling was done by theoretical and snowball method. The statistical population of this research consists of experts related to the field of research. Sampling is also purposeful and in the form of snowballs. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Furthermore, results evaluation criteria are as follows: 1. Matching, 2. Ability to understand, 3. Ability to generalize, 4. Control, 5- Practical relevance, 6- Efficiency, and 7- Modifyability. For determining the overall validity of the model in this research, the ratio test wass used to measure the validity of the ground theory.
Data analysis was also done with the Strauss and Corbin approach in three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The result showed that causal-conditions (characteristics of ecosystem place structures, entrepreneurship policies and ecosystem place entrepreneurship indicators), contextual-conditions (financial, human, physical and intangible infrastructure, capacity building, promotion, enablers), Intervening-conditions (adaptability, elimination of tension, resilience), strategies (inside- and outside- entrepreneurial ecosystem interactions), outcomes (wealth creation, workforce, businesses), pivotal include, evaluation the entrepreneurial ecosystem of science and technology parks (with  indicators of support, mediation, technical opportunism,  and help for explotation of opportunity).
Unfortunately, science and technology parks rarely evaluate the entrepreneurial ecosystem created by themselves and only rely on performance evaluation results. A short-term solution in this field is to sensitize the officials of the parks and the Ministry of Science to the issue of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, so that they consider the evaluation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem along with the evaluation of the park’s performance, because the most important task of the park is streamlining and creating stable connections
to carry out its missions. Considering the financial constraints and the threatening environmental conditions of the country, the best strategy is to use the capabilities of the ecosystems in a win-win relationship to advance the park’s goals.The proposed framework can be used as a basis for evaluation the establishment or development of entrepreneurial ecosystem of science and technology parks. To this end, the following suggestions are presented: 1. It is suggested that in future research, the framework presented in this research should be used to evaluate the entrepreneurial ecosystem of other Science and Technology Parks of the Ministry of Science across the country with a wider population and statistical sample and compare the results with these results. 2. It is suggested to conduct comparative studies to take advantage of the situation of other countries in evaluating the entrepreneurial ecosystem of science and technology parks in the world. 3. It is suggested that the evaluation framework of the entrepreneurship ecosystem of science and technology parks related to executive bodies and specialized parks be designed and its results be compared with this research

Despite the existence of various scientific-research infrastructures, such as research institutes and research centers, science and technology parks, and different incubators in Ilam province, student-based knowledge-based companies and nuclei are few. Considering the importance of developing and promoting entrepreneurial activities and the role of universities and higher education centers in the formation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, this research was conducted to develop a model for the promoters of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Ilam University.

In this research, the promoters of the entrepreneurship ecosystem of Ilam University were analyzed using the Delphi technique in three rounds. After reviewing the literature and the internal and external experiences of the formation of academic entrepreneurship ecosystems, a semi-structured questionnaire was developed to explore the promoters of the entrepreneurship ecosystem from the perspective of the research participants. The participants were 14 faculty members of Ilam University who were experts in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem and were studied purposefully. In the first round, based on a semi-structured interview, the promoters of the entrepreneurial ecosystem were compiled based on the participants' points of view and examined the literature. In the second and third rounds, the participants expressed their opinions about these promoters on a Likert scale. SPSS version 26 and Excel software were used for data analysis.

The results showed that some promoters of the innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem at Ilam University included improving the structure of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the university to develop technological and entrepreneurial activities of faculty members and students, setting up a business and entrepreneurship consulting office in colleges, defining and allocating innovation grants for projects of faculty members, theses, and student theses in the form of student business cores, strengthening group and team cooperation in teaching, projects, and research plans, project cooperation with organizations, forcing faculty members to specialize their research and consulting activities and to set up the market and labor market information system of Iraq and the jobs and labor market of the country and the province.

Conclusion/ Implications: 

Considering the importance of the structure in advancing the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the experiences of successful universities in the world in this field, it is suggested that Ilam University, taking into account the existing laws and regulations, set up the Vice-Chancellor of Entrepreneurship and Technology in the university. Changing the title and function of the Science and Technology Development Center Council to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Council is another recommendation. In the next step, it is necessary to revise the description of the duties of this council and formulate its duties according to the functions of the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of the university.

Today, in our country, the word entrepreneurship is used to present various shows of employment. However, its development in society is not obvious. In the world, entrepreneurial education is used to create a correct understanding and increase the intention of entrepreneurship. This research aims to design a model of an entrepreneurial school with an emphasis on the establishment of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. This study was conducted using a quantitative approach and a descriptive correlation method.To this end, 151 experts in education, technical and vocational education, and faculty members in related fields participated in the available sampling method. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data, and factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory) was used to present the model. Model fit tests were used to validate the model. The validity of the questionnaire was examined through factor analysis, and the reliability of the questionnaire was examined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Finally, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, curriculum personalization, stakeholder commitment, entrepreneurial teacher, entrepreneurial leader, school accelerator, value-creating goal, co-working space, networking, and entry system were extracted as ten factors explaining the entrepreneurial school construct.

