Configuration of Regional Entrepreneurial Ecosystems through the Prism of Spatial and Hierarchical Analysis

Nowadays, entrepreneurship should be analysed from the perspective of interconnectedness and mutual influence of elements of regional economic systems, since the type and intensity of their interaction determine the emergence of windows of opportunity for entrepreneurs. Thus, the present study uses an ecosystem approach. We hypothesise that the spatial configuration of the performance of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems (REES) largely depends on the interaction between local entrepreneurial ecosystems, as well as on the cumulative impact of REES on local entrepreneurial ecosystems. Using the methodology of spatial and hierarchical analysis, the study investigates the dependence of the development of local entrepreneurial ecosystems on their embeddedness in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, assesses the spatial connectivity of REES, and considers relationships between small and large businesses in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. The global Moran’s I and the Getis-Ord statistics for regional entrepreneurial ecosystems used to assess their spatial connectivity were calculated based on the analysis of data concerning the shipping volume of large and medium enterprises from 2315 municipalities of 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the level of local entrepreneurial ecosystems, the study revealed the link between the variation in the values of the shipping volume of business entities and their belonging to specific regional entrepreneurial ecosystems (constituent entities of the Russian Federation). In addition, a positive relationship was found between the shipping volume of large and medium enterprises operating in local entrepreneurial ecosystems, the shipping volume of goods produced by small enterprises and the average revenue of individual entrepreneurs. Considering the identified factors of spatial determination of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems and the closeness of interregional and intermunicipal ties of local entrepreneurial ecosystems, it is possible to generalise the best practices of spatial organisation of regional business communities and create effective development models.