Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem.NL

“ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEMS AND GROWTH-ORIENTED ENTREPRENEURSHIP”International Workshop jointly organised by the OECD LEED Programme and

The Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs

Prof Dr Erik StamUtrecht University

Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem

Oh no, not the next Silicon Somewhere…

Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem

Reflects two shifts:

Societal: from Managed Economy to Entrepreneurial Economy (Thurik, Stam & Audretsch 2013)

Scientific: from Equilibrium Economics to Complexity Economics (Beinhocker 2007)

Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem?

• Entrepreneurial: explore (identify) and exploit (evaluate, pursue) opportunities for new value creation

Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem?

• ECOsystem: ECOlogical (birds, bees, …)?; Ecology of diverse, heterogenous agents; ECOnomic

• EcoSYSTEM: Systemic

NL: Entrepreneurship Miracle or Paradox?

• Amazing growth of entrepreneurship in the Netherlands, 1987-2012

• Miracle: no country in which the TEA rate has grown as much as in the Netherlands over the period 2003-2012 (and precourse of rising new firm formation and self-employment)

• Paradox: increasingly a matter of growing number of solo self-employed, and low/mediocre rates of growth-oriented entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship NL Facts - I

Entrepreneurship Facts - II

TEA Rate 2003-2012 (GEM)

Paraphrasing Einstein

• Not all entrepreneurship that counts can be counted, and not all entrepreneurship that can be counted counts.

Entrepreneurship Facts - III

Entrepreneurship Facts - IV

Entrepreneurship Facts - V

(Eco)systemic Causes & Consequences

• Positive feedback: virtuous circle (for self-employment!)

Changing preferences

Changing formal

institutions

Lowerentry

barriers

Higherentryrates

+ Context

+ Shocks

(Eco)systemic Causes & Consequences

• Negative/no feedback– No build up of system for high-growth start-ups

(vicious circle high-growth start-up scandals early 2000s: Baan, World Online)

– No champion of intrapreneurship, like Scandinavian countries (in spite of high levels of trust and decentralized decision making)

Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem.NL

• One entrepreneurial system, or many (self-empl, high-growth start-ups, intrapreneurship)?

• One national system, or many (reg, sec, corp)?– Regional systems: e.g. Amsterdam, Eindhoven area,

Utrecht, Twente, …– ‘Sectoral’ systems: e.g gaming, biotech, (construction?)– Corporate systems: intrapreneurship

• Systemic causes?– Institutions, resources

• …

Entrepreneurial_Ecosystem.NLMiracle and Paradox

“ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEMS AND GROWTH-ORIENTED ENTREPRENEURSHIP”International Workshop jointly organised by the OECD LEED Programme and

The Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs

Prof Dr Erik StamUtrecht University