STUDY | 4 steps towards a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem

How to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that works for more than the most high-performing companies? Increased inclusion turns out to be driven not primarily by the dominant players at the center, but by a completely different group at the periphery of the ecosystem.

The study is based on three years of ethnographic work in Birmingham, where researchers followed the organization Irving – a support actor for refugees who want to start businesses. The result is a process model that shows how marginalized entrepreneurs can be gradually channelled into the structures and networks of the ecosystem.

At the heart of the model are four forms of boundary work, which together transform the barriers that marginalized entrepreneurs often face: lack of understanding, lack of access to resources and weak networks.

1. Knowledge brokering as a first opening

The work starts with the support organization translating the situation and competences of marginalized entrepreneurs into a language and logic that the established actors of the ecosystem recognize. By collecting experiences, reframing them and creating a common interpretative framework, cognitive boundaries are softened. Ecosystem actors gain a new understanding of entrepreneurs who were previously seen as deviant or difficult to support.

2. Buffer zones create security and structure

The next step is to build specific subsystems – buffer zones – that connect social services and other complementary actors. These structures address needs that the core ecosystem actors are not equipped to address, such as language support or cultural orientation. Buffer zones reduce the perceived risk for ecosystem actors to engage and provide marginalized entrepreneurs with a more accessible first step towards entrepreneurship.

3. Common tools for cooperation

Once the buffer zones are in place, boundary objects are developed – common tools, programs and structures that enable cooperation across borders. They work in both worlds: for the support organization, which knows the needs of the entrepreneurs, and for the ecosystem actors, who are used to growth-oriented models. Through these platforms, both sides gain hands-on experience in working together, which in turn changes mindsets and ways of working.

4. New ways of working become part of the ecosystem norms

When the methods created work well, they start to spread and take hold. Collaborations are formalized, practices change and more actors join the networks. What started as a project on the fringes of the ecosystem becomes an integral part of its structure. In this way, the social and resource boundaries of the ecosystem grow, and marginalized entrepreneurs can take their place in the core programmes and networks.

Inclusion as an engine for development

The model shows that inclusive development does not require the ecosystem to be reshaped from above. Instead, change happens through support organizations in the periphery identifying openings, building bridges and creating forms of cooperation that other actors gradually take over. The process is incremental, but leads to a broadening of understanding, resources and networks.

The study also points out that this is not at the expense of growth. As more types of entrepreneurs gain access to ecosystem resources, the talent base is broadened and the system’s adaptive capacity is strengthened. This means that inclusive work can be a strategic asset – not a hindrance – to the long-term development of ecosystems.

More about the article and the author
The article Revitalising the periphery: How support organisations drive the inclusive evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems is published in the scientific journal Journal of Business Venturing. The author is Shuai Qin, Aston Business School, Aston University, UK.