How do entrepreneurial ecosystem promotes entrepreneurship in non-core regions? A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis based on western China
基于中国西部非核心县域的实地调查数据，用模糊集定性比较分析揭示了创业生态系统要素如何组合形成驱动或抑制创业的两条路径，为欠发达地区促进创业提供决策参考。
Entrepreneurship plays a crucial role in the economic and social development of non-core regions, and the exploration of its driving mechanisms has received considerable academic attention. This article applies the theory of entrepreneurial ecosystem to non-core regions with less generous entrepreneurial environments. Utilizing on-site survey data collected from Xingping County, a non-core region in western China and employing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodology, the study investigates how the interactions between entrepreneurial ecosystem elements promote or inhibit entrepreneurship in non-core regions with ungenerous entrepreneurial environment. The research reveals that entrepreneurship in non-core regions depends on the combined effects of multiple factors, leading to two pathways that generate high entrepreneurial rate: a policy-driven pathway and a human capital-supports-driven pathway. Additionally, the study identifies two pathways that result in low entrepreneurial rate: a supports-inhibitory pathway and a human capital-policy-inhibitory pathway. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of entrepreneurial geography and provides decision-making foundations for fostering entrepreneurship and local economic development in non-core regions.