Revising digital entrepreneurial ecosystems: an integrative framework and future research agenda

How should we frame the “digital” of entrepreneurial ecosystems? In this chapter, we address this question by exploring whether current conceptualizations suffice, a revision is required or whether the introduction of a novel concept is called for. This issue bears relevance for those designing, supporting, orchestrating and evaluating entrepreneurial ecosystems in the digital age. Following a review at the interface of the related literatures on entrepreneurial ecosystems, digital entrepreneurship and digital ecosystems, we present an integrative framework of digital entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our framework reconciles diverging perspectives of digital entrepreneurial ecosystems across research streams and provides a comprehensive and coherent understanding by accounting for enablers, context, affordances, outputs and outcomes. Accordingly, key elements shaping digital entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve on a continuum between spatial and digital characteristics and are affected by their interdependencies, which in turn influence the overall functioning of the ecosystem. Further, we emphasize the impact of contextual elements in close and distal proximity of the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem, as digitalization has extended the interdependencies beyond spatial borders. In conclusion, we detail promising research avenues for advancing insights on digital entrepreneurial ecosystems-specifically concerning their operationalization, boundaries, evolution, societal impact and governance.