1 Introduction
2 Literature review
2.1 A process view on sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems
However, thus far, only few authors have explicitly employed the concept of a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem (SEE) (Theodoraki et al. 2018). Recently, Bischoff and Volkmann (2018) highlighted the necessity of initiating this conceptual development by merging the sustainable entrepreneurship literature with entrepreneurial ecosystems, for instance proposing that engagement in sustainable venturing likely leads to greater strength of the SEE. In his paper, Cohen (2006) presented the example of a sustainable valley in Victoria, Canada, where a cluster of innovative sustainable technologies was developed. Uddin et al. (2015) investigated the implementation of a SEE in the green IT sector, and Simatupang et al. (2015) examined the creation and development process of SEE to support innovation and new business creation. In this last case, SEE is understood as a long-term entrepreneurial ecosystem and is not directly related to sustainable entrepreneurship. A recent literature review (Bischoff and Volkmann 2018) highlights the importance of connecting sustainable entrepreneurship with its prominent process view (e.g., Belz and Binder 2017; Farny et al. 2018; Munoz and Cohen, 2018), which has been absent in the original definition as “an interconnected group of actors in a local geographic community committed to sustainable development through the support and facilitation of new sustainable ventures” (Cohen 2006, p. 3).[…] a diverse set of inter-dependent actors within a geographic region that influence the formation and eventual trajectory of the entire group of actors and potentially the economy as a whole [which] evolve through a set of interdependent components which interact to generate new venture creation over time. (Cohen 2006, pp. 2–3)
2.2 The evolving idiosyncratic view on entrepreneurial opportunities
These authors suggest focusing on the development of opportunities, alongside the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem through certain key process interactions which take place in a community consciously catalyzed to take advantage of local framework conditions and local/regional geographical environments.a set of interconnected entrepreneurial actors (both potential and existing), entrepreneurial organisations (e.g. firms, venture capitalists, business angels, banks), institutions (universities, public sector agencies, financial bodies) and entrepreneurial processes (e.g. the business birth rate, numbers of high growth firms, levels of ‘blockbuster entrepreneurship’, number of serial entrepreneurs, degree of sellout mentality within firms and levels of entrepreneurial ambition) which formally and informally coalesce to connect, mediate and govern the performance within the local entrepreneurial environment.
The discovery view of opportunities | The creation view of opportunities | The evolving idiosyncratic view of opportunities | |
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Selection of key works | |||
View of opportunities | An opportunity is something objectively existing and favorable | “Opportunities” can be socially constructed and emerge only from actor’s actions | Opportunity is predominantly used to denote a subjective and unproven idea. This idea exists early on in the process but can change considerably over its course and take on increasing objectification over time |
Analytical principles | 1. Actors and opportunities are assumed to pre-date the entrepreneurial journey, have varying characteristics, and jointly shape the process and its outcomes. 2. Neither the actor nor the analyst can know ex ante whether what the actor is (considering) acting upon truly is an opportunity or not. | 1. Viewing actor and non-actor as separate entities 2. The created opportunity is the successful end point of the entrepreneurial journey. | 1. Emphasis on uniqueness of each opportunity 2. Inseparability of the opportunity from the entrepreneur |
Role of the entrepreneurial ecosystem | Ecosystems are structures for entrepreneurial opportunity discovery, pursuit, and scale-up. | Ecosystems are supportive environments that help the entrepreneurs to learn and to gather knowledge and resources in order to create and exploit the venture opportunities. | Ecosystems are communities in which entrepreneurs, opportunities, and the ecosystem co-evolve. |
2.3 SEE as a learning system of co-evolving opportunities
3 Research methodology
3.1 Research design
3.2 Empirical case: sustainable cellulose ecosystem project
3.3 Data collection
3.4 Data co-construction and analysis
3.4.1 Step 1: exposing the building blocks of the sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem
3.4.2 Step 2: identifying patterns of co-imagining entrepreneurial ideas
3.4.3 Step 3: eliciting and theorizing the co-designed SEE processes
4 Findings: three opportunity co-evolution phases
4.1 The first phase: co-intuiting
Aggregate theoretical theme | Theme | Illustrative data example with first-order code and interviewee ID |
---|---|---|
Co-intuiting | Co-ideate | “We have had a ...like a brainstorming session…there was a, I guess, one of these professional guys who explained about different techniques, coming up with ideas, and things like this. And we got a few key ideas … let us say, was one like health and well-being, construction, and I think textiles” no. 15 (Generate fresh ideas) |
“It’s possible to work this so-called multi-discipline? Actually, there’s many good examples of their benefits” no. 17 (Get to know each other’s working methods) | ||
“Quick-and-dirty” prototyping | “Yeah, at least from the technology point of viewing, it’s definitely … normally we generally do what’s sort of quick-and-dirty trial ourselves in the lab to concept before bringing it forward” no. 15 | |
