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Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem as a new form of organizing: the case of Zhongguancun

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  • Wenjie Li

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Wenyu Du

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Jiamin Yin

    (Renmin University of China)

Abstract

Digital innovation is becoming increasingly important in today’s economy. Many digital innovations are developed not within organizations, but in innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems, where various entrepreneurship related stakeholders collaborate and cooperate. Despite its significance, studies on digital entrepreneurship ecosystems (DEEs) are limited and the concept is largely undertheorized. This study intends to fill that gap by studying how a DEE organizes. This organizing issue is challenging, because stakeholders of a DEE are self-organizing and are not governed by any formal authority. To answer that question, we adopt forms of organizing as a theoretical lens, which provides structure to examine organizing issues. Through an in-depth case study of Zhongguancun, the Silicon Valley of China, we unveil eight processes around the themes of division of labor and integration of efforts. We further show that the forms of organizing feature a balance of centralized design and de-centralized emergence. This balanced view extends the forms of organizing literature, which takes an either/or perspective. Ecosystem architects and policy makers who intend to build entrepreneurship ecosystems to promote local economies can derive practical implications from our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenjie Li & Wenyu Du & Jiamin Yin, 2017. "Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem as a new form of organizing: the case of Zhongguancun," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:fobric:v:11:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1186_s11782-017-0004-8
    DOI: 10.1186/s11782-017-0004-8
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    Cited by:

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    2. Robert Wentrup & H. Richard Nakamura & Patrik Ström, 2020. "Closing the Digital Entrepreneurship Gap the Case of Returnee Entrepreneurs in Morocco," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 6(1), pages 140-162, January.
    3. Pilková, Anna & Kovačičova, Zuzana, 2021. "Podnikanie na Slovensku v dobe digitalizácie optikou generácií [Doing business in Slovakia in the era of digitalization through the lens of generations]," MPRA Paper 113391, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Jiewang Chu & Jiaxuan Li, 2022. "The Composition and Operation Mechanism of Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: A Study of Hangzhou Yunqi Town as an Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Irina Gorelova & Diana Dmitrieva & Mariya Dedova & Marco Savastano, 2021. "Antecedents and Consequences of Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in the Interaction Process with Smart City Development," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, September.
    6. Zaheer, Hasnain & Breyer, Yvonne & Dumay, John, 2019. "Digital entrepreneurship: An interdisciplinary structured literature review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    7. Fotis Kitsios & Evangelia Nousopoulou & Maria Kamariotou, 2023. "Dynamic Capabilities and Digital Transformation in the COVID-19 Era: Implications from Driving Schools," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12, November.
    8. Liliya Satalkina & Gerald Steiner, 2020. "Digital Entrepreneurship: A Theory-Based Systematization of Core Performance Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-22, May.
    9. Hamid Etemad, 2023. "The increasing prevalence of multi-sided online platforms and their influence on international entrepreneurship: The rapid transformation of entrepreneurial digital ecosystems," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-30, March.
    10. Zhe Cao & Xianwei Shi, 2021. "A systematic literature review of entrepreneurial ecosystems in advanced and emerging economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 75-110, June.
    11. Gianluca Elia & Alessandro Margherita & Enrico Ciavolino & Karim Moustaghfir, 2021. "Digital Society Incubator: Combining Exponential Technology and Human Potential to Build Resilient Entrepreneurial Ecosystems," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, September.
    12. Bejjani, Melissa & Göcke, Lutz & Menter, Matthias, 2023. "Digital entrepreneurial ecosystems: A systematic literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    13. Huiyue Diao & Majid Ghorbani, 2018. "Production risk caused by human factors: a multiple case study of thermal power plants," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    14. Hai Guo & Zhuen Yang & Ran Huang & Anqi Guo, 2020. "The digitalization and public crisis responses of small and medium enterprises: Implications from a COVID-19 survey," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-25, December.
    15. Shi, Xianwei & Shi, Yongjiang, 2022. "Unpacking the process of resource allocation within an entrepreneurial ecosystem," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(9).
    16. Han, Jin & Ruan, Yi & Wang, Yanmin & Zhou, Haibo, 2021. "Toward a complex adaptive system: The case of the Zhongguancun entrepreneurship ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 537-550.

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