Introduction

Abstract

Abstract The concept of an ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’ has become a major means for both theorizing and making policy decisions concerning entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development. The notion of an entrepreneurial ecosystem captures the way in which entrepreneurship is increasingly performed and undertaken via the innate interdependencies existing between the elements and components of what are essentially biotic communities (consisting of complex interactions between human agents and an array of tangible and intangible components). This book takes a multi-lensed view and perspective on the emergence of entrepreneurship within ecosystems in cities and regions, the manner in which these ecosystems evolve and operate, and their future development. This introductory chapter provides some initial theoretical background relating to the nature of ecosystems in the context of entrepreneurship and urban and regional development, before providing a summary of the book’s three parts: (1) The Emergence of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; (2) The Evolution of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; and (3) The Future of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.