“Because what we…have usually really boring demo ideas, that they are like no, we are not doing that! And then they suggest something else and we are like umh, sounds bad or that’s not gonna work, but then we…further…and usually the outcome is like…wow!” no. 17 (Raw demos) | ||
Own insights | “I can take credit for inventing something, but I think the inspiration for it was that it’s been lurking around I guess in the science community for maybe 10 years” no. 8 (Build on previous scientific knowledge) | |
“The main thing is to understand how it works, to find the uniqueness in the materials” no. 7 (Own experiments) | ||
Co-interpreting | Spotting false negatives | “We recognized that okay that happens.…So actually, this is what’s a very nice example – why to combine these different organizations. Because these kinds of scientists working with materials, and they see something and then … actually the result was that … you can see that actually that is something that we need” no. 12 (Alternative application potential) |
“So actually, this is very nice accident. So we have recognized, okay that when you print cellulose fabric, it very easily makes the ‘ryppy’ [wrinkling]. What is the...wrinkling…kind of. And actually, that was a problem. Then Pau [a designer] saw that actually this is something very difficult to do with textiles” no. 17 (Nice accidents) | ||
Looking for opportunity gaps | “Combining knowledge leads to leaps forward, and those breakthroughs come not from technology but from co-operation” So, you could say it’s really important fact that … you to work with arts? ... Well I would say that that was crucial” no. 8 (Small cells of experts exchanging knowledge) | |
“We all knew that when we have people coming from different organizations and cultures and different fields of science…after that, when people then start talking with the same voice, from the same things, then I believe that this eureka happens” no. 14 (Eureka moments) | ||
Testing of ideas | “This is done by developing ‘personas’, main characters that illustrate the needs, goals, thoughts, feelings, opinions, expectations and pain points of a user across a defined timeline” no. 20 (Using fictional character - personas) | |
“Cellulife Workshop resulted in a persona and a resultant story-boarding of such nanocellulose tubular structures and determined that they might be appreciated by hikers and outdoor enthusiasts with strong eco-friendliness value systems” no. 13 (Storytelling ideas) | ||
Synergistic approach | “Designers have curiosity…Designers are ideators and applicators… It has been crucial to work with artists” no. 8 (Scientist and designer synergies) | |
“I think at least with our work package, whenever we have the meeting after meeting, usually we are doing tour of the facilities that we might have… crossing the boundaries ... we started to rotate them a bit. ……and you see the process inside these… So I guess this has helped” no. 15 (Boundary spanning) | ||
Co-integrating | Co-sense making | “So even though you can do something in your kitchen…… What would be required in order to make a true business… even though it would be small but still sort of really solid case. …what are the sort of steps that need to be taken here in order to really realize this kind of business” no. 4 (Frameworks with the problem/Opportunity space) |
“But I think that inside the project the important thing …is a way that you can really start doing something. More than just these very small pieces…Then I think that your work of putting these technologies into the same matrix, I think that that has been really important. That has been sort of shown in practice what we have in hand, I mean which level. So, I think that has been from a very practical point of view, an important thing” no. 4 (Commercial/Technology readiness review) “What would be required in order to make a true business even though it would be small but still sort of really solid case. So, this kind of… steps that need to be taken here…in order to really realize this kind of business… it (seems) that some model of working is really sort of great” no. 4 (Road mapping) | ||
Co-creating commercialization paths | “The aim is to suggest pathways from idea to start-up that blend the ideation work, the prototyping or mock-up work, and then finally the necessary work on competitors, pricing and pitching preparation to gain the funding needed to continue” no. 4 (Pathways) “I think it’s quite good since ultimately these are the people of the companies that we are targeting at the end of the day. So, from one point of view, if these are potential customers, potential clients, it’s only natural to hear what they thought and their opinions, and even what their suggestions or criticisms might be. And certainly, to engage industry and the greater public at the same time” no. 4 (Market validation) | |
Shared sustainability intention | Quasi-religious belief | “I think the cellulose is religion in this place…a kind of purity of this place” no. 22 (Cellulose as a religion) |
“Yeah, and then I think somehow the interest is to save the forest, save the Finnish economy, save all that” no. 21 (Helping to save the forest) | ||
Common vision | “The big driver was to develop new added value uses for wood-based biomass in Finland because wood-based biomass is the biggest natural raw material source in Finland, or the only one, if you do not count the water” no. 22 (Finland to lead in biomaterials) | |
“The need for renewal or transformation of the industry…the vision was that...this is not just one of those cellulose modification projects, this is something more” no. 14 (Alternative uses of forest) | ||
“Our project is an important thing for Finland … yes, I think so. So, it’s possible to do things differently” no. 17 (Importance of social impact) | ||
“Yeah, I think it’s in a way that a fresh idea to make something else than the traditional paper or things like that out of wood” no. 18 (New businesses from cellulosic materials) | ||
