ScholarOne - Small Cities, Big Dreams: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Cities
Abstract
Do entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) facilitate entrepreneurial activity
at every stage of the entrepreneurial lifecycle? Using generalized least
squares estimation on data from 803 cities globally, we explore the
impact of city-global connectedness (alpha, beta, gamma, and sufficiency
cities) and EE quality on nascent, emergent, and extreme growth stages
of entrepreneurial activity. Findings reveal that while all
entrepreneurship stages benefit from higher EE quality, nascent and
emergent stages thrive particularly in globally connected (alpha-type)
cities. Different external forces and internal capabilities of
entrepreneurs can result in synergetic effects of EE quality and
city-global connectedness to support entrepreneurial activity at each
stage.