Reflections on entrepreneurial ecosystems, citizen collectives and basic income

Abstract

Objective: To propose entrepreneurial ecosystems could evolve into citizen collectives that, besides creating a favorable environment for entrepreneurial activities, would also be capable of providing a basic income for every citizen in its context. Methodology/design: The text is an essay based on extant literature about entrepreneurial ecosystems, universal basic income, and citizen collectives. Main results: I argue that entrepreneurial ecosystems may be seen as citizen collectives. As such, based on the leadership of a region’s entrepreneurial community, they can foster society’s sustainable development. I propose that basic income initiatives should be included as an expected output of a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems. Theorethical/Methodological contributions: I propose that this view of entrepreneurial ecosystem is relevant for a better understanding of the dynamics of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems and their creation of value for society. Relevance/originality: This is a gap in the literature, since no previous papers have approached entrepreneurial ecosystems under this theoretical lens. Entrepreneurial ecosystems, in the form modern citizen collectives, can be an alternative to and complement government and market actions. Social/management contributions: Entrepreneurial ecosystems, as collective of entrepreneurs, would enhance the survival of enterprises and, at the same time, help build a more inclusive society. From the expected positive benefits of basic income initiative could emerge better prepared potential entrepreneurs focused on innovative entrepreneurship, and an increase in the number of traditional small-firms and self-employed people whose entrepreneurial initiatives would emerge from a safer financial situation that allows riskier behavior.