Entrepreneurial support organizations in sustainable knowledge-driven ecosystems

Despite the growing focus on socioenvironmental issues within the study of entrepreneurial ecosystems, the role of entrepreneurial support organizations in this context remains unclear. Specifically, entrepreneurial support organizations play a crucial role in fostering entrepreneurship, yet limited research exists on how they contribute to the governance of socioenvironmental issues. This study aims to enhance our understanding of the role of entrepreneurial support organizations in knowledge-driven ecosystems by employing the Quadruple/Quintuple helix model to better capture how such organizations foster sustainable development start-ups. This model provides a comprehensive conceptual model for addressing entrepreneurial ecosystem socioenvironmental issues at the meso-level. Moreover, it facilitates the examination of knowledge spillovers between entrepreneurial support organizations and other entrepreneurial ecosystem actors by highlighting the existing knowledge filters in entrepreneurial ecosystem governance. Through an exploratory qualitative study that follows Gioia’s method, we identify three aggregate dimensions that explain how entrepreneurial support organizations address socioenvironmental issues by supporting sustainable development start-ups in knowledge-driven ecosystems. Our findings reveal how entrepreneurial support organizations enhance knowledge spillovers by relying on democracy-based knowledge in Mode 3 knowledge production. More precisely, our theoretical contribution to the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature highlights that policy makers orient the nature and outcomes of sustainable development start-ups to address socioenvironmental issues in knowledge-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems through knowledge filters. Ultimately, our research provides insights for policymakers and entrepreneurial support organization managers by enabling them to effectively steer entrepreneurial dynamics toward more sustainable development by comprehending the knowledge spillovers and filters inherent in knowledge-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems.