Explaining the national-level emergence of tech scaleups: the systemic role of knowledge stock from a configurational perspective

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of knowledge stock in the national-level emergence of tech scaleups from a configurational perspective. While prior research has recognized the importance of knowledge stock in the emergence of high-growth firms and examined elements of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs), its predominant reliance on econometric models has yielded a fragmented understanding, leaving unclear how knowledge stock combines with EE resource endowments to support such emergence. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship and ecosystem thinking, this study integrates aggregate data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Startup Genome. The authors construct a cross-national data set covering 31 countries and apply fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. Findings The results of this study reveal that knowledge stock plays a systemically important and consistently prominent role across high-emergence pathways; its influence is contingent upon the broader resource endowments of EE; and compared with resource endowments of EE, knowledge stock exhibits lower causal asymmetry, suggesting a relatively more stable role. Originality/value This study advances the literature on the geography of high-growth entrepreneurship by moving beyond single-factor econometric approaches to examine how knowledge stock interacts with other EE resources in national contexts. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, the authors identify multiple resource configurations that enable tech scaleup emergence, reveal the context-dependent nature of knowledge stock’s impact and demonstrate its lower causal asymmetry relative to other resources. These insights refine theoretical understanding of how different resource combinations jointly foster high-growth entrepreneurship.