Entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) conceptualization has undergone substantial theoretical evolution from foundational infrastructure paradigms to contemporary dynamic system frameworks. The scholarly progression demonstrates advancement from Cohen’s seminal definitional work and Isenberg’s six-domain typology through subsequent theoretical refinements emphasizing actor interdependencies and systemic complexity. Critical evaluation reveals persistent theoretical limitations, including inadequate analytical frameworks for causality determination, insufficient network theory integration, and predominantly static conceptualizations that fail to capture evolutionary dynamics. Methodological deficiencies are identified, particularly the paucity of longitudinal process studies and over-reliance on retrospective rather than real-time observational data. Resource dynamics emerges as the central theoretical lens for understanding ecosystem functionality, encompassing both resource acquisition patterns within interconnected actor networks and resource flow and management processes across ecosystem boundaries and within firms. This multi-level perspective captures how resources are mobilized, transformed, and circulated at various levels of entrepreneurial activity. This foundational analysis introduces resource dynamics as the book’s central theme, establishing the theoretical framework for examining how resources are acquired, managed, and circulated within entrepreneurial ecosystems across the diverse contexts explored throughout subsequent chapters.