Do specific entrepreneurial ecosystems favor high-level networking while others not? Lessons from the Hungarian IT sector

A specific entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) supporting or limiting entrepreneurial innovation characterizes territorial units. Consisting of several quasi-complementary individual entities and contextual factors, it is questionable whether these elements are of equal importance within a given ecosystem. Access to and mobilization of entrepreneurial resources (information, knowledge) is facilitated by social networks within the EE. Consequently, this study considers networking as a crucial output of EEs: the extent and quality of networking determines various characteristics of the ecosystem itself. Networking works as a cohesive mechanism between actors and institutions at different levels, so its absence or low level has a negative impact on entrepreneurship. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we explore those configurations of micro, meso and macro elements of the EE of ICT firms in a Hungarian city (Pécs) which result in low or high level networking performance. We find that different networking levels require different conditions. Only those ecosystems show very high-quality networking that perform well in both the necessary and sufficiency components. Also, different ecosystem configurations are required for high informal, formal, or external networks. These results provide policy makers with a more advanced understanding of how EEs work, thereby supporting a more efficient allocation of scarce resources.