Multidisciplinarity as a goal | “The vision was to create a new way of working in material research” no. 14 (New ways of working) | |
“A new way of working to involve design at the leading, or not as a leading instrument, it is a design-driven work. We started learning how to work in a design-driven project” no. 14 (Design-driven science) | ||
“Multidisciplinarity is a goal in the project description, and multidisciplinary work is to be supported and strengthened as an important resource for the future of work in the country as a whole” no. 4 (Transdisciplinary understanding) | ||
Emotional climate | Passion for renewal | “Because I think that if you think about Ti, she’s sort of all the time thinking about how this could be a business – and how she actually is to think…. together in business” no. 8 (Intrapreneurial aspirations) |
“It’s nice to know something and you have to know the fundamentals, but at the end of the day…I think … [thought] should be given to how to get the benefit out of …how to upscale” no. 8 (Think business) | ||
“We are eager to understand new things … I am curious … we are open-minded about new things” no. 7 (Curiosity) | ||
“I would like to say passion. Some people do have the passion for the science here” no. 12 (Passion for science) | ||
Trust | “One other thing which I think is interesting, is that VTT and Aalto are extremely different cultures, organization cultures. The people - Well I would say that VTT and Aalto - Are not so different yeah… those are the people who used to work in Aalto… They are the same people… Absolutely, so they have the same sielu [soul] you might say” no. 17 (Already close) | |
“The key, I think, is trust and openness because the people who are coming from different disciplines do have very different views on research and how to do work together. So, I think that the trust and then openness are the things; they are the keys” no. 14 (Openness) | ||
“I think it’s important for the other person to say if he really does not think this is a good idea, even if you like the person you will be better off, or you will take more easily or in a better way if he says I do not think this is good. …being open…but then being open to critique and trusting enough that the critique feels positive somehow” no. 12 (Positively critical) | ||
“What are the key success factors for this collaboration to work, among different organizations, differently educated people, et cetera? I believe that it means good coordination and people who want to get people to cooperate, and who can also then, what is the right word, this idea of coaching people how to work together, personally I think it’s a great idea…to train the team that consisted of people from different organizations to work together, in the beginning of the project, it started this, and we had also other kinds of meetings than very official, and also recreation day or something like that, and, team bonding” no. 14 (Train to trust) | ||
Freedom | “And our team meetings, they are very ‘epävirallisia’ [informal]; there’s – no hierarchy. At least, very low hierarchy” no. 18 (Flat, no hierarchy) | |
“So, they are sharing and discussing, and it’s nice to hear that people are free to say that this did not work, we could not do this” no. 18 (Freedom in work) | ||
“So, you need to be open all the time and think of…would this be useful somewhere?’ And what about ...it’s the success factors … And no borders actually” no. 7 (Borderless, open) |
4.2 The second phase: co-interpreting
4.3 Third process phase: co-integrating
The business specialists within the nascent system play a further role in facilitating co-integration through co-creating commercialization paths. Here, the aim is to suggest and then collaboratively develop pathways for the converged technologies and nascent business ideas towards technology transfer or start-up. The pathways blend the ideation work, the prototyping or mock-up work, and, finally, the necessary work on competitors, pricing, and pitching preparation in order to gain the resources (in terms of partnerships and funding) needed to continue. Co-creating these commercialization paths involves mapping opportunity pathways by building on the reviews for the levels of technological and commercial readiness with small teams or “cells” working on material technologies and mock-ups.So even though you can do something in your kitchen. What would be required in order to make a true business even though it would be small but still sort of really solid case. ...what are the sort of steps that need to be taken here on in order to really realize this kind of business. (no. 4)
4.4 A process framework of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems
4.4.1 Shared sustainability intention
4.4.2 Emotional climate
5 Discussion and theoretical implications
5.1 Clarifying the buzz on sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems
5.2 Co-evolving opportunities in entrepreneurial ecosystems
5.3 Towards a new theoretical foundation: approaching sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem processes as design artifacts
Thus, approaching the ecosystem as something still to come into existence means taking a prospective stance. This provides a robust theoretical foundation to study entrepreneurial ecosystem formation with a process view (Spigel and Harrison 2018).We can relate to point B of an entrepreneurial process in two ways: (1) as something that has already happened and thus can be taken for granted; and (2) as something that is not yet realized and is thus in the making. These reflect, respectively, a retrospective and a prospective stance in how we describe the process. […] in the second case, there is no future marker to signal a right path ahead. All we can see in a forward-looking sense is a long chain of possible contingencies, forming an intimidating tree of possibilities.