Breaking bubbles: How to uplift cross-boundary entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and neither should support for entrepreneurs. Yet, as a new study shows, entrepreneurial ecosystems are often shaped more by geography than logic. Entrepreneurs frequently look beyond their home regions to access essential resources like finance, knowledge, and customers, but ecosystem actors often put up barriers instead of building bridges.

“Getting access to resources is the primary motivation for entrepreneurs to interact across entrepreneurial ecosystem boundaries,” the study by Jip Leendertse, Yvette Baggen, Maral Mahdad, and Sharon Dolmans reports. However, their ability to do so can be either supported or restricted by the behavior of other actors in the ecosystem.

So what can those actors - universities, incubators, governments, investors - do within their own ecosystems to avoid counterproductive behavior and support more fluid, productive entrepreneurial journeys?

A tale of three ecosystems

The study draws from three high-quality entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Netherlands: Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Wageningen. These regions form the foundation of the EWUU alliance, which brings together Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University and Research, Utrecht University, and University Medical Centre Utrecht. All three ecosystems meet a unique set of criteria: they are in the top 10% of European entrepreneurial ecosystems, operate within a shared national context, have clearly defined regional boundaries, are geographically connected, and are anchored by research universities. Each ecosystem has its own sectoral focus: Eindhoven on high-tech, Wageningen on agrifood, and Utrecht on health. This provided a diverse lens for understanding cross-boundary interactions.

From the study

Start by reflecting on your logic

The research identifies two dominant institutional logics that shape ecosystem behavior: regional development logic and startup development logic.

• Regional development logic prioritizes strengthening the local economy, often enforcing boundaries aligned with provinces or municipalities.
• In contrast, startup development logic focuses on the entrepreneur's needs.

Both logics can coexist, but when regional development logics dominate, the result can be restrictive: support is only available to local ventures, or entrepreneurs must relocate to qualify for funding. One ecosystem actor summed it up succinctly: “If you get an investment from a particular regional development agency, then you must move to that region.”

This approach may protect local interests in the short term, but it limits entrepreneurial growth and discourages the kind of cross-boundary interactions that are vital in small and highly connected countries like the Netherlands. "We encourage actors to critically reflect on their logics and modify behaviors that counterproductively influence the entrepreneurial ecosystem."

Five steps ecosystem actors can take

The study distinguishes five ways to break through the obstacles:

1. Question the boundaries you enforce
   Are your support programs implicitly or explicitly excluding non-local start-ups? Consider whether administrative borders truly serve the entrepreneur or just reinforce bureaucracy.
2. Foster open networks
   Strong regional networks are valuable but can become echo chambers. Proactively create links with actors in other ecosystems and make introductions for start-ups beyond your region.
3. Enable mobility without penalty
   Avoid making funding or support conditional on physical relocation. “Startups shouldn’t have to choose one ecosystem over another,” one entrepreneur noted. Flexibility increases opportunity.
4. Collaborate with peer organizations
   Incubators, investors, and universities across regions often face similar challenges. Sharing knowledge - and even startups - can raise the overall support quality. “We can’t offer this knowledge in Utrecht, but they can in Leiden,” said one ecosystem actor, who happily referred a startup onwards.
5. Redefine success metrics
   Move away from KPIs that only measure regional job creation or startup retention. Broader impact, like helping a venture succeed even if it scales elsewhere, can ultimately be more valuable.

From competition to collaboration

There are promising signs that attitudes are shifting. The study cites improved collaboration between regional development agencies and growing awareness among ecosystem actors about the limits of a region-first approach. Still, there’s work to be done.

As one ecosystem support officer put it, “In the Netherlands, regional barriers don’t make sense, but they are there because of the behavior of certain actors.” Another added: “The Netherlands is too small for that.”