Abstract
Schumpeterian views innovation as the core of economic growth, with entrepreneurs serving as its primary agents. To promote regional entrepreneurship, policymakers implement various support initiatives for entrepreneurs. However, entrepreneurship support frequently fails to meet expectations and remains contentious. Existing studies on entrepreneurship support effectiveness focus on the macro level and policymaker perspectives, lacking insights from the target beneficiaries, entrepreneurs themselves.This study adopts the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (EE) paradigm as the theoretical foundation. The paradigm considers the interdependent actors and factors influencing entrepreneurship within a region, and demonstrates relevance to entrepreneurship support. However, current EE research lacks policy-oriented dimensions and fails to provide entrepreneur-centric insights into entrepreneurship support effectiveness.
Given the nascent nature of the EE paradigm, this study employs the sequential exploratory methodology: qualitative model development followed by quantitative validation, culminating in integrated qualitative-quantitative discussions. This methodology enables robust explanations of relationships between core phenomena and associated constructs.
Study 1 utilizes the qualitative Grounded Theory method to propose the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Support Received, and Entrepreneurship Performance model (the ESP model). Through the analysis of 56 entrepreneurs’ feedback and three in-depth interviews in Hong Kong, the EE is categorized into Macro Environment factors and Support System elements; the former cannot be directly influenced by entrepreneurship support initiatives, while the latter can. The qualitative findings further identify Support Received as the critical mediator bridging the macro-level EE and micro-level entrepreneurship performance.
Based on Study 1, Study 2 provides broader quantitative evidence in support of the ESP model. A questionnaire based on the model was designed and 244 valid responses were collected in mainland China. The Structural Equation Modeling analysis is used to verify correlations and paths between constructs. The results indicate that the Macro Environment directly affects entrepreneurship performance, whereas the Support System exerts indirect influence through the mediating factor of Support Received.
Considering the influence of nonlinear contrarian cases on the explanatory power of the ESP model, the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis method is employed in Study 3 for configurational analysis. Study 3 examines the configurational effects of three variables, Macro Environment, Support System, and Support Received, on Entrepreneurship Performance. A total of 2 configurations leading to high entrepreneurship performance and 3 configurations leading to low entrepreneurship performance are identified, forming 3 sets of contrasts. The first contrast demonstrates that sufficient Support Received can offset disadvantages in the Support System, but when the Support System is extremely deficient, entrepreneurs struggle to reverse unfavorable outcomes even with support. The second contrast reveals that the Macro Environment serves as the cornerstone of entrepreneurial success, while the Support System acts as the critical threshold for avoiding failure. The third contrast highlights that the quality of entrepreneurship support may negate the advantages of the EE.
The results of the three studies mutually corroborate and explore entrepreneurship support effectiveness from the entrepreneurs' perspective. These findings offer policymakers the following critical insights. First, the Macro Environment constitutes the fundamental basis for entrepreneurship, which implies that attempts to address macroeconomic crises solely via entrepreneurship support initiatives may prove ineffective. Second, the Support System acts as a safety net against failure, it provides essential safeguards for entrepreneurs. Third, the support actually received determines the quality of entrepreneurship support, as disparities between the supply and demand of entrepreneurial support may render entrepreneurship support ineffective. It should be emphasized that policymakers should not only focus on the quantity of support within the Support System but must also prioritize the accessibility and quality of Support Received by entrepreneurs.
In summary, this research deepens the understanding of the EE from the entrepreneurs’ perspective and makes two contributions to EE research. First, the proposed ESP model uncovers a distinct and interconnected two-level structure within the EE, enabling the EE concept to account for macro environmental changes such as economic crises or political turmoil. Second, this study supplements the microfoundations of the EE by elucidating the causal and mediating mechanisms that connect entrepreneurs with their local EE. They highlight the pathways of different EE structures on entrepreneurship performance at the entrepreneurs’ level.
| Date of Award | 28 Jul 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Hongyi SUN (Supervisor) |