The Concept of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Approaches to Definition and Analysis

The article analyzes the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EE) within the context of modern entrepreneurship research. It traces the evolution of the term “ecosystem” from its biological origins (A. Tansley) to its adaptation in economics, including J. Moore’s contribution to popularizing the concept in the 1990s. Based on an analysis of 21 definitions of entrepreneurial ecosystems (18 international and 3 Russian), the study identifies key elements of such systems: interaction among participants, institutional environment, geographic localization, and others. Particular attention is paid to research by Russian scholars: data from Elibrary.ru shows a sixfold in-crease in publications from 2015 to 2020, though most rely on foreign theoretical frameworks. Using Joseph D. No-vak’s concept mapping method, the core categories of EE are structured: participants, institutions, geography, goals, and processes. The results highlight the need to develop original approaches for studying EE in the Russian context, accounting for regional socio-economic specificities. The research contributes to systematizing existing definitions and laying the groundwork for further empirical studies.