The purpose of this research is to design the excellence model of reproductive companies in the context of academic entrepreneurship ecosystem. The approach of the current research is qualitative, and the seven-step metacombination method of Sandelowski and Barroso was used. The statistical community of the research includes all the resources related to the academic entrepreneurship ecosystem and reproductive companies published from the scientific database in the period of 1390-1400 solar and 2000 to 2021 AD. Therefore, taking into account the degree of relevance to the research topic, primary sources were screened and 55 sources were selected, and coding was done on the concepts extracted from them. In total, 24 subcategories and 6 main categories were categorized. Finally, the identified codes were classified based on the content analysis approach of Strauss and Corbin's three-stage coding (open, central and selective). The identified components include environmental, organizational, educational, research, business and managerial factors. The results were presented in the form of a conceptual model for a better understanding of the excellence model of reproductive companies in the context of the academic entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The present research aimed at explaining the entrepreneurial ecosystem model in agricultural faculties from the viewpoint of agriculture students. The research was an applied study in goal and an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study in approach. Fifteen startup experts were analyzed using purposive sampling in the qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase, the population was composed of 3781 agriculture students out of whom 416 students were selected using a random sampling method with proportional allocation based on the Cochran formula. The validity of the research instrument (closed-ended questions) was measured by discriminant validity using the average variance extracted (AVE) index which was acceptably higher than 0.5 for the studied constructs. The reliability was assessed using the combined reliability (CR) method, which was acceptably higher than 0.6 for the studied constructs. Cronbach's alpha was also estimated at higher than 0.7 for the research constructs. Data were analyzed by frequency and mean in the descriptive part and confirmatory factor analysis in the inferential part. According to the findings in the qualitative phase, human capital, policymaking, socio-cultural, support, market development, and financial-economic components had the most number of codes, respectively. The quantitative findings showed that the most important components based on factor loadings in the entrepreneurial ecosystem model of agricultural faculties included human capital (0.96), support (0.95), socio-cultural component (0.94), policymaking (0.92), market development (0.88), and financial-economic component (0.83). Notably, human capital was perceived by the agriculture students to be the most important component for the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in agriculture faculties. Therefore, agricultural faculties are recommended to provide the students with an opportunity for experiential teaching and learning in the fields of entrepreneurship and launching new startups.

The sustainable entrepreneurship requires exploration and exploitation activities with the best results in developed or developing markets. The digitalization of businesses is a window of opportunity that has been opened in entrepreneurial ecosystems and has provided countless benefits to businesses, including interaction with new players, access to extensive knowledge resources, risk reduction and legitimacy for businesses in different levels. In this research, we conducted  a systematic review using the prisma technique and means of scientometric (co-occurrence of words). We searched existing documents available in the Scopus database for a period of 1988 to 2022. We found  612 ducuments (articles, books, etc.) and used bibexclel  1.0.0.0 and VOS viwer 1.6.10.0 software. Based on the analysis of the scientific maps,the model of development of the specific research gap and emerging areas include “ policy, financial resources, netwok and base, support,, skill, knowledge, culture, human resources and market” It is hoped that this research can suggest some valuble intuitions for key elements in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The aim of the present study is to develop a model of entrepreneurial ecosystem in tourism businesses in Mazandaran province. The study is applied in terms of its purpose and considering the methodology, it is descriptive-survey with a mixed methods approach. First, using Meta-synthetic and Delphi methods, the qualitative model was developed including 34 components in six dimensions of politics, culture, support, market, financial capital, and human capital. Then, in the quantitative section, in order to assess the fitness and validity of the proposed model, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted by using Lisrel. In the qualitative and qualitative sections, sampling methods, was purposive and convenience, respectively. In the qualitative section, 15 experts and in the quantitative part, 103 entrepreneurs and people engaged in tourism businesses in Mazandaran province, participated. Results of CFA indicated that the proposed model, enjoys goodness of fit. Culture with 0.9 factor loading had the strongest effect while human capital (0.75) had the least effect on explaining the tourism entrepreneurial ecosystem structure. Additionally, to evaluate the current tourism entrepreneurial ecosystem in Mazandaran based on the same model, one sample t-test was utilized. Results of the t-test demonstrated that the tourism entrepreneurial ecosystem of Mazandaran is at its infancy. Thus, in order for the tourism entrepreneurial ecosystem to function properly, it is suggested that all sub-systems should develop and grow together so that the potency of the ecosystem may increase via synergy.

An entrepreneurial ecosystem is a self-organized, adaptive, geographically limited community composed of complex agents operating at multiple and cumulative levels whose non-linear interactions lead to patterns of activities through which new ventures emerge. The present research aims to explain the factors that influence the creation of an entrepreneurship ecosystem in less privileged rural areas of Asad Abad in Hamedan province, Iran using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) technique. Out of the rural entrepreneurship experts and scholars, 15 people were selected purposefully for a semi-structured interview. Based on the content analysis using the ISM technique, the factors underpinning the creation of an entrepreneurship ecosystem in the less privileged areas were determined and leveled. Based on the results, the creation of entrepreneurial ecosystems in less privileged areas requires the availability and implementation of macro-governance factors, individual-behavioral factors, supportive factors, sociocultural factors, financing, human capital, market, and regional capacity. The results reveal that the macro-governance factors are the most important and effective factors in developing entrepreneurial ecosystems in less privileged regions. Financing and regional capacity are the second-most important factors involved in creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem (as a representative of society) in less privileged areas.

