Knowledge-Based Regional Economic Development: A Synthetic Review of Knowledge Spillovers, Entrepreneurship, and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Abstract

The geographical nature of knowledge spillovers and entrepreneurship has been well documented in the literature. In most regional or urban studies, these two topics are separately discussed. This research reviews literature at the intersection of knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship, and regional economic development. The key argument is that entrepreneurship can serve as a mechanism for transmitting knowledge spillovers and accordingly contribute to regional innovation, cluster formation, and economic development. However, the effectiveness of this mechanism depends on various factors in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, notably including knowledge bases, absorptive capacity, competition, networks of people, diversity, and culture.