Where are the Entrepreneurs? A Call to Theorize the Microfoundations and Strategic Organization of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

The 'entrepreneurial ecosystem' (EE) has become the dominant metaphor in theories explaining how location-specific forces influence entrepreneurship. Despite the progress made by scholars studying EEs, in this essay we contend that the ecosystem metaphor has created an implicit tendency in entrepreneurship theory to emphasize macro-, ecosystem-level dynamics rather than the causal and mediating mechanisms linking entrepreneurs and their local ecosystems. To accompany the macro-dynamics focus in EE theory, we call for a micro-foundations approach that emphasizes the bi-directional connections between entrepreneurs’ strategizing and organizing activities and their ecosystems. We offer an agenda of theory development opportunities at the intersection of strategic organization and EEs