Removing barriers for sustainability: A qualitative cross-country analysis of entrepreneurial ecosystem attributes in Israel and Germany

Abstract

There is a growing scholarly and political consensus about the potential of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) to further sustainability by fostering sustainable start-ups. However, little is known about how the constituents of EEs as institutional framework for entrepreneurship affect the success of sustainable start-ups. Based on institutional theory, this paper develops and tests a conceptual framework to assess how the configuration of EE components affect mature EEs in their ability to support sustainable start-ups. Based on semi-structured interviews with EE stakeholders from Tel Aviv and Berlin, along with site visits and participatory observations, this cross-country analysis demonstrates that the attributes represent a promising explanatory approach for the sustainability alignment of an EE. The empirical results are threefold: (1) sustainable start-ups have special needs regarding their institutional environment and (2) require a more distinctive support structure surpassing the level of an EE. Hence, (3) each institutional component has to be tackled according to its spatial relevance to further sustainability. This translates into differentiated policy implications for fostering sustainability and theoretical advancements in EE research regarding spatial integration of sustainable start-up support. We contribute to institutional and entrepreneurship literature by implementing the idiosyncrasies of an EE's ability to further sustainability through their attributes.