Entrepreneurial ecosystems have become a prominent concept, yet in its current state, the concept itself represents a paradox. While it draws on a rich intellectual history and provides an opportunity to synthesize different strands of research, it is also under-theorized and the mechanisms that govern ecosystem evolution are not well understood. This paper takes stock of recent advancements in ecosystem scholarship and synthesizes the empirical reality of the causal mechanisms. We use these dynamics to position ecosystems in a broader context, within and beyond the domain of entrepreneurship research, and propose a transdisciplinary research program for ecosystem research and practice.

企业家生态系统已成为一个突出的概念，但是在目前的状态下，该概念本身代表了一个悖论。它吸收了丰富的知识史，并提供了综合不同研究领域的机会，但它的理论还不足，并且对生态系统演化的机制还没有很好的理解。本文总结了生态系统研究的最新进展，并综合了因果机制的经验性现实。我们利用这些动力将生态系统置于更广泛的范围内，在企业家精神研究领域之内和之外，并提出了针对生态系统研究和实践的跨学科研究计划。