Some important challenges of small businesses are limited financial resources, lack of experience in starting a business, and lack of business knowledge. A strategy to solve the challenge of small businesses is to use the capacity of large companies. Also, one of the emerging and new trends in the development of cooperation between small businesses and large companies is the use of the cooperation acceleration model. The present research was an applied study in goal and was conducted by a qualitative method based on grounded theory. The participants included 11 managers and professors who were knowledgeable in the field of business acceleration selected by purpose-based sampling until reaching theoretical saturation. To validate the findings, the raw text of the interviews was reviewed by an external observer with expertise in qualitative grounded theory research to determine the similarity of the extracted themes. The results indicated that the categories (strategic goals and definition of a joint cooperation roadmap, formulation of cooperation models and strategies, agility of procurement and legal processes, appointment of corporate mentors, gradual experimental process, testing, and cooperation partnership) would accelerate cooperation. The main contribution of the research is to provide a practical and market-oriented model of cooperation between small businesses and large companies in the ecosystem of entrepreneurship whose application will contribute to developing entrepreneurship and economic growth in society.

Entrepreneurships is one of the main drivers of the economy, which is affected both by individuals’ characteristics and the surrounding environment. Accumulating of the two factors results in a situation in which leads people to develop their creative ideas and entrepreneurship intention. On this basis, the purpose of the study is to identify and explain the impact of entrepreneurial ecosystem on entrepreneurial intention with the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness and passion. This research is an applied one from the audience dimension, descriptive from purpose dimension and cross sectional in terms of time. Its method from data collection dimension ,is correlational-causal research. The statistical population of the study was graduate students, job seekers, educated soldiers and better job seekers in Ahvaz city, in which a total of 413 people were considered as a sample. The data were collected based on a questionnaire by random sampling. Structural equation modeling using partial least squares method in Smart PLS software version 3.3.3 was used to analyze the data. Findings show that the entrepreneurial ecosystem has a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness and passion and the three contracts have significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, the mediation role of entrepreneurial passion and alertness in the relationship between ecosystem and entrepreneurial self-efficacy was confirmed. Finally, entrepreneurial self-efficacy has a significant mediating role in the relationships among entrepreneurial passion and alertness with entrepreneurial intention.

Among the entrepreneurship domains studies is determinants of the creation of new ventures. There are many micro and macro factors in the literature of the researchers, which are scattered due to a limited or very prescriptive outlook and a lack of systematic approach. The purpose of present study, identify the concepts presented in the new venture creation literature and frame the conceptual on the dimensions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. in this study, using literature review and qualitative research methodology, environmental factors influence the process of new venture creation that have been introduced in entrepreneurship literature since 1985 to 2017. 97 cases related to the title and content were collected through a few studies available in the prestigious English scientific databases for the use of relevant codes and codes. The final coding of the extraction and axial coding model was carried out. there are 54 concepts, including family factors, Neighbors and educational institutions and environmental-public factors including market and Industries factors, economic factors, spatial factors, cultural factors, social factors, and support factors was categorized.

Competitiveness is a tool for achieving desirable economic growth and sustainable development in every country, and if entrepreneurs are placed in a good environment, they can improve their competitive performance, so the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem will increase effective competitiveness. Entrepreneurial ecosystems are a set of factors that create environments that support innovation-driven venture capital. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of the entrepreneurship ecosystem from six dimensions of policy, finance, support, markets, human capital and culture on the competitiveness of industries. This research is an applied, descriptive-correlational. The sample consisted of 130 companies in the competitive industries selected on the basis of the Herfindahl index. Questionnaires were used for data collection and data were analyzed by SPSS26 and smartPLS software. According to the findings, the entrepreneurial ecosystem with six dimensions is effective on the competitiveness of industries

Competitiveness takes form in the context of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, leading to the development of industries and regions. Therefore, studying the entrepreneurship and competitiveness ecosystem has attracted many researchers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the eight dimensions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (infrastructure, research and development, policy, finance, non-financial support, markets, human capital, and entrepreneurial culture) on industry competitiveness. In this research we used a deterministic-fuzzy approach and the ecology and environmental theory as well. The sample consisted of one hundred and thirty active competitive companies as reflected in the Herfindahl index. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by fsQCA and SPSS software. Findings indicate that for industries to become  competitiveness, from  the eight 8 dimensions of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, five are the required conditions and three are adequate conditions. Also, three types of rigorous standard analysis were extracted from the dimensions of entrepreneurship ecosystem in the direction of paths of competitiveness of industries.