IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/entreg/v34y2022i9-10p911-934.html

Understanding entrepreneurial ecosystems using complex adaptive systems theory: getting the big picture for economic development, practice, and policy

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa J. Daniel
  • Margarietha J. de Villiers Scheepers
  • Morgan P. Miles
  • Saskia de Klerk

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how the theory of complex adaptive systems (CAS) and entrepreneurial ecosystems (EE) can be synthesized to create a comprehensive framework for understanding EEs as comprising dynamic and diverse actors, factors, and interdependencies. We adapt four elements common to CAS and propose a context-specific framework for explaining EEs through people, place, purpose, and process to provide insights for policy, development, and regulatory interventions. Motivated by the challenge to develop a practical and parsimonious framework for comprehensive EE analysis, we present a case study using a CAS approach to illustrate the nature of EEs as dynamic, interconnected social systems and identify opportunities for economic development interventions. The study offers a novel framework for system-level EE analysis, and in doing so, it contributes to entrepreneurial economic development, research, policy, and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa J. Daniel & Margarietha J. de Villiers Scheepers & Morgan P. Miles & Saskia de Klerk, 2022. "Understanding entrepreneurial ecosystems using complex adaptive systems theory: getting the big picture for economic development, practice, and policy," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(9-10), pages 911-934, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:entreg:v:34:y:2022:i:9-10:p:911-934
    DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2022.2083691
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/08985626.2022.2083691
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/08985626.2022.2083691?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Syed Tariq Anwar, 2025. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems, evolutionary growth and global expansion," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 528-558, June.
    2. Terstriep, Judith & David, Alexandra & Zaghow, Lukas & Vershinina, Natalia & Freiling, Jörg, 2025. "Power plays: Surfacing the hidden currents in entrepreneurial ecosystems," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    3. Yngve Dahle & Kevin Reuther & Martin Steinert & Magne Supphellen, 2023. "Towards a systemic entrepreneurship activity model," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1583-1610, December.
    4. Hess, Sophia & Wurth, Bernd & Stam, Erik & Giones, Ferran & Fini, Riccardo & Cavallo, Angelo & Wahl, Andreas & Bosma, Niels & Theodoraki, Christina & Chabaud, Didier & Brem, Alexander & Kuckertz, Andr, 2025. "The future of entrepreneurial ecosystems research: Toward a policy-oriented research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    5. Nowell, Pamela & Schou, Peter Kalum, 2025. "The promise of family systems theory in understanding the emotional and interpersonal dynamics of early-stage entrepreneurial teams," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    6. Kristina Grumadaitė & Giedrius Jucevičius, 2022. "Strategic Approaches to the Development of Complex Organisational Ecosystems: The Case of Lithuanian Clusters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-13, November.
    7. Shaohua Yang & Yanjun Jiang & Zhiwei Wang & Bo Yan & Kai Wang, 2025. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Exploring the Influence of Regional Knowledge Dynamics on the Competitiveness of Tourism in China’s Provinces," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 1975-2015, March.
    8. Leonardo Mazzoni & Massimo Riccaboni & Erik Stam, 2025. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems and interregional flows of entrepreneurial talent," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1327-1361, October.
    9. Victoria Dimick & Tasha Richard & Jeffrey Muldoon & Younggeun Lee, 2025. "Women’s entrepreneurial identity: Insights from agriculturally intensive small island economy," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-25, December.
    10. Marcelo S. Tedesco & Gonzalo Marquez, 2025. "Rethinking Competition as a Non-Beneficial Mechanism in Economic Systems," Papers 2506.11405, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:entreg:v:34:y:2022:i:9-10:p:911-934. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TEPN20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.