Beyond agency and embeddedness: introducing the entrepreneur focused entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective

Abstract Entrepreneurial ecosystem research has expanded significantly in recent years; nonetheless, we argue that the role of the entrepreneurs in relation to those systems remains inadequately theorized. Drawing on a discourse analysis of 147 publications, we identify four dominant discourses that position entrepreneurs along the axes of agency and embeddedness. Those discourses frame entrepreneurs as (1) shaped by ecosystem externalities, (2) interactive components within relational systems, (3) active agents strategically reshaping their environments, or (4) actors who both influence and are influenced by ecosystem structures. While each of those perspectives offers valuable insights, they collectively conceptualize entrepreneurs as occupants of structural positions, rather than people having experiences. Consequently, there is limited understanding of how entrepreneurs interpret, navigate, and emotionally engage with ecosystem conditions. To address that gap, we introduce a novel perspective for studying entrepreneurial ecosystems. We label it the entrepreneur‑focused entrepreneurial ecosystems (EFEE) perspective, and it focuses on experience as a core explanatory mechanism. The EFEE perspective integrates micro-foundational, practice-based, and interpretive approaches to demonstrate how entrepreneurs’ sensemaking, learning, and capability development shape the routines and configurations upon which ecosystems are built. We also conceptualize ecosystems as service-providing systems, meaning that research could use service-design methods to capture entrepreneurial journeys, touchpoints, and value co‑creation. That would yield experiential evidence linking micro-practices to ecosystem transformation. Overall, this perspective extends entrepreneurial ecosystem theory by reinstating the entrepreneur at the centre and providing a foundation for more inclusive, entrepreneur‑centred policy and ecosystem design.