Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Public Policy (PDF)

The purpose of the special issue is to consider a number of key areas in this stream of research and specifically to investigate the public policy implications. First, the special issue welcomed studies that explored entrepreneurial ecosystems in a general sense and the role of public policy in supporting such systems. Aspects of public policy focused on in the special issue call included: business support policies; public or government venture finance; makerspaces, incubation, and acceleration programs; government actions such as zoning, licensing, regulation and taxation on ecosystem formation and development; the role of immigration and/or migration; and, programs designed to support venture creation, small business survival and venture growth. Second, the special issue was particularly interested in submissions that explored entrepreneurial ecosystems in less obvious localities. In particular, it was interested in rural locations, smaller cities and university towns. The purpose of this focus was to offset the overwhelming amount of research on urban locations, where papers are reviewing essentially established ecosystems. In this sense, the special issue was interested in ecosystems that were in different stages of development, for example, starting out, becoming established and/or beginning to fail or had failed. Finally, the special issue asked for papers focused on educational and learning aspects of entrepreneurial ecosystems. It called for work that focused on the role of universities and educational programs and reviewed how they supported the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems.