The sum of its parts: Examining the institutional effects on entrepreneurial nodes in extensive innovation ecosystems

Innovation ecosystems are intricate networks that provide opportunities to access resources, capabilities, and cooperating firms for value-creating knowledge transfer. While the literature has noted the complex nature of diverse innovation ecosystem actors, fewer studies have refined how macro-institutional pressures impact behavioral interactions among diverse entities. The innovation ecosystem research has yet to theoretically refine how micro-level complex components (entities) navigate environments, coalescence, and overcome barriers within varying institutional conditions. Ultimately, each entity behaves and is governed by diverse motivational drivers. Yet, the divergent impacts this has on key behaviors have not been covered by broader-scale empirical studies. Therefore, this study focused on the institutional mechanisms that influence the crucial role of entrepreneurial networking activities in ecosystems. Using a global sample, the study employed a multi-level logistic regression model and data developed from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, World Development Indicators, Index of Economic Freedom, and the World Governance Indicators to reveal certain forms of institutional settings that influence collaborative behavior in the ecosystem and entrepreneurial networks' emergence. It emphasizes the need for managers and policymakers to recognize these effects and enact strategies that promote value-creating entrepreneurial network behavior on the individual level to benefit the holistic ecosystem performance.