Designing a Model of Innovation Ecosystem Actors for the Entry of Knowledge-based Companies into International Markets

Knowledge-based companies are not able to develop innovation alone due to their complex and non-linear nature of the innovation process. They are highly dependent on external actors to improve their innovation capabilities, and thus they create innovation ecosystems that expand their boundaries. The innovation ecosystem is a fluid and multidimensional concept, and its recognition requires a comprehensive and holistic approach. This research initially seeks to identify actors in the innovation ecosystem that cause knowledge-based companies to enter international markets, and then presents a model of these actors. The research method in this article is descriptive-survey, using exploratory-applied method; in terms of the type of data, it is a mixed method (qualitative-quantitative) and in terms of data collection method, it is of secondary and field data collection method (interview-questionnaire). The statistical population in the qualitative stage includes experts and entrepreneurs in knowledge-based companies who had relevant executive and research experience, and in the quantitative stage, it includes entrepreneurs and managers of knowledge-based companies in Semnan province, with at least 10 years of work experience. According to the quality of the primary codes and its organization in the form of concepts and categories, the innovation ecosystem includes financing conditions, political conditions, laws and regulations, communication mechanisms and influential actors in five categories. The results in the qualitative part indicate that a total of 87 initial codes were counted, then they were categorized in the form of 5 categories of second-level organizing themes, where political conditions and laws and regulations are the most influential, and financing and communication mechanisms are the most impressionable actors in the ecosystem. Based on the results of this research, the innovation ecosystem includes five categories of financing conditions, political conditions, laws and regulations, communication mechanisms and influential actors. To be strongly present in the economy, knowledge-based companies are required to optimize their organization and strengthen their competitive base, which in this research are accelerators, financing from banks (loans), investors or angels, and family support as sources of financing. In political conditions, some researchers point to the role of the government in facilitating entrepreneurial activities and creating new companies in international markets. Some of the most important government policies and programs for the development of entrepreneurship include creating political stability, allowing entry into target markets and access to payment gateways for knowledge-based companies.