Exploring grassroots innovation for sustainable development in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Simone Gibellato, Asha Thomas, Massimiliano Farina Briamonte, Antonio Usai and Fabio Fiano

Chapter 25 in Research Handbook on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, 2024, pp 498-518 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter focuses on grassroots innovation (GI) for sustainability within entrepreneurial ecosystems. GI is “bottom-up” social innovation generated by civil society with the aim of promoting long-term sustainability. Despite its growing importance, there is a lack of research on GI from an entrepreneurial and managerial perspective. This chapter aims to bridge this gap by proposing a conceptual framework based on the entrepreneurial ecosystem from a grassroots perspective. The objective is to provide a model that analyzes GI through a holistic approach, integrating considerations regarding policymakers, active citizenship, institutions, workers, social culture and shared knowledge. This research presents a detailed literature review of GI and entrepreneurial ecosystems. It then posits a conceptual model based on a reinterpretation of Isenberg’s (2011) framework on entrepreneurial ecosystems. The main theoretical contribution of this chapter is its expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature through a focus on GI for sustainability and an enhanced understanding of the relationships between different stakeholders that have not previously been considered. The main practical contribution of this chapter is a better appreciation of how GIs develop within society and facilitate their reproduction or scaleup.

Keywords: Business and Management; Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Innovations and Technology; Politics and Public Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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