Looking inside entrepreneurial ecosystem coordination events: a policy assemblage approach

Abstract

Despite policymakers recognising the importance of facilitating entrepreneurial ecosystems to promote entrepreneurship, it is still not known how best to coordinate multiple different stakeholders. This chapter provides insights into entrepreneurial ecosystem coordination events which were explored in Scotland, UK, during the Covid-19 pandemic through a netnography study. The aim is to understand the various motives and practices of different entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders and how they converged to coordinate activity. Specifically, a policy assemblage approach is used to understand how four types of events were pulled together: community events, which created social support spaces for entrepreneurs; connecting events, which disseminated information and developed social networks; organising events, which shared information on activities and identified opportunities for stakeholder collaboration; and showcasing events, which promoted entrepreneurial talent to resource providers. The implications of these findings for academics, practitioners and policymakers who concern themselves with the processes and practices used to effectively coordinate entrepreneurial ecosystems are